Royals Rumblings - News for July 18, 2025

The Second Half Begins Tonight

It’s a slooooooow news day.

At The Star, Pete Grathoff notes that Royals streaming numbers are up:

FanDuel Sports Kansas City said it had more than 115,000 unique streamers for Royals games this season. There has been a 54% year-over-year increase in unique streamers per game, and the number of minutes streamed has gone up by 59%...

Television ratings for Royals games are up 23% year-over-year through 94 games, FanDuel KC said, reaching an average of nearly 40,000 households. When the Royals play in prime time, their games have been the top-rated program 84% of the time...

A handful of Royals games have been simulcast on KCTV (Ch. 5) and KSMO (Ch. 62) this season, but ratings for those games were not available.

He also wrote about Bobby Witt Jr. and Jac Caglianone putting funny notes on baseball cards that they both signed:

Caglianone said the players signed them in spring training, and he had the more difficult task.

“It stinks, because I had to write them first,” Caglianone said with a smile. “So it took me like an hour to figure out what to put on the cards. I mean, on the 1 of 1, they told me what to write about him getting married, and they’re like, he’s writing about your engagement.”

I couldn’t find a news story about these transactions, but the Royals did post them to Bluesky:

At Fangraphs, Jay Jaffe writes about “Replacement-Level Killers”, awful players who, if mediocre players replaced them, would make their team much better. He just got to the outfield today. Avert your eyes, children (emphasis mine):

Royals*

Good grief, somehow Royals corner outfielders have combined for -3.8 WAR, suggesting that the 47-50 team would be over .500 if it had found some typically unremarkable replacement level outfielders to fill those posts. Manager Matt Quatraro has used nine left fielders and eight right fielders, with some crossover between the two. Somehow, only one player at each position has managed even a 100 wRC+ in their thin slice of playing time, namely Jonathan India in left and Drew Waters in right. India, who’s played all of 21 games in left, is new to the position at the major league level; his glove is a liability no matter where you put him and he’s hitting just .251/.332/.348 (91 wRC+) overall. Waters, who’s played 41 games in left, 21 in right, and 22 in center, has hit just .243/.288/.316 (66 wRC+) overall, suggesting his 105 wRC+ in 53 PA in right is a fluke. Mark Canha has collapsed to a 49 wRC+ with career worsts in just about every key Statcast category, though his stints on the injured list for an adductor strain and (currently) tennis elbow have possibly contributed to his woes. None of the other principals at either corner has spent time on the IL.

Hunter Renfroe, who began the year as the regular right fielder, was a full win below replacement before he was released in late May. Jac Caglianone, a 22-year-old 50-FV prospect who has taken over right, has been the next-worst, at -0.9 WAR. Caglianone entered the season ranked no. 47 on our Top 100 Prospects list but had never played above High-A; he’s hit a cringeworthy .140/.196/.264 (22 wRC+) in 138 PA while chasing 41.1% of pitches outside the zone. At some point a responsible adult would send him back to the minors for more seasoning despite the occasional 466-foot homer. Instead, he’s 4-for-40 this month including that July 10 shot. Cool, cool.

In eight seasons of doing this series for FanGraphs (plus a handful of times at Baseball Prospectus and Sports Illustrated), I can’t recall even a fringe contender so hamstrung by an inability to find reasonably productive players at offense-first positions. It’s a testament to the quality of the Royals’ pitching and the play of Bobby Witt Jr., Maikel Garcia and Vinnie Pasquantino that this team even has a shred of a chance at a playoff spot. This is the part where I normally suggest potential trade targets who could help shore up the situation; in this case the answer is “just about anyone not already on the Royals roster.” Candidates such as the White Sox’s Andrew Benintendi and the Marlins’ Jesús Sánchez look like Juan Soto and Aaron Judge next to this crowd.

Listicles? We’ve got ‘em!

Michael Charles at The Athletic ($) came up “one defining stat for all 30 MLB teams”:

Kansas City Royals (47-50) - 328 runs scored (29th)

The Royals’ meager offense has been their downfall and a critical part of that is their approach. Kansas City has seen the second-fewest pitches in baseball, has the league’s second-highest chase rate and has walked less often than any other team. One positive has been the team’s ability to put the ball in play, recording the second-fewest strikeouts in baseball, but the power numbers are poor. The Royals rank 29th in homers and 26th in slugging percentage and barrel percentage.

Despite its underwhelming offense, Kansas City is still only 4 1/2 games out of the American League’s last Wild Card spot.

Yup, that’s about right.

Mike Axisa of CBS Sports gives a “second-half bold prediction” for every team:

Chicago Cubs, Kansas City Royals

Prediction: Chicago will trade for Seth Lugo.

The Royals went into the All-Star break with the second-best ERA+ (118) and the fifth-worst OPS+ (88). They’ve gotten terrific pitching and it’s going to waste because of a poor offense. For shame. The underlying numbers aren’t as spectacular, though Lugo has been just about as good this year as last year, when he finished second in the AL Cy Young voting. The trade market figures to be short on quality starters. Cashing in Lugo, who has a $15 million player option for 2026, as a trade chip may be the best way for Kansas City to get the offensive help they so desperately need. I will boldly predict Lugo goes to the Cubbies, who need a top starter in the wake of Justin Steele’s Tommy John surgery. Outfielder Owen Caissie and lefty Jordan Wicks will headline the return. Caissie is the kind of power hitter the Royals need and Wick can step into the rotation post-Lugo.

MLB.com lists “1 key player for each team as second half begins”:

Royals: SS Bobby Witt Jr.

Witt will always carry this team. And the Royals will need him to be the player he’s shown to be, especially in the second half; Witt has a career .300/.351/.533 slash line post All-Star break, compared to a .283/.330/.491 line pre-break. He posted a 1.054 OPS in the second half last season. The entire team seems to play better when Witt plays well, and a lift like that can’t be understated for Kansas City. — Anne Rogers

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Blogs?

The Royals Reporter, Kevin O’Brien, leads us off, listing important Royals for the 2nd half:

Ragans has only made 10 starts this year due to a strained rotator cuff. Unfortunately, before he went on the IL, the numbers weren’t great for Royals ace who finished fourth in the AL Cy Young race in 2024.

In 48.2 IP, he posted a 5.18 ERA and 1.29 WHIP, significant increases from his numbers a season ago. Even though the results weren’t good, his underlying metrics left room for optimism with the Royals lefty starter.

According to Fangraphs, Ragans’ xERA was 2.66, his FIP was 2.40, and his xFIP was 2.47. These positive metrics were mostly due to 36.4% K rate and 28.7% K-BB%, which are 7.1% and 8.2% improvements from a season ago.

Royals Data Dugout ($) makes second-half predictions:

Mild: Kansas City Misses the Postseason

Let’s begin at the end with the most important question: Can KC make a run and surpass a handful of AL rivals for a Wild Card spot?

The Royals certainly *could* get there but they’ve stacked the deck against themselves with a sluggish spring offensively, though the lineup has warmed up with the weather in recent weeks. According to FanGraphs, they have a 12% chance to crack October with a projected final record of 79-82 (rounding down from 79.4 wins).

Importantly, that projection doesn’t factor in potential upgrades for locked-in contenders and any deals the Royals may make (which we’ll get to) that weaken the 2025 roster as focus shifts to 2026 and beyond.

Blog Roundup:

• Darin Watson at U.L.’s Toothpick: This Date In Royals History—1985 Edition: July 17 - The last day of the All-Star break means it’s time to check the standings before the season resumes
• Patrick Glancy at Powder Blue Nostalgia: Halfway There - How things look at the All-Star Break
• Oliver Vandervoort at KOK: The KC Royals’ next six games could make or break their season
• Caleb Moody at KOK: Could this KC Royals outfielder be unconventional asset to deal at trade deadline?
• Jacob Milham at KOK: 3 players who could be on the chopping block if KC Royals acquire outfielder

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We’ll have a little MLB section as there’s news on that front.

Ratings are in for the All-Star Game:

Baseball’s All-Star Game — which featured the contest’s first swing-off to determine the winner — averaged 7,185,000 viewers Tuesday night on Fox, according to Nielsen.

It was Fox’s most-watched telecast since the Super Bowl and the network’s best audience for a Tuesday night since last year’s Game 4 of the World Series. However, it was a 3.5% decrease from the 2024 game and the second-lowest for the Midsummer Classic.

The Rays can host playoff games at their minor league park:

Major League Baseball on Thursday clarified that the Tampa Bay Rays would be allowed to play any postseason home games at their temporary home ballpark, Steinbrenner Field, MLB.com reports.

The Rays are playing the 2025 season at the New York Yankees’ spring training complex as their usual home venue, Tropicana Field, undergoes major repairs after Hurricane Milton severely damaged it in October of 2024. While Tropicana Field is expected to be game-ready in time for the 2026 season, it will not be ready to host postseason baseball. As such, the Rays, should they qualify for the playoffs, would play any home games at a 10,046-seat stadium that typically hosts the Single-A Tampa Tarpons of the Florida State League. This, of course, raises the complicated possibility that such a small ballpark could be the setting for ALCS and even World Series games.

This is a little tough for me, as he was my favorite player when I was growing up:

Chicago Cubs legend Ryne Sandberg said Wednesday he is “continuing to fight” cancer and is prioritizing time with those closest to him.

He posted a letter addressed to his fans and extended baseball family on Instagram. “I wanted to share an update regarding my health,” wrote Sandberg, 65. “It’s been a challenging few months as I have been going through treatment on a regular basis. While I am continuing to fight, I’m looking forward to making the most of every day with my loving family and friends.

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Long-time readers will remember that back when I started writing Rumblings in 2016 (wait, what?!?), the OT/SotD section was always about video games. The idea was that I didn’t have good music taste, but I did know a little something about video game music. Sometimes, it would just be a quick blurb and then the song. Other times, you’d get 800 words about Super Mario Bros 3 or the Sega cult classic Segagaga.

Some weeks, I didn’t have time to write about a new game so I reused a song from a game I had already talked about. I even have little rules about how I can only use each game once per year. I even keep a running list of games I’ve used for the year so that I know what I can and cannot revisit (though I have accidentally broken this rule a couple of times).

During COVID, I branched out with some of my OT sections. After my 2022 hiatus, I scrapped the video game focus entirely. But that doesn’t mean we can’t go revisit the idea every once in a while. I only wrote about ~100 games and there are so many more out there to write about. Besides, this adds more games into the rotation to use for songs.

Today, we’re going to start with a bang: Final Fantasy VI. When looking over my list, I realized I had never done this game before. This is a game that, for many people, is the best role-playing game ever to grace a cartridge. My pick for best cartridge-based RPG is Chrono Trigger. And, my personal favorite was my first love, Final Fantasy IV. * But Final Fantasy VI is a masterpiece that belongs on any pre-disc era RPG Mount Rushmore.

*I like it so much that I’m replaying it right now on the Switch (2) from the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster.

Sidebar: There’s a little confusion about the Final Fantasy naming convention in the United States. It looks like Square went from FF1 (NES) to FF2 (SNES) to FF3 (SNES) to FF7 (PSX). When, there were 3 Final Fantasies (1-3) released in Japan for the NES and 3 more for the SNES (4-6). However, because of unreleased games here, Final Fantasy IV in Japan became Final Fantasy II (USA) and Final Fantasy VI (Japan) became Final Fantasy III in the United States. We’re going to stick with calling this one Final Fantasy VI.

Everything in the game is BIG! The ensemble cast is comprised of 14(!) playable characters, most with at least some significant character development. Though, it did get sprawly in the end (really, Umaro and Gogo?). There are so many characters that when you need 3 full parties for the final battle, you have to leave 2 behind. However, the real star of the show is the villainous Kefka, one of the most memorable video game baddies of all time.

As for the plot, Final Fantasy IV took you to the moon and back. But somehow this is even bigger and more epic. Like SNES contemporary that also lands on a lot of “Best Game of All Time” lists, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, the first half of the game is spent building a giant, vibrant world. But then a cataclysmic event shatters the world and the player has to remake it:

The game’s themes of a rebellion against an immoral military dictatorship, pursuit of a magical arms race, use of chemical weapons in warfare, depictions of violent and apocalyptic confrontations, several personal redemption arcs, teenage pregnancy, and the renewal of hope and life itself all make the storyline darker and more mature than earlier entries in the franchise.

The gameplay continues the series’ evolution. ATB? Being refined. Unique characters with unique skills? Check! But the ability to customize everyone via relics and Espers? Also, check. The world is more open than in previous games. However, there are still some overworld limitations to allow the plot to progress. The music? Legendary composer Nobuo Uematsu is entering the peak of his career. It’s tremendous, especially considering the limitations of the hardware.

For me, there’s some Goldilocks going on with the SNES big three from Square. Final Fantasy IV is a little small as Square is learning the hardware. Final Fantasy VI is excessive at times - almost too big. The formula is then perfected in Chrono Trigger. But I certainly won’t begrudge anyone who claims this to be their favorite RPG of the system or even of all time.

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Just to give a taste, let’s use one of the most famous scenes in the game, the Opera House, a scene famous enough to have its own Wikipedia page.

The Opera House is a level in the 1994 role-playing video game Final Fantasy VI developed by Square. Taking place partway through the game, it occurs when the game’s characters require an airship, the only one of its kind, owned by the adventurer and gambler Setzer. The character Celes, a former Imperial general, is a near-double of a famous opera diva named Maria, who Setzer is planning to kidnap during a performance. The characters plan for Celes to switch places with Maria, causing her to be kidnapped in Maria’s place and allowing the others to sneak aboard the airship and convince Setzer to let them use it. During the opera, “Maria and Draco”, Celes “sings” the song “Aria di Mezzo Carattere” in a cutscene, before the opera is attacked by the recurring antagonist and monster Ultros, forcing the other characters to stage a rescue.

The Opera House level is considered by critics to be an early example of “games as art”, praised for its gameplay, sprite artwork and music, and Celes’ performance is seen as one of the most iconic and memorable cutscenes in gaming history, noted for the strong emotions evoked in players despite hardware limitations.