Royal Rebuild [OOTP 19]

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Re: Royal Rebuild [OOTP 19]

ALDS ROSTER SET
Phillips, Mejia notable omissions
By artoodeetoo
10/04/2019

Kansas City's playoff roster for the ALDS against Houston is now set, with five outfielders, six infielders, two catchers, and twelve pitchers. Of the twelve pitchers, three are starters with Jimmy Nelson, Trevor Oaks, and Danny Duffy as the starters. Luis Cessa, who made nearly thirty starts this season, is not slated to start any of the games, but is going to come out of the bullpen.

Drew Smith, Nathan Karns, and Jorge Lopez are other right-handers that can come out of the bullpen for multiple innings. Notably absent from the pitching staff is Jake Junis, but it is thought that he'd be the fourth starter in a seven-game series. The Royals are also carrying two southpaws -- Tony Cingrani and Richard Lovelady.

Despite being cleared to play near the end of the season, Brett Phillips was not added to the roster. Instead, Jorge Soler will take his place, giving the Royals a right-handed power bat off the bench. Samir Duenez was also a surprise addition, making only fourteen at-bats in September, but hit a couple of homeruns.

Also, it's worth noting that there is only one true infield reserve in Hunter Dozier (Duenez is just a left-handed throwing 1B). If injuries strike in the middle infield, the Royals are going to have to get creative in how they align their defense.

Dozier is mainly a corner infielder, as he has not played shortstop since the lower minors. Cheslor Cuthbert has played some second base (2016), so he'd likely get the nod, even though he wasn't extremely comfortable there that season in the limited time he spent.

The full roster by position is below:

CATCHERS: 13 Salvador Perez, 36 Cam Gallagher
INFIELD: 8 Nicky Lopez, 17 Hunter Dozier, 19 Cheslor Cuthbert, 22 Peter Alonso, 27 Adalberto Mondesi, 67 Samir Duenez
OUTFIELD: 4 Alex Gordon, 6 Billy Hamilton, 12 Jorge Soler, 16 David Peralta, 25 Brian Goodwin
PITCHERS: 23 Richard Lovelady, 34 Trevor Oaks, 39 Blake Treinen, 41 Danny Duffy, 43 Drew Smith, 46 Josh Fields, 47 Corey Knebel, 52 Jorge Lopez, 54 Jimmy Nelson, 55 Nathan Karns, 56 Tony Cingrani, 85 Luis Cessa

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Re: Royal Rebuild [OOTP 19]

ROYALS DIVISIONAL SERIES PREVIEW
Royals facing team with best home record in MLB
By artoodeetoo
10/05/2019

ROYALS SUPERLATIVES
Overall Record: 88-74 (1st, AL Central)
Home Record: 49-32
Away Record: 39-42
Extra Innings: 10-10
One-run Games: 25-31
Last 10 Games: 7-3

ASTROS SUPERLATIVES
Overall Record: 108-54 (1st, AL West)
Home Record: 62-19
Away Record: 46-35
Extra Innings: 5-7
One-run Games: 27-15
Last 10 Games: 8-2

PITCHING PROBABLES
Game 1: RHP Jimmy Nelson vs RHP Lance McCullers, Jr.
Game 2: RHP Trevor Oaks vs RHP Gerrit Cole
Game 3: RHP Brad Peacock vs LHP Danny Duffy
Game 4 (IN): RHP Lance McCullers, Jr. vs RHP Jimmy Nelson
Game 5 (IN): RHP Trevor Oaks vs RHP Gerrit Cole

On paper, this looks to be a mismatch as the Astros rank in the top five in every offensive and defensive/pitching category, and have the star power to back up the numbers -- Paul Goldschmidt has been the best player in baseball since being acquired before the July 31st deadline, and that's including the pantheon of standouts they already have on the roster; many of them around the last time the Astros were in the World Series in 2017, winning it over the Dodgers.

Kansas City lags far behind in some offensive categories, mostly the power categories (13th in homeruns, 11th in extra-base hits, 9th in slugging, 7th in OPS), but are comparable elsewhere. They'll be led by rookie phenom Peter Alonso, who is likely the shoo-in for the AL Rookie of the Year (and may possibly get MVP votes), despite not arriving from the minor leagues until late May.

2019 All-Star third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert, who drove in the eighth-most runs in the AL (118), and outfielder Brian Goodwin (.308/.376/.515) are the other main offensive threats. Billy Hamilton (65), and Raul Mondesi (43) helped the Royals lead all of baseball in steals, with Nicky Lopez's twenty-one steals giving the Royals the only threesome in baseball with two 40-base stealers and one with at least twenty.

However, the Royals can certainly compete pitching-wise. The Royals ranked first in the Junior Circuit with a 4.10 starter's ERA, and are slightly better overall (3.98 for Houston, as opposed to Kansas City's 3.95). In an interesting move, Royals manager Ned Yost announced that Jimmy Nelson, not Danny Duffy, will start Game 1 at Houston against ace Lance McCullers, Jr.

In fact, Duffy won't make his first post-season start until Game 3, which is more than ten days since his most previous start. It's a risk, but one that Yost seems to be willing to take to get a more favorable matchup. Duffy will face off against righty Brad Peacock in that matchup.

"It's all about the ballpark and matchups," said Yost in his post-season press conference a few days ago, when he announced the move following a question from the media. "Jimmy's been the best at keeping the ball down this season between both his stops, here and Milwaukee, so we hope that continues."

Nelson has been solid since coming over in a mid-season deal from the Brewers; racking up a 4-0 record in eleven starts with the Royals, striking out fifty-three in 66 1/3 innings. Trevor Oaks, who statistically was the Royals' best pitcher this season, will get the ball in Game 2 against right-hander Gerrit Cole.

As is the key with most underdog teams in the playoffs, the Royals need to steal one in Houston before getting their two games in Kansas City. That will be a tall task as the Astros had the best home record in baseball, amassing a 62-19 mark at Minute Maid Park.

"I think they're a far better team now than they were four years ago, obviously," Yost quipped when asked about the 2015 ALDS where the Royals prevailed in five games, going on to win the World Series that year. "Those guys that were just breaking into the league then, didn't really know how good they were. It's not all that surprising that they've reached the heights they have."

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Re: Royal Rebuild [OOTP 19]

WILD CARD RECAP
Boston, St. Louis move on to divisional series matchups
By David LoPietro, MLB.com
10/05/2019

Less than a week after returning from the disabled list, Cleveland turned to ace Corey Kluber on Thursday night to help them get past the Red Sox; but he couldn't get out of the fourth inning as the Red Sox scored three off him in the third, and left with one out in the fourth before Boston turned on the offense again in the later innings of a 9-1 victory.

"The idea that our season was over if we lost was motivating," said first baseman Justin Bour, who led Boston with three hits in five at-bats, including a pair of RBI. "We had a really great season, but we didn't want to go home in one game. We worked too hard to get here."

The leader of an under-achieving starting rotation in 2019; Chris Sale was named the MVP of the game, tossing a complete-game one-run masterpiece, scattering six hits and six strikeouts.

In the National League matchup last night, pitching was again key for the victors, as St. Louis used an outstanding performance from Michael Wacha to up-end the Rockies by a 4-2 count on the road. Wacha fanned just four, but scattered four hits and largely kept the ball in the ballpark over his seven and two-third inning performance (one HR).

Matt Carpenter and Marcell Ozuna homered for the Cardinals, while Khris Davis hit a two-run homerun in the seventh inning to cut the Cards' 4-0 lead in half, but that's as close as the Rox would get. Aroldis Chapman came in in the eighth with two out and gave up a single; but worked around that hit, and a single in the ninth to pick up the save.

Boston begins their ALDS series at New York tonight, while the Cardinals play in Game 1 of their NLDS series against the top-seeded Mets tomorrow night, Sunday, October 6th.

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Re: Royal Rebuild [OOTP 19]

KANSAS CITY @ HOUSTON (GAME 1, ALDS)

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Re: Royal Rebuild [OOTP 19]

WILD CARD SCORES
10/03/2019: Cleveland 1, Boston 9
W: Chris Sale L: Corey Kluber S: None

10/04/2019: St. Louis 4, Colorado 2
W: Michael Wacha L: Jon Gray S: Aroldis Chapman

DIVISIONAL SERIES SCORES
ALDS Game 1: Kansas City 1, Houston 4
W: Lance McCullers, Jr L: Jimmy Nelson S: Jandel Gustave

ALDS Game 1: 10/05/2019: Boston 6, NY Yankees 5
W: Eduardo Rodriguez L: Chad Green S: Grant Dayton

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Re: Royal Rebuild [OOTP 19]

KLUBER DIAGNOSED WITH TORN HAMSTRING
Righty left Wild Card start early with lower leg injury
By Jason Frampton, MLB.com
10/06/2019

Corey Kluber's injury woes went from bad to worse today, as he was diagnosed with a Grade 1 tear of his right hamstring, his drive leg. It's a lower-grade strain, which means he won't be out for long, just six to seven weeks. But it will push back his offseason program, as he won't be slated to begin offseason work until nearly the end of the year.

He left during the fourth inning of their 9-1 defeat to Boston, ending their playoff run in the Wild Card matchup.

"Just a real disappointing way to end the season," said the two-time Cy Young winner. "It felt good to get back out there and try to get us back to the World Series, but it just didn't work out this time."

Kluber slogged through an injury-riddled 8-7 season in twenty-one starts, dealing with lower back and elbow issues as well as the hamstring. He says that those issues seem to have resolved themselves, but that new areas that keep popping up is a concern for him going forward.

"It's just getting with team docs and figuring out if there's something in my routine that's doing this," he said. "I'm just focused on getting healthy and getting back to the mound in time for the spring."

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Re: Royal Rebuild [OOTP 19]

KANSAS CITY @ HOUSTON (GAME 2, ALDS)

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Re: Royal Rebuild [OOTP 19]

ROYALS HEAD BACK TO KAUFFMAN FULL OF OPTIMISM
Clubhouse upbeat despite 2-0 ALDS deficit
By artoodeetoo
10/07/2019

Manager Ned Yost said it best after last night's 10-6 loss -- "There's no place like home." He's right, as the Royals have been much better at home this year, as opposed to being on the road (+10). Houston was the same way, going 62-19 in home games, but they were still very good on the road, going 46-35.

"We still feel really good about where we're at right now," Yost added earlier this morning, speaking to reporters via conference call from the stadium. "Would we have liked to have stolen one in Houston? Sure, but now you just take it one game at a time. Don't worry about Games 4, 5. Just go out and win the one in front of you."

Noticeably absent from the first two games was any production from the middle of the order. Spots 3-through-6 in the order in Game 1 went 1-for-12, with the only hit coming off the bat of David Peralta, a solo homerun. In Game 2, they were better; in fact, each starter had at least one hit, but couldn't overcome a rough pitching performance from Game 2 starter Trevor Oaks and reliever Luis Cessa, who allowed five earned runs each.

Adalberto Mondesi also hit one of the longest homeruns in Minute Maid Park history -- a 469-foot blast that cleared the center-field fence, which is some 430 feet from home plate. He hit it off reliever Will Harris in the eighth inning of last night's game, but it was too little, too late.

"I've seen him hit some real bombs in BP," said Yost. "Guy has some nice untapped power that we hope comes around a little more in the future."

For the Royals to win the next two games and head back to Houston for the pivotal Game 5, they'll need more of that from Mondesi, and to build on their offensive performance from Game 2. Without that, however, they'll likely see the Astros celebrate moving onto the ALCS on their home field.

"I remember 2014, watching the Giants celebrate on the field after winning Game 7," said veteran outfielder Alex Gordon. "It left a bad taste in our mouths, and it was a real driving factor in why we were so driven to win it the next year. You know, we're down, but not out of this; we're kind of being written off. I wouldn't say that just yet."

Brad Peacock will take the ball for Houston in Game 3, while Danny Duffy will try to help the Royals stave off elimination.

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Re: Royal Rebuild [OOTP 19]

10/06/2019: DIVISIONAL SERIES SCORES
ALDS Game 2: Kansas City 6, Houston 10
W: Gerrit Cole L: Trevor Oaks S: Jandel Gustave

ALDS Game 2: Boston 10, NY Yankees 4
W: J.A. Happ L: Masahiro Tanaka S: None

NLDS Game 1: St. Louis 3, NY Mets 4
W: Noah Syndergaard L: Aroldis Chapman S: None

NLDS Game 1: Chi. Cubs 2, LA Dodgers 4
W: Clayton Kershaw L: Addison Reed S: Trevor Rosenthal

10/07/2019: DIVISIONAL SERIES SCORES
NLDS Game 2: St. Louis 3, NY Mets 5
W: Liam Hendriks L: Aroldis Chapman S: None

NLDS Game 2: Chi. Cubs 13, LA Dodgers 3
W: Yu Darvish L: Alex Wood S: None

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Re: Royal Rebuild [OOTP 19]

HOUSTON @ KANSAS CITY (GAME 3, ALDS)

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Re: Royal Rebuild [OOTP 19]

10/08/2019: DIVISIONAL SERIES SCORES
ALDS Game 3: Houston 3, Kansas City 12
W: Danny Duffy L: Brad Peacock S: None

ALDS Game 3: NY Yankees 4, Boston 2
W: Sonny Gray L: Chris Sale S: Tommy Kahnle

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Re: Royal Rebuild [OOTP 19]

MINOR-LEAGUE PITCHERS EARN YEARLY AWARDS
Ponce, Hinton win PCL and SAL honors
By artoodeetoo
10/08/2019

The Royals had two pitchers earn their respective minor league's Pitcher of the Year awards earlier this week; as Lexington's (Single-A) Kyle Hinton and Omaha's (Triple-A) Cody Ponce, both right-handers, won these honors.

Starring as the Legends' closer, Hinton rolled through South Atlantic league play with a 1.84 ERA and thirty-seven saves in forty opportunities. He fanned seventy-nine hitters in sixty-three innings, covering fifty-eight games. Fellow teammate Brady Singer finished second in the voting, amassing four of the possible fourteen first-place votes. Hinton garnered the other ten.

Ponce received nine of the possible sixteen first-place votes, winning over Phil Klein and Jordan Hicks, both of Memphis. Round Rock's part-time closer, Eddie Butler, also received two first-place votes, but finished fourth. Klein and Hicks received three and two first-place tallies, respectively.

He struggled in the second half of the season, but Ponce led the PCL in wins (14), innings (172.0), and was second in quality starts (14), behind teammate Eric Skoglund, who had sixteen. His 4.03 ERA was more than a point worse than Klein's 2.88, and about three-fourths of a point worse than Hicks' 3.34, but both were used out of the bullpen more than half the time, while Ponce did his work as a starter only.

The Carolina League (High-A) is expected to announce their annual pitching award, among others, tomorrow night. 2018 first-rounder Jackson Kowar is considered a favorite to win the Carolina League's Pitcher of the Year.

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Re: Royal Rebuild [OOTP 19]

HOUSTON @ KANSAS CITY (GAME 4, ALDS)

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Re: Royal Rebuild [OOTP 19]

ORIOLES HIRE TINGLER AS MANAGER
Royals' Picollo emerges as top Seattle EVP/GM candidate
10/10/2019
By MLB.com Staff

Baltimore has hired Rangers special assistant Jayce Tingler to take over as the team's manager, the club announced earlier this morning. Tingler has been a minor-league coach, but has never been the skipper at any level before joining the Rangers' front office.

Just thirty-eight, he brings a wealth of playing experience as well as his minor league coaching experiences. He was involved with the development of the minor league scouting programs for the Rangers, working pretty closely with team vice-president and general manager Jon Daniels.

Unless the Mariners, Blue Jays, or Rays hire someone younger, Tingler is now the current youngest manager in baseball, at thirty-eight years of age. He'll be thirty-nine on Opening Day 2020, but being a young guy doesn't bother him in the least.

"This is something I've prepared for, worked for, and I'm happy to be here," he said. "We're going to get to work right away, and help the Orioles be the best franchise in the league."

The Orioles are well-positioned to make a huge improvement, and they already have a great leadership team in place with general manager Kevin Nicholson and executive vice president Theo Epstein. They drafted Bobby Witt, Jr., with the first pick in last year's draft, and are poised to pick in the top ten again this year.

Even with Chris Davis' albatross contract, this is a team that should be able to go out and improve the club via free agency. They had the worst bullpen ERA of any team not named the Reds in all of baseball, and there are a wealth of arms that should be available on the free-agent market, should they decide to go that route.

Elsewhere around the league...

**Two names have surfaced in the Reds' and Mariners' search for a top personnel decision-maker -- Frank Wren, who is currently with the Red Sox as a special advisor, and Royals minor-league director J.J. Picollo. Picollo was passed over for the Royals' GM job two years ago before hiring Travis Greenleaf, who has the Royals on the cusp of returning to the ALCS in just his second year running the team. The 48-year-old Picollo would also have the added bonus of likely bringing Royals scouting director Lonnie Goldberg, who has been one of the main architects of this year's Royals team. Other names on the periphery seem to be Tony Reagins, who works in the MLB front office, and Pirates assistant GM Kyle Stark, who surfaced as a name only recently. Wren is not known for his adept management of a major-league roster, but is well-regarded for his farm system prowess, which both franchises could use to rebuild their pipelines. -- Jason Frampton

**The Red Sox inked a two-year contract extension with catcher Robinson Chirinos, mere hours after Boston's series-clinching victory over the Yankees. He'll make $4.9M in 2020, but the 2021 year is a $4.9M vesting option that activates only if he hits 480 PA in 2020, which would be a tough goal. He also has incentives that could push his total salary to $5.06M in 2021 if he meets the vesting goal. It's a nice raise for Chirinos, who made just $1.1M this past season and will be thirty-five on Opening Day. -- David LoPietro

**Free-agent-to-be Michael Pineda pushed back his offseason workout program three weeks after finding out the inflammation within his pitching elbow was not healing as fast as hoped after a throwing session that caused some minor pain. Additional procedures will not be required, but it's a red flag for teams looking to invest in the former All-Star. Pineda was 6-10, spinning a 4.54 ERA last year with the Twins in twenty-one starts. -- Jason Frampton

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Re: Royal Rebuild [OOTP 19]

10/09/2019: DIVISIONAL SERIES SCORES
ALDS Game 4: Houston 3, Kansas City 4 (F/14)
W: Drew Smith L: Riley Ferrell S: None

ALDS Game 4: NY Yankees 6, Boston 8
W: Rick Porcello L: Zack Godley S: Archie Bradley

NLDS Game 3: NY Mets 1, St, Louis 2
W: Michael Wacha L: Dallas Keuchel S: Arodys Vizcaino

NLDS Game 3: LA Dodgers 4, Chi. Cubs 0
W: Walker Buehler L: Jon Lester S: None

10/10/2019: DIVISIONAL SERIES SCORES
NLDS Game 4: NY Mets 2, St, Louis 7
W: Miles Mikolas L: Felix Hernandez S: None

NLDS Game 4: LA Dodgers 1, Chi. Cubs 5
W: Kyle Hendricks L: Nathan Eovaldi S: None