Royal Rebuild [OOTP 19]

[artoodeetoo]

DUDA TO THE DL; DOZIER RE-CALLED

With Lucas Duda's hamstring injury that could keep him out for four to six weeks, Hunter Dozier has been re-called from Omaha to make his season debut tonight against Cleveland. He's off to a pretty good start in Triple-A in 2018 (.301/.400/.589 triple-slash in 73 PA), and he's played at first, third, in left, and in right.

[artoodeetoo]

STATS, STANDINGS, & ROSTER UPDATE

[artoodeetoo]

PITCHING MATCHUPS (05/11 - 05/13)

05/11: LHP Eric Skoglund (2-3, 7.28) vs RHP Carlos Carrasco (2-3, 5.45)
05/12: LHP Danny Duffy (5-2, 5.19) vs RHP Danny Salazar (3-2, 4.39)
05/13: RHP Jason Hammel (2-2, 6.29) vs RHP Trevor Bauer (1-3, 3.51)

GAME RECAPS

May 11th, 2018
Royals (20-19) 5, Indians (18-19) 11
Winner: Carlos Carrasco (3-3) Loser: Eric Skoglund (2-4) Save: None

Alonso, Indians Bury the Royals With 11-5 Victory

Cleveland snapped a five-game losing streak with an 11-5 victory over the visiting Royals. Eric Skoglund was charged with two unearned runs in the second (thanks to his own error), but was hit hard overall, allowing seven earned runs in five innings. Carlos Carrasco evened his record at three wins and losses apiece despite struggling overall with five earned runs and eight hits in six innings. Yonder Alonso led the Indians' offensive attack with a 4-for-4 day, including four runs scored, a homerun, a walk, and three RBI. Jose Ramirez added a homerun in the fourth inning, and Tyler Naquin delivered a two-run triple the following inning. On the bright side for the Royals, Mike Moustakas added to his league-leading RBI total with a two-run hit in the fourth, and Hunter Dozier hit his first career MLB homerun in the sixth inning.

MLB SCOREBOARD
Kansas City (20-19) 5, Cleveland (18-19) 11
Oakland (22-16) 3, NY Yankees (28-12) 11
Tampa Bay (17-19) 6, Baltimore (17-23) 5
Boston (15-24) 8, Toronto (16-23) 9 (Final/10)
Seattle (16-22) 4, Detroit (23-16) 5
Minnesota (20-18) 4, LA Angels (19-20) 3
Texas (19-21) 2, Houston (22-18) 9
Chi. Sox (14-24) 0, Chi. Cubs (22-16) 9
San Francisco (14-25) 9, Pittsburgh (17-20) 3
NY Mets (20-18) 6, Philadelphia (22-17) 3
Atlanta (25-14) 2, Miami (14-24) 6
Milwaukee (13-26) 4, Colorado (22-17) 7
Cincinnati (18-20) 1, LA Dodgers (26-12) 7
Washington (18-22) 5, Arizona (19-19) 10
St. Louis (19-17) 4, San Diego (22-18) 1

May 12th, 2018
Royals (20-20) 3, Indians (19-19)
Winner: Huston Street (1-0) Loser: Danny Duffy (5-3) Save: Andrew Miller (9)

Royals Slip Back to .500 With 6-3 Defeat

Sailing along until the seventh, Danny Duffy had allowed just two runs through six and one-third innings, and even though he had the bases loaded with one out in that inning, he was left in to face Jose Ramirez, who was 0-for-3 with a strikeout already against Duffy. Ramirez also had only gone 5-for-53 against LHP in 2018, so it seemed like a good decision. Just two pitches later, Ramirez launched a bomb into the right-field seats to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 6-3 lead, which ended up being the final score. Duffy allowed six earned runs in those six and one-third innings, raising his ballooning ERA to 5.53 and dropping him to 5-3 on the season. Mike Moustakas and Abraham Almonte added solo homeruns for the Royals, who have now dropped to .500 on the season after a torrid April that saw them race out to a big early lead in the division. However, the Royals are just 4-7 in May so far after a 16-13 combined record in March and April. Huston Street picked up the win in relief with two scoreless innings.

MLB SCOREBOARD
Kansas City (20-20) 3, Cleveland (19-19) 6
Oakland (23-16) 5, NY Yankees (28-13) 4
Tampa Bay (18-19) 4, Baltimore (17-24) 0
Boston (15-25) 4, Toronto (17-23) 11
Seattle (16-23) 5, Detroit (24-16) 7
Minnesota (20-19) 2, LA Angels (20-20) 3 (Final/10)
Texas (19-22) 1, Houston (23-18) 4
Chi. Sox (14-25) 2, Chi. Cubs (23-16) 10
San Francisco (14-26) 1, Pittsburgh (18-20) 6
NY Mets (21-18) 6, Philadelphia (23-17) 6
Atlanta (26-14) 12, Miami (14-25) 2
Milwaukee (14-26) 7, Colorado (22-18) 1
Cincinnati (18-21) 1, LA Dodgers (26-12) 7
Washington (19-22) 7, Arizona (19-20) 3
St. Louis (19-18) 2, San Diego (23-18) 10

May 13th, 2018
Royals (21-20) 10, Cleveland (19-20) 2
Winner: Jason Hammel (3-2) Loser: Trevor Bauer (1-4) Save: None

Soler Powers Royals Victory; Snaps Three-Game Skid

Whit Merrifield and Jorge Soler each had four hits to pace the Royals' 10-2 clobbering of the Indians, with Soler driving in half the team's runs. He hit a two-run homerun in the first inning, and then put the game solidly out of reach with a bases-loaded double in the top of the ninth, although he got greedy trying to stretch that double into a triple. Merrifield also had an RBI hit in the ninth, and picked up a pair of steals in the process. Jason Hammel gave the Royals one of their better starts in recent games, with six innings of one-run ball. He only fanned one, but walked just two and scattered just four hits to pick up his third victory. Blaine Boyer, Brian Flynn, and Kevin McCarthy all pitched one inning out of the pen, with the only run a solo homerun off the bat of Michael Brantley against Flynn.

MLB SCOREBOARD
Kansas City (21-20) 10, Cleveland (19-20) 2
Oakland (23-17) 2, NY Yankees (29-13) 5
Tampa Bay (19-19) 6, Baltimore (17-25) 5
Boston (16-25) 6, Toronto (17-24) 5
Seattle (17-23) 3, Detroit (24-17) 1
Minnesota (21-19) 7, LA Angels (20-21) 1
Texas (19-23) 3, Houston (24-18) 13
Atlanta (27-14) 9, Miami (14-26) 0
San Francisco (15-26) 5, Pittsburgh (18-21) 1
NY Mets (21-19) 2, Philadelphia (24-17) 5
Chi. Sox (15-25) 3, Chi. Cubs (23-17) 0
Milwaukee (15-26) 7, Colorado (22-19) 3
St. Louis (19-19) 1, San Diego (24-18) 2
Cincinnati (18-22) 0, LA Dodgers (28-12) 2
Washington (19-23) 4, Arizona (20-20) 5

MAJOR NEWS/INJURIES/TRANSACTIONS
05/11: Twins catcher Jason Castro suspended four games by MLB for 'ump bump'
05/11: Granderson's three homeruns power 9-8 Jays victory
05/11: Wilson Ramos' hit streak snapped at 20 games
05/12: Padres RHP Dinelson Lamet out at least one more start (oblique)
05/12: Blue Jays OF Dalton Pompey placed on 60-day disabled list (torn ankle ligaments)
05/12: Rangers place LHP Brett Anderson on 10-day disabled list (tricep strain)
05/13: Rangers sign RHP Jim Miller to prorated one-year, $670K deal
05/13: Rays activate RHP Nathan Eovaldi from disabled list; send to Triple-A for rehab assignment

[artoodeetoo]

ROYALS SEND GRIMM TO OMAHA FOR REHAB ASSIGNMENT

Coming off a lower back issue, Justin Grimm has been sent to the Storm Chasers to rehab from the injury. He's been one of the few guys we can count on to miss bats when we need it, but he's prone to the home run ball. We think he can still be a major cog in the bullpen, but there are guys in the minors that are itching for their shot, too.

[artoodeetoo]

PITCHING MATCHUPS (05/14 - 05/16)

05/14: RHP Chris Archer (3-5, 3.77) vs RHP Ian Kennedy (1-3, 4.57)
05/15: RHP Matt Andriese (4-1, 1.96) vs RHP Jake Junis (5-1, 2.37)
05/16: LHP Blake Snell (2-1, 3.59) vs LHP Eric Skoglund (2-4, 8.05)

GAME RECAPS

May 14th, 2018
Rays (19-20) 4, Royals (22-20) 5
Winner: Ian Kennedy (2-3) Loser: Chris Archer (3-6) Save: Kelvin Herrera (7)

Royals Hang On; Pick Up Close 5-4 Victory

The Royals picked up a win; knocking off the Tampa Bay Rays by a 5-4 count to move back to two games over .500. Starting pitcher Ian Kennedy, who captured player of the game honors, was a big reason why with seven and one-third strong innings of three-run ball to pick up the win. Kelvin Herrera endured a bumpy ninth, issuing three walks and a hit after entering with a two-run lead, but was able to weather the storm with just one run allowed to pick up the save. Mike Moustakas continued his back-and-forth battle with Miguel Cabrera for the AL lead in RBI, as Moose added two more with a two-run homerun in the fifth.

MLB SCOREBOARD
Tampa Bay (19-20) 4, Kansas City (22-20) 5
Oakland (23-18) 3, Boston (17-25) 9
Cleveland (19-21) 3, Detroit (25-17) 6
Houston (25-18) 10, LA Angels (20-22)
Milwaukee (16-26) 4, Arizona (20-21) 3
Cincinnati (18-23) 3, San Francisco (16-26) 13
Colorado (23-19) 7, San Diego (24-19) 3

May 15th, 2018
Rays (20-20) 6, Royals (22-21) 3
Winner: Sergio Romo (1-2) Loser: Tim Hill (1-2) Save: Alex Colome (10)

Bullpen Collapses in 6-3 Defeat

In spite of Jake Junis' seven strong innings with a career-high eleven strikeouts; the Royals' bullpen couldn't manage to keep a 3-3 tie in the eighth inning, allowing three runs in the eighth inning alone as the Rays evened the series with a 6-3 victory. Tim Hill entered the game at the beginning of the eighth, and immediately put two runners on base thanks to a single and a hit batsman. Kevin McCarthy entered the game, and fanned C.J. Cron for the first out, but Christian Arroyo delivered the go-ahead hit to put the Rays up 4-3. Later in the inning, Brandon Maurer allowed a two-out, two-RBI hit to Adeiny Hecheverria before coaxing a groundball out from Curt Casali. Junis continued his hot streak of quality starts, with his eighth quality start in nine total starts for the 2018 season. He walked just one batter while scattering six hits and three earned runs.

MLB SCOREBOARD
Cleveland (20-21) 9, Detroit (25-18) 5
Philadelphia (25-17) 17, Baltimore (17-26) 5
Oakland (23-19) 3, Boston (18-25) 14
Tampa Bay (20-20) 6, Kansas City (22-21) 3
St. Louis (20-19) 13, Minnesota (21-20) 1
Texas (20-23) 2, Seattle (17-24) 1 (Final/10)
Houston (26-18) 5, LA Angels (20-23) 3
Colorado (23-20) 4, San Diego (25-19) 11
NY Yankees (29-14) 5, Washington (20-23) 6
Chi. Sox (15-26) 2, Pittsburgh (19-21) 8
Toronto (18-24) 5, NY Mets (21-20) 1
LA Dodgers (29-12) 3, Miami (14-27) 2
Milwaukee (17-26) 7, Arizona (20-22) 0
Chi. Cubs (23-18) 2, Atlanta (28-14) 6
Cincinnati (16-27) 4, San Francisco (16-27) 3

May 16th, 2018
Rays (20-21) 3, Royals (23-21) 4
Winner: Burch Smith (2-1) Loser: Blake Snell (2-2) Save: Kelvin Herrera (8)

Royals Nip Rays Thanks to Orlando Homerun

Capping off a tough, hard-fought series, the Royals used a big, two-out, two-run homerun from Paulo Orlando in the sixth inning to help push the Royals past the Rays 4-3. Burch Smith picked up the win after blowing a one-run lead on a homerun to Adeiny Hecheverria, but sandwiched six strikeouts around the homerun in his two innings of work, becoming the first Royals reliever in over twenty years to fan six batters in two innings. Kelvin Herrera had a much easier ninth for his eighth save, allowing just one hit in a scoreless inning. Blake Snell went the distance for the Rays in the loss, allowing four runs in eight innings to give a taxed Rays bullpen the night off. On a lower note, Cheslor Cuthbert left the game in the eighth inning with a lower back injury, and was replaced by Ryan Goins. Cuthbert has had a solid season to this point, slashing .308/.337/.526 in eighty-six plate appearances. The Royals begin a tough series with the Yankees tomorrow night, as the Bombers have baseball's best record.

MLB SCOREBOARD
Tampa Bay (20-21) 3, Kansas City (23-21) 4
Cleveland (20-22) 2, Detroit (26-18) 4
Philadelphia (25-18) 7, Baltimore (18-26) 11
St. Louis (21-19) 12, Minnesota (21-21) 0
Texas (20-24) 2, Seattle (18-24) 8
Houston (27-18) 2, LA Angels (20-24) 1
Oakland (23-20) 11, Boston (19-25) 14 (Final/10)
Chi. Sox (15-27) 4, Pittsburgh (20-21) 5
Milwaukee (18-26) 6, Arizona (20-23) 2
Toronto (18-25) 4, NY Mets (22-20) 6
Cincinnati (19-24) 5, San Francisco (17-27) 6
NY Yankees (29-15) 5, Washington (21-23) 10
Chi. Cubs (24-18) 7, Atlanta (28-15) 1
LA Dodgers (29-13) 3, Miami (15-27) 7

MAJOR NEWS/INJURIES/TRANSACTIONS
05/14: Tigers' Cabrera, Braves' Freeman named MLB Players of the Week
05/14: Dodgers top new BNN Power Rankings; wrest top spot from Yankees
05/15: League hands out four-game suspension to Houston's Derek Fisher, six games to Angels' Andrew Heaney post-brawl yesterday
05/16: C Buster Posey (Giants) placed on 10-day disabled list, retroactive to 05/15/2018 (Concussion)
05/16: RHP Ryan Madson (Nationals) placed on 10-day disabled list, retroactive to 05/15/2018 (Oblique strain); RHP Koda Glover re-called from Triple-A rehab assignment
05/17: 3B Cheslor Cuthbert (Royals) placed on 10-day disabled list, retroactive to 05/16/2018 (Lower back strain); IF Ramon Torres re-called from Triple-A

[artoodeetoo]

CUTHBERT GOES TO DL; LOPEZ PROMOTED

It was an incredibly hectic day around the front office today, as we had to shuffle around our roster with some of the upper minor leagues, as well as the MLB roster. In addition to Cheslor Cuthbert going on the disabled list, we re-called Ramon Torres to take his place. It also will allow us to get a good look at 2B/SS Nicky Lopez in Omaha, as he was called up from Double-A to replace Torres there. He's generally considered to be one of our top four or five prospects (depending on who you talk to), and he's arguably the best defender in the middle infield that we have in the minors. With him at second, and Mondesi at shortstop, it's a possible preview of our future double-play combo.

[artoodeetoo]

MINOR LEAGUE PROSPECTS TO WATCH

Trevor Oaks, RHP, Omaha: He got off to a really rough start, but in his last five starts (covering 29 IP), Oaks has fanned twenty-three against just five walks, and has won his last three games. His most recent performance was his best career performance to date -- a one-hit shutout at New Orleans on Monday, the 14th. He fanned four with no walks, and faced just one over the minimum. He's really at his best when he's not trying to strike people out, and he's looking to get ground ball outs.

Foster Griffin, LHP, NW Arkansas: Formerly one of the top prospects in baseball, Griffin endured a rough outing on last Thursday, May 10th, going just five innings while allowing ten runs (nine earned). However, his overall numbers (3.05 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, .212 BAA) are very solid; and even more encouragingly, he has seen a sharp increase in K/9 rates over 2017, with 8.9 through 44 1/3 innings (81 K in 104 2/3 AA IP in 2017) without an increase in his walk rate.

Chris DeVito, 1B, Wilmington: Under-the-radar first base prospect that has reached base in all but two games this season for the Blue Rocks (36 of 38 games), slashing .323/.386/.458 in the process, and managed an impressive 23-game hit streak to begin the season. Upon being called up to Wilmington halfway through last season, he struggled a bit to adjust, but seems to have acclimated to the level. Has some competition at first base blocking him in the higher levels, so it remains to be seen how high he can go.

Yefri Del Rosario, RHP, Lexington: Del Rosario won't be nineteen until next season, and he's playing against players that are three to five years older than he is. He started out in the bullpen, but with Garrett Davila moving up to the Advanced-A level, he was slotted in the rotation a few weeks ago and has held his own, picking up a pair of quality starts in both appearances. His hard stuff is still pretty straight; but if his secondary stuff develops like it should, his fastball is going to be the least of opposing batters' worries.

[artoodeetoo]

MINOR LEAGUE STANDINGS UPDATE