Royals Rumblings - News for July 16, 2025

Wait so how many more days without Royals baseball?

Check out this beast of a draft recap from Jared Perkins over at Inside the Crown. The overall first impression is strong, according to the prospect connoisseur.

Overall, this draft was good given the overall down year for a draft class and where they were picking. While day two wasn’t as exciting, it was the day one haul that gives this draft class a B+ grade. You may ask why B+ and not an A? That is more reflective of the draft as a whole. It was a relatively weak class, especially on the college side, which ultimately led the Royals to go with a prep-heavy approach. As we all know, there is a lot of volatility with prep prospects, and that volatility leads to a B+ grade. Despite that, the strategy makes the most sense in a class like this, where you don’t have your typical “safe” college-type bats. Going for the upside is the smart move, as there is more room for growth, and with some of the college bats having just as much risk as the prep bats.

The guys over at Royals Weekly had their own takeaways from the 2025 MLB Draft. [$]

Remember the days of Christian Colon? Brandon Finnegan? Foster Griffin? Low upside players whose promise of a solid floor never really materialized because a quad-A player doesn’t really do anything for a major league team. Watching Brian Bridges shoot for high upside talent is enough to make Royals fans with long memories weep tears of joy.

Craig Brown at Into the Fountains looks at the “starting pitching crisis” Kansas City will face following the All-Star break.

Rich Hill, Dallas Keuchel, Thomas Hatch, John Gant and Chandler Champlain were the starters for the Storm Chasers in their last series. If you were wondering. Adding anyone from this group would require a move on the 40-man roster as well. This is not a problem that is unique to the Royals. Pitching will always be the currency of baseball because there’s not enough of it. The Royals build some good depth before the year started. That got them to the All-Star Break before it was depleted. They are now at the point where, to cover that fifth start, they have to chuck someone out there and hope for the best.

YardBarker’s Joel Wagler puts a familiar load on Bobby Witt Jr.’s shoulders following the All-Star break.

Three of the next four opponents for the Royals after the break have worse records than Kansas City. The Royals play the Marlins, Cubs, Guardians and Atlanta. Only the Cubs have a better record. If Witt stays hot and pushes his team to some quick victories, the Royals’ front office will be more willing to be buyers rather than sellers. Witt wants to go for it, and he may be one of the few players in the majors who can carry his team to victory on a regular basis. If he stays red hot after the All-Star break and the Royals can creep closer to the last wild-card spot before the trade deadline, they could make a big move for the stretch run.

Check out Royals Review's own Matthew LaMar talking about Kansas City’s season outlook on KCUR’s Up to Date.

CBS Sports’ R.J. Anderson looks at each team’s best pick outside of the 2025 MLB Draft’s first round.

RHP Michael Lombardi (No. 61): Lombardi is the highest selected Tulane prospect since the Dodgers took third baseman Kody Hoese 25th overall back in 2019. He was a two-way player for the Green Wave who hit .273/.392/.453 while seeing most of his action in center field. When he was on the mound, he struck out more than 43% of the batters he faced, albeit while walking more than 12%. The Royals announced him as a pitcher, suggesting they’ll try to tame an arsenal that includes an extreme amount of verticality. He’s one to keep an eye on.

Another day, another trade idea sending Seth Lugo to a clear trade deadline buyer. This time, Bleacher Report sends the veteran to the New York Yankees.

The Royals’ All Stars arrived in style on Tuesday’s red carpet.

MLB Players Association executive director Tony Clark is adamantly against a salary cap in the sport. Is anyone surprised?

Clark and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred spoke about their respective entities exploring MLB players participating in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

MLB Network analyst Lance Brozdowski chats with All-Star pitchers Logan Webb, MacKenzie Gore, and Andrew Abbott.

Maxfield Lane and Owen Riley at Down on the Farm predict the 2030 AL All-Star team.

Former MLB pitcher Dan Serafini was found guilty of first-degree murder in a 2021 shooting.

What 2025 All-Stars are halfway to history this season?

If Tampa Bay is in the playoffs, the Rays will have a unique and historic venue.

ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle explores how MLB ballparks are becoming more of an experience, with The Battery Atlanta at the forefront this week.

Anderson also takes a too-early look at the 2026 MLB Draft.

No it isn’t robot umpires, it is the ABS challenge system. Get a refresher on the system after the league deployed in in last night’s All-Star game.

Hear the unique paths for All-Star selections ahead of Tuesday’s time in Atlanta.

ESPN’s ratings see notable bump from 2025 Home Run Derby.

The Kansas City Chiefs signed guard Trey Smith to a huge deal ahead of the offseason deadline.

San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama announces he is cleared for a return after dealing with deep vein thrombosis.

Home Run Derby champ Cal Raleigh succeeds on first ABS challenge of the All-Star Game.

A meteorite, labeled as the largest piece of Mars on Earth, is heading to auction in New York. The 54-pound rock is valued anywhere from $2-4 million.

Jeremy and I love some Apple TV+, and they had a great day from Emmy voters. Check out some of the other takeaways from the Emmy nominations announcement.

Today’s song of the day is Uncle Kracker's rendition of Drift Away.