One Royal Way (OOTP 23)

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MLB News (07/14)

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Royal Rumblings (07/14)

Royal Rumblings

By Brian Douglas | Kansas City Star | July 14th, 2022

Perez Wins AL Catcher Vote: Salvador Perez continues to add to his impressive career resume, notching his eighth All-Star appearance, including his sixth selection via the fan vote. His eight appearances in team history is second only to George Brett's thirteen.

He earned just over 2.6 million votes, beating out Yasmani Grandal of the White Sox by about 480,000 votes, and Sean Murphy in Oakland by about 650,000. His vote total was the fifth-highest amongst AL players.

His twenty-three homeruns lead all catchers in baseball, and he's also thrown out 10-of-33 (30.3%) of would-be base stealers, including nine of his last twenty-four.

With the fan vote complete, the attention will now turn to the player ballot that will select an additional 17 players for each side, including a second-team DH for each league.
From there, the commissioner's office will pick eight additional players (four NL, four AL) to fill out the roster. This is also the step where the commissioner's office will ensure that all teams are represented.

The remainder of the All-Star teams will be released on Sunday, along with the Home Run Derby lineup and the Futures Game final roster.

Royals, Guardians Strike Deal: It's rare to see a trade within the division, but the Royals reached an agreement late last night to ship lefty Amir Garrett to Cleveland for utility player Ernie Clement.

In his age-30 season, Garrett pitched to a 3.62/3.01 FIP/SIERA combination over 31 2/3 innings of work, covering thirty-three appearances. A robust 32% strikeout rate is enticing, although an elevated walk rate of 12.1% probably kept most other competing suitors at bay.

What's interesting is that the Royals typically don't deal players with multiple years of control remaining as Garrett had, but with a plethora of southpaw relief options already on the 40-man and in the minors, the deal makes some sense. Garrett doesn't hit free agency until after the 2023 season.

Richard Lovelady is working his way through a rehab assignment (and pitching well, I might add), Gabe Speier is set to come back off his rehab stint, and still others like non-roster veteran Sam Freeman, Foster Griffin, and youngster Josh Dye are in Triple-A for additional depth.

At twenty-six and drafted in the fourth round out of Virginia in 2017, Clement has played in the majors in parts of the last two seasons. More known for his glovework, he's a right-handed version of Nicky Lopez -- MLB-average hit tool, few walks, few strikeouts, although he has displayed a bit more power throughout his pro career.

Despite an OPS of .768 in 141 plate appearances with the Guardians earlier in the season, putting him at an OPS+ of 113, he has spent roughly half the season in Triple-A. Of his thirty-four hits with Cleveland, he has ten doubles and three homeruns, including one of those homeruns the game-winner on June 1st against the Royals.

Clement was added to the 40-man roster and optioned to Triple-A, where he'll replace veteran infielder Angelo Castellano, who was released by the club.

Lynch Optioned; Keller Re-Called: Despite a poor rehab outing against Durham last night, righty Brad Keller was activated from his rehab assignment in favor of Daniel Lynch, who was optioned to Triple-A just a day after his latest outing in which he allowed five earned runs in 5 2/3 innings.

In his last three starts, Lynch has allwed sixteen earned runs in just twelve innings, ballooning his ERA a full point from 4.44 to 5.46. What's worse is that his strikeouts are way down over a year ago, as he's fanning just 12.5% of hitters faced this year, as opposed to 17.6% last year in his first MLB stint.

Part of that is that he's inducing less soft contact over last season as well, with an exit velo of 94.5 MPH, compared to 91.3 MPH in 2021. His velocity is not much different than last year, posting a 94.1 MPH fastball on average this year, compared to 93.8 a season ago.

Keller isn't scheduled to start against Toronto in this series, but will likely get the ball to begin the second half at home against the Tampa Bay Rays on the 22nd.

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2022 Draft Preview (07/14)

2022 Draft Preview

By Brian Douglas | Kansas City Star | July 14th, 2022

With the ninth overall pick in Sunday's Rule 4 draft, the Royals have now held a top-ten pick for four straight seasons dating back to the 2019 draft. It appears likely that their 2023 pick will be a top-ten selection as well, even with the new lottery rules taking effect.

Draft spending this year figures to break records, especially with the influx of revenues as baseball begins to recover financially from the effects of the pandemic over the last handful of years. Kansas City has the seventh-highest pool in the league, coming in with a robust $14.37 million. The Royals' two first rounders (9th, 35th overall) come in with slot values of $6.45 and $2.63 million alone.

That $14.37 million figure is also the highest in the division, with Cleveland ($13.5511 million), Minnesota ($12.47 million), Detroit ($10.32 million), and the White Sox ($8.42 million) as the other four teams' amounts. Twenty-one of the league's thirty teams also check in with a pool amount in the eight figures.

This is a great draft if you're looking for prep talent, especially for infielders. However, most mocks have been projecting the Royals taking prep outfielder Elijah Green, a big, rangy, speedy center fielder whom some project could end up as a corner outfielder with plus-plus power. He's committed to the University of Miami.

Arkansas infielder Robert Moore (yes, Dayton's son) is also a possibility per some prognosticators, but it's difficult to fathom the Royals pass on someone like Green or LSU third baseman Jacob Berry, who is projected to go 1-1, just to take the GM's son, even if he is a top-10-to-15 talent in his own right.

The Royals hit the prep pitching market hard in 2021 with Frank Mozzicato, Ben Kudrna, and Shane Panzini with their first three picks, although it's not hard to have flashbacks to the 2015 class in which Ashe Russell and Nolan Watson were taken in back-to-back picks out of Indiana high schools that year. Both have flamed out and are out of baseball, although as recently as last year, Russell attempted a comeback.

Kudrna was selected to the Futures Game roster for the American League, but was the only Royals prospect selected.

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Series Preview -- Kansas City (39-49) @ Toronto (42-47)

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PITCHING MATCHUPS
07/14: LHP Kris Bubic (1-2, 5.83) vs RHP Kevin Gausman (6-8, 3.88)
07/15: LHP Angel Zerpa (0-3, 3.79) vs RHP Nate Pearson (3-4, 4.58)
07/16: RHP Zack Greinke (2-6, 3.98) vs LHP Yusei Kikuchi (2-3, 5.22)
07/17: RHP Brad Keller (1-3, 2.68) vs RHP Jose Berrios (5-8, 4.64)

WHO'S HOT?
IF Bo Bichette, Toronto -- 10-for-20 (.500) 2 2B, 4 HR
RHP Kevin Gausman, Toronto -- 21.2 IP, 24 K, 6 ER (2 starts)

WHO'S NOT?
IF Hunter Dozier, Kansas City -- 5-for-45 (.111), BB, 17 K
IF Emmanuel Rivera, Kansas City -- 3-for-21 (.142), 6 K

KANSAS CITY INJURED LIST
SS Adalberto Mondesi (knee) -- 60-day IL

TORONTO INJURED LIST
LHP Ryan Borucki (elbow) -- 60-day IL
OF Teoscar Hernandez (concussion) -- 60-day IL
RHP Alek Manoah (forearm) -- 10-day IL

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Kansas City @ Toronto (07/14 -- 07/17)

Team Roster/Records | MLB Standings | Statistics

Series Recap: Toronto Blue Jays

By Brian Douglas | Kansas City Star | July 18th, 2022

Kansas City Royals at Toronto Blue Jays
Jul 14, 2022	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (39-50)	2	0	1	2	0	0	0	0	1	6	8	0
Toronto Blue Jays (43-47)	0	1	0	1	0	1	4	3	X	10	11	0
W: Oliver Drake (1-1) L: Will Kincanon (1-1) S: None

Thursday, July 14th, 2022
Things looked promising at the outset of Thursday night's game, as the Royals got out to a 5-1 lead after three-and-a-half innings. But Kansas City was outscored 9-1 the rest of the way in absorbing a 10-6 loss to open the final series prior to the All-Star break.

On the plus side -- Kris Bubic pitched fairly well, allowing just three earned runs in 5 2/3 innings, scattering six hits, two walks, and five strikeouts. The bad news was that two of their more reliable relievers were blown up by the Blue Jays' lineup.

Matt Chapman clubbed a pair of homeruns, and Vlad Guerrero Jr's three-run blast in the seventh against Will Kincanon put them in front for good. Salvador Perez kicked off the scoring in the first as he parked a 424-foot blast over the center field wall.

Kincanon and Gabe Speier surrendered seven earned runs between them, with only Collin Snider able to stop the bleeding with two-thirds of a scoreless inning.

Whit Merrifield led the Royals with three hits and two RBI. Perez also added a sac fly in the third, and Andrew Benintendi doubled home a run in the ninth in garbage time.

Kansas City Royals at Toronto Blue Jays
Jul 15, 2022	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (39-51)	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	1
Toronto Blue Jays (44-47)	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	X	2	4	0
W: Yimi Garcia (3-2) L: Joel Payamps (0-3) S: Jordan Romano (21)

Friday, July 15th, 2022
The top three of the Royals' order went 4-for-12, but the rest of the lineup went 0-for-19 as the offense sputtered in a 2-1 loss to Toronto. It spoiled a great pitching effort by southpaw Angel Zerpa, as he allowed just one earned run in six innings, scattering two hits and a walk with three strikeouts.

The loss dropped the Royals to a season-worst dozen games below .500, and also below the Tigers for the basement in the AL Central.

With a double and a homerun, Luke Voit was the offensive hero for the Blue Jays. His homerun snapped a 1-1 tie in the seventh against Joel Payamps, who came in for Zerpa beginning at the start of that frame.

After a two-hit performance against his old team in Thursday's game, Michael A. Taylor went 1-for-3 with a pair of stolen bases, and also robbed Andrew Benintendi of a hit with a sliding catch in the fourth inning.

Kansas City Royals at Toronto Blue Jays
Jul 16, 2022	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (39-52)	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	5	0
Toronto Blue Jays (45-47)	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	3	X	5	9	0
W: Yusei Kikuchi (3-3) L: Zack Greinke (2-7) S: Tim Mayza (2)

Saturday, July 16th, 2022
Making just his sixth start of the season for Toronto, Yusei Kikuchi went 7 2/3 strong innings, allowing just one earned run and striking out six as the Blue Jays clinched the series victory by a 5-1 score in Saturday's game.

The only tally the Royals scored was a solo homerun from newly-minted All-Star starting catcher Salvador Perez to lead off the second, as he now has twenty-five homeruns for the season. Luke Voit tied the game with a solo shot in the fifth, and then broke the tie with his second homerun of the contest in the seventh.

Zack Greinke went 7 2/3 innings for the Royals, surrendering four homeruns, including two in the bottom of the eighth, before Dylan Coleman came in to record the final out, working around a hit and a walk.

Kansas City Royals at Toronto Blue Jays
Jul 17, 2022	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (40-52)	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	3	4	0
Toronto Blue Jays (45-48)	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	6	0
W: Gabe Speier (1-1) L: Jose Berrios (5-9) S: Scott Barlow (15)

Sunday, July 17th, 2022
Kansas City collected just four hits, but three of them were solo homeruns, and those three runs were enough to salvage the final game of their series with Toronto in a 3-2 victory.

The victory snapped a three-game losing streak, and was enough to get them out of the basement just prior to the All-Star break as Detroit fell in their contest to Cleveland 10-8 on Sunday.

Brad Keller got the start over Brady Singer, who will reportedly make the first start of the season's second half on Friday against the Rays. Keller threw just seventy pitches, and didn't allow an earned runs through 4 2/3 innings. He scattered just two hits and three walks, striking out two.

Working around a leadoff walk and a two-out hit, Scott Barlow worked a scoreless ninth to pick up his 15th save. Vinnie Pasquantino and Bobby Witt, Jr., hit solo homeruns, and Edward Olivares also hit a homerun in his first action since being activated from the injured list.

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MLB News (07/18)

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Royal Rumblings (07/18)

Royal Rumblings

By Brian Douglas | Kansas City Star | July 18th, 2022

Royals Say Bye To Benny: As has long been rumored, the Royals have finally struck on a deal that will send Andrew Benintendi to St. Louis for 18-year-old outfielder Carlos Carmona and a player to be named later.

Infielder Jace Peterson is also headed to St. Louis as part of the deal that was consummated early on Sunday morning, and the move will clear roughly $6 million more off the payroll, including the remaining bit of Peterson's salary, which is about $850,000.

The big news is that the Royals nabbed Carmona in the deal, who leaped to 150th overall in the latest prospect re-rank a little under two weeks ago. That put him amongst the top five Cardinals' prospects at the time.

In addition, getting two expiring veteran contracts off the books is a big deal, and depending on who the Royals get for the PTBNL, this goes from a good trade to a great one in a hurry.

It's a trip back to the NL Central for Peterson, who was acquired by the Royals three weeks ago from the Brewers for Carlos Santana.

Kansas City Makes Lesko The Pick: Sunday was also the day that the 2022 MLB Draft began, and the Royals made Buford, Ga., right-hander Dylan Lesko the ninth-overall pick.

The pick has a slot value of $6.45 million, and it's expected that he'll likely sign for no less than slot.

Unfortunately for Lesko (and the Royals), he underwent Tommy John surgery in April, and will likely not pitch in a live game until the Arizona League kicks off in June of 2023.

From his home near Atlanta, Lesko donned the Royals cap with hugs and handshakes all around from his family.

"I'm excited to get started as soon as I can," he said in an interview over the phone on MLB Network, shortly following the pick. "Rehab is going well, and I'm hoping to get back to throwing later this summer."

Kansas City's second first-round selection came in the compensation round, and they took high school shortstop/second baseman Dallas Macias with the 35th overall selection. He's committed to Oregon State, so it might take a pretty significant commitment there as well to pull him away from his pledge to the Beaver program.

The draft continues today at 4 P.M., as the Royals hold the 49th overall pick, the 8th pick in the second round to begin.

Salvy To Appear In Home Run Derby Again: For the second straight year, Salvador Perez will appear in the Home Run Derby that kicks off tomorrow night from Dodger Stadium.

He's one of five AL players in the Derby, including one of two from the division (Jose Ramirez the other). Mike Trout, J.D. Martinez, and Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., will represent the AL.

Colorado's C.J. Cron, Juan Soto of the Nationals, and the Dodgers' Max Muncy will represent the NL.

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All-Star Teams (07/18)

2022 MLB All-Star Game Rosters -- Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA
American League		National League
Manager: Dusty Baker, Houston		Manager: Brian Snitker, Atlanta
Pos	Starters	Pos	Starters
C	Salvador Perez, Royals	C	J.T. Realmuto, Phillies
1B	Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., Blue Jays	1B	Freddie Freeman, Dodgers
2B	Jorge Polanco, Twins	2B	Ketel Marte, Diamondbacks
3B	Jose Ramirez, Guardians	3B	Manny Machado, Padres
SS	Xander Bogaerts, Red Sox	SS	Trea Turner, Dodgers
LF	Michael Brantley, Astros	LF	Ronald Acuna, Jr., Braves
CF	Mike Trout, Angels	CF	Brandon Nimmo, Mets#
RF	Aaron Judge, Yankees	RF	Juan Soto, Nationals
DH	J.D. Martinez, Red Sox	DH	Max Muncy, Dodgers
Pos	Pitchers & Reserves	Pos	Pitchers & Reserves
RHP	Nathan Eovaldi, Red Sox (Starter)	RHP	Sandy Alcantara, Marlins (Starter)
RHP	Shane Bieber, Guardians	RHP	Chris Bassitt, Mets
RHP	Paul Blackburn, Athletics#	RHP	Corbin Burnes, Brewers
RHP	Griffin Canning, Angels#	RHP	Carlos Carrasco, Mets#
RHP	Shohei Ohtani, Angels	RHP	Jacob deGrom, Mets
LHP	Tarik Skubal, Tigers#	RHP	Pablo Lopez, Marlins#
RHP	Noah Syndergaard, Angels	RHP	Logan Webb, Giants#
LHP	Kolby Allard, Rangers#	RHP	Anthony Bass, Marlins*#
LHP	Aaron Loup, Angels#	RHP	Kenley Jansen, Braves
RHP	Keyvius Sampson, Rays#	RHP	Walker Lockett, Cardinals#
LHP	Aroldis Chapman, Yankees	RHP	Edwin Diaz, Mets
RHP	Liam Hendriks, White Sox	RHP	Gio Gallegos, Cardinals#
RHP	Andres Munoz, Mariners#	LHP	Josh Hader, Brewers
C	Yasmani Grandal, White Sox	C	Luis Campusano, Padres#
C	Sean Murphy, Athletics#	C	Tyler Stephenson, Reds#
1B	Nate Lowe, Rangers#	1B	Josh Bell, Nationals
2B	Rougned Odor, Orioles#	1B	C.J. Cron, Rockies#
2B	Trevor Story, Red Sox	1B	Matt Olson, Braves
3B	Alex Bregman, Astros	3B	Nolan Arenado, Cardinals
SS	Carlos Correa, Twins	3B	Ke'Bryan Hayes, Pirates#
SS	Wander Franco, Rays#	SS	Francisco Lindor, Mets
SS	Corey Seager, Rangers	OF	Jesus Sanchez, Marlins*#
OF	Taylor Ward, Angels#	OF	Nick Castellanos, Phillies
OF	Steven Kwan, Guardians#	OF	Randal Grichuk, Rockies*#
OF	Kyle Tucker, Astros#	OF	Seiya Suzuki, Cubs#

Injured: RHP Zack Wheeler, Phillies (Voted In); 2B Jazz Chisholm, Jr., Marlins# (Starter); LF Kris Bryant, Rockies (Starter)
* denotes replacement addition after original announcement
# denotes first-time All-Star selection

Unavailable Pitchers (AL): Bieber, Blackburn, Skubal, Syndergaard, Allard, Sampson
Unavailable Pitchers (NL): Bassitt, Burnes, deGrom, Lopez, Webb

[Scuzz]

Re: Royal Rumblings (07/18)

I like Garrett, but that trade made sense. The Blue Jays are struggling a bit more than expected. Tough series to end on going into the break.

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All-Star Weekend Recap (07/20)

All-Star Weekend Recap

By MLB.com Staff | July 20th, 2022

American League Futures vs National League Futures
Jul 17, 2022	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
American League	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	4	9	0
National League	0	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	7	0
W: Kyle Harrison L: Ben Kudrna S: Kevin Kopps

FUTURES GAME RECAP
Ivan Herrera, one of the top catching prospects in baseball in the Cardinals' system, went 1-for-2 with a second-inning grand slam and two walks to earn MVP honors in the NL's 6-4 victory in the Futures game that kicked off the All-Star Week festivities in Los Angeles.

Corbin Carroll, an outfielder in the Diamondbacks' system, drove in the other two runs for the NL in the second inning, the only inning in which the NL scored any runs. But it was still enough for victory.

Outfielder Colton Cowser (Orioles), and infielder Anthony Volpe (Yankees) each had a pair of hits for the AL side, with both of Cowser's the two-base variety. Volpe also doubled to lead off the game.

Right-hander Ben Kudrna (Royals) was tagged for all six runs the NL scored, taking the loss in 2 1/3 innings of work. Lefty Kyle Harrison (Giants) got the win, pitching a scoreless second stanza.

*****

HOME RUN DERBY RECAP
With a 16-13 final on Monday night, Cleveland's Jose Ramirez unseated the Mets' Pete Alonso, who didn't even make the NL All-Star roster this year, as the new home run champ. He knocked off Colorado's C.J. Cron, who leads the league in homeruns, in the final by a 16-13 score.

His path to the title was against Mike Trout, whom he knocked out with a 15-11 opening round. He then held off a game Max Muncy by a 16-15 score in the semifinals, as the Dodger slugger made a furious comeback in the final :30 to nearly pull off the victory.

Cron had to make big comebacks of his own in his first two rounds, coming back from down 16-11 against Salvador Perez in the quarterfinal with just less than a minute to go, and then erasing a 13-10 deficit with :30 to go against Juan Soto in the semifinals.

*****

American League vs National League
Jul 19, 2022	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
American League	5	0	4	0	1	0	0	3	0	13	17	0
National League	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	1	0
W: Shohei Ohtani L: Sandy Alcantara S: None

ALL-STAR GAME RECAP
Five homeruns from the American League side were more than enough to completely blow the National League squad away in a 13-1 drubbing. The game's MVP, Jorge Polanco, hit two of the five homeruns; going 2-for-2 with three runs scored, three RBI, and a walk in addition to his two round-trippers. The last (and only other) Minnesota Twins player to win ASG MVP was the late Kirby Puckett back in 1993.

In fact, the National League had just one hit the entire game, a seventh-inning bomb by the league's homeruns leader and Derby runner-up C.J. Cron against Andres Munoz of Seattle. The NL side drew four walks against AL pitching, but no other players reached base safely in the contest.

"Look, I think at this level, even in an exhibition contest like this, guys are competitve and want to win," said NL manager and Atlanta skipper Brian Snitker with a slight chuckle, when asked about the mood of the locker room after the lopsided loss for his side. "But when it comes down to it, they'll wash their hands of this one and move on with their seasons. There's a lot more at stake here for most of these guys on these two teams, and dwelling on a game that is more for the fans than for them is counter-productive."

"Do I wish we were more competitive? Absolutely," he went on to add. "I think our guys are more disappointed that they couldn't put on more of a show for the fans that paid a lot of money to be there. I do think the AL team's fans got their money's worth, though."

Both skippers, Snitker and Houston's Dusty Baker, emptied the benches at the end of the game due to the lopsided score. While not all of Baker's players got an at-bat, they all got at least one-half inning in the field.

"I told Brian in the seventh inning that I was going to put all of my guys in that I could," Baker noted. "Some of the pitchers couldn't due to workload obligations, but all the position players that were there got into the game and were able to play a little."

Shohei Ohtani, who didn't play in the field this year, pitched 2 1/3 innings to pick up the victory. He walked a pair and struck out a pair. The NL used six pitchers, with only two escaping their outings unscathed. Kenley Jansen of the Braves, and Anthony Bass of the Marlins both pitched 1 1/3 scoreless. Nathan Eovaldi pitched two clean, scoreless innings with a pair of strikeouts for the AL side in his first career ASG start.

In addition to Polanco, several other players turned in MVP-worthy performances that would have probably gotten them the nod most years. Boston's Xander Bogaerts went 2-for-3 with a grand slam in the third inning, while Salvador Perez of the Royals drew first blood by hitting a three-run double against starter Sandy Alcantara of the Marlins in the five-run first for the AL. Perez went 2-for-3 with two runs scored while also adding a single in the third, and scored on Bogaerts' slam.

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2022 MLB Draft Round One Recap

MLB Draft - Round 1 Recap
Pick	Team	Player (School)	Pos	Ht	Wt
1-1	Baltimore Orioles	Druw Jones (Wesleyan (GA) HS)	OF	6'3"	225
1-2	Arizona Diamondbacks	Elijah Green (IMG (FL) Academy)	OF	6'3"	190
1-3	Texas Rangers	Jackson Holliday (Stillwater (OK) HS)	SS	5'11"	190
1-4	Pittsburgh Pirates	Brooks Lee (Cal Poly SLO)	SS	6'	190
1-5	Washington Nationals	Kevin Parada (Georgia Tech)	C	6'2"	205
1-6	Miami Marlins	Termarr Johnson (Mays (GA) HS)	SS	5'10"	190
1-7	Chicago Cubs	Jacob Berry (LSU)	IF	6'1"	215
1-8	Minnesota Twins	Justin Crawford (Bishop Gorman (NV) HS)	OF	6'3"	190
1-9	Kansas City Royals	Dylan Lesko (Buford (GA) HS)	RHP	6'2"	190
1-10	Colorado Rockies	Cam Collier (Chipola (FL) College)	3B	6'3"	185
1-11	New York Mets*	Brock Porter (Orchard Lake St. Mary's (MI) HS)	RHP	6'4"	205
1-12	Detroit Tigers	Jace Jung (Texas Tech)	IF	6'	200
1-13	Los Angeles Angels	Brandon Barriera (Am. Heritage (FL) HS)	LHP	6'2"	170
1-14	New York Mets	Daniel Susac (Arizona)	C	6'4"	220
1-15	San Diego Padres	Hunter Barco (Florida)	LHP	6'4"	190
1-16	Cleveland Guardians	Ian Ritchie (Bainbridge (WA) HS)	RHP	6'3"	190
1-17	Philadelphia Phillies	Connor Prielipp (Alabama)	LHP	6'2"	190
1-18	Cincinnati Reds	Gavin Turley (Hamilton (AZ) HS)	OF	6'1"	190
1-19	Oakland Athletics	Robert Moore (Arkansas)	IF	5'10"	180
1-20	Atlanta Braves	Chase Shores (Lee (TX) HS)	RHP	6'8"	240
1-21	Seattle Mariners	Cole Young (North Allegheny (PA) HS)	SS	6'	175
1-22	St. Louis Cardinals	Chase DeLauter (Virginia Tech)	OF	6'4"	230
1-23	Toronto Blue Jays	Jett Williams (Rockwall-Heath (TX) HS)	SS	5'9"	180
1-24	Boston Red Sox	Dylan Beavers (Cal)	OF	6'4"	205
1-25	New York Yankees	Brock Jones (Stanford)	OF	6'2"	200
1-26	Chicago White Sox	Justin Campbell (Oklahoma State)	RHP	6'7"	225
1-27	Milwaukee Brewers	Cayden Wallace (Arkansas)	3B	6'1"	195
1-28	Houston Astros	Jordan Beck (Tennessee)	OF	6'3"	215
1-29	Tampa Bay Rays	Tucker Toman (Hammond (SC) HS)	3B	6'1"	200
1-30	San Francisco Giants	Robby Snelling (McQueen (NV) HS)	LHP	6'4"	205

MLB Draft - Competitive Balance Round A Recap
Pick	Team	Player (School)	Pos	Ht	Wt
1-31	Colorado Rockies	Drew Gilbert (Tennessee)	OF	5'11"	190
1-32	Cincinnati Reds	Cooper Hjerpe (Oregon State)	LHP	6'3"	200
1-33	Baltimore Orioles	Peyton Pallette (Arkansas)	RHP	6'1"	195
1-34	Arizona Diamondbacks	Peyton Graham (Oklahoma)	3B	6'	200
1-35	Kansas City Royals	Dallas Macias (Regis Jesuit (CO) HS)	IF	6'	195
1-36	Pittsburgh Pirates	Jackson Ferris (IMG (FL) Academy)	LHP	6'3"	200
1-37	Cleveland Guardians	Landon Sims (Mississippi State)	RHP	6'	220
1-38	Colorado Rockies	Kumar Rocker (Indep.)	RHP	6'5"	240
1-39	San Diego Padres	Judson Fabian (Florida)	OF	6'2"	200

* Denotes compensatory pick for Mets not signing Kumar Rocker in 2021

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Midseason Mailbag (07/21)

Midseason Mailbag

By Brian Douglas | Kansas City Star | July 21st, 2022

We're not at the literal halfway point of the season (that was around the beginning of July), but we're at the symbolic halfway point with the All-Star break now in the rearview mirror. The draft is touched on briefly, but the bulk of the interest remains in players that are currently on the roster, and the looming trade deadline that is now roughly ten days away. The draft class will be written about more at length when the class is signed, sealed, and delivered.

Happy with the way the draft turned out?

Disclaimer: I'm sure the sender of this question probably intended for me to review the whole draft, but as of the time writing this answer, only about the first fifty or so picks have happened (just started with Day 2), so I'll give my thoughts on those. I'll put out an entire piece about the draft class sometime in August, perhaps after they're all signed if they sign prior to the deadline. That deadline is the 19th of next month.

Overall, I was really hoping that LSU's Jacob Berry would fall to the Royals. I know he doesn't really have a position besides first base, but the guy can flat-out hit. It was also a bit unnerving with guys like Dylan Lesko (whom the Royals eventually took ninth overall), Brandon Barriera, and Brock Porter on the board with Dayton Moore's son Robert still available. If they would have passed on the former three for someone who will probably end up as a reserve infielder in the majors because nepotism, I probably would have torn One Royal Way all the way to the studs (he ended up going 19th to Oakland). Good luck in that pit of a franchise, son.

But on a more serious tone, I don't know if the elder Moore is calling the shots in the draft. He does tend to defer pretty heavily when it comes to the amateur ranks to scouting director Lonnie Goldberg and J.J. Picollo, so my intuition is that it's probably mostly (80-85 percent?) the latter two making the bulk of the decisions. Lesko going to the Royals was the first real surprise of the draft; most thought he'd slip out of the top ten due to his recent Tommy John procedure. He's the best pitcher in this class when healthy, but won't even see a pitcher's mound until likely towards the end of the summer at best. The hope is that he'll be back and ready to go by the time the Arizona league begins play in 2023.

The usually risk-averse front office have really taken some big swings in the first round the last few years; Lesko is just the latest one. They took three high school arms at the top of the draft last year, as well; and others like Ben Hernandez back in 2020. Taking Lesko, even in his current state, tells me they feel pretty good about the group they they've taken in the last few years, and took him in the hopes that may come a little cheaper due to their injury questions. Possibly, but I'm not betting on it.

Their other first-rounder, Dallas Macias, wasn't a guy that was on many first-round, or even second-round, radars heading into the draft, so it was a bit puzzling they spent a first-rounder on him. My guess is that it's a redux of the Frank Mozzicato pick from a year ago, since it's likely going to take at least slot to get Lesko to sign. And as I type this, the Royals have taken collegiate outfielder Sterlin Thompson out of Florida with their second-round pick.

Thoughts on the trade haul (so far)?

The reception amongst the fan base about getting one actual player and a player-to-be-named-later for Andrew Benintendi and Jace Peterson was lukewarm, but I'd argue that getting Carlos Carmona alone is worth it. Depending on the player-to-be-named-later, it could go from a good trade to a very good trade despite giving up not one, but two veterans on expiring deals. A number of people around the game, including those like Keith Law and Kiley McDaniel who really follow the minors at length, were stunned that the Cards parted with the toolsy Carmona, who was a top-five prospect in their organization at the time of the deal.

However, St. Louis has coveted Benintendi for some time, and have a bevy of solid outfielders already in the system like Joshua Baez, Alec Burleson, Matt Koperniak, Keshawn Rombley, and Juan Yepez, who can play the outfield in a pinch as well as first/third base. Benintendi is also a good fit for the Cardinals style-wise, with his high contact rate and excellent defense.

It seems like the organization may be souring a bit on Erick Pena, as he really struggled mightily at the plate with Columbia, although he has raked since he was sent back down to the Arizona Complex Blue squad when their season began in mid-June. Meanwhile, Carmona has been hitting reasonably well at the Single-A level. He has the tools to stick in center field, unlike Pena who is probably ticketed for a corner outfield spot down the line with his larger frame.

I'm a little underwhelmed by the return on the other two. I would have expected maybe a little more for multiple years of control on Amir Garrett. Ernie Clement is a fine player, but is already twenty-six and unlikely to be anything more than what he is now. It's too early to tell on Yhoangel Aponte, the young OF from Toronto they received for Michael A. Taylor. He's received high marks for his plate discipline early in his career, but at just eighteen, we're not likely to know much for at least several more seasons.

What's your gut feel on how the division turns out?

Well, aside from the calzone I had earlier today, it's a three-team race at this point. Chicago has already made a couple of nice moves, including grabbing Zach McKinstry from the Dodgers for a couple of minor leaguers, and Dany Jimenez was a good pull from the A's. I could see them adding another starter, but wouldn't be surprised if they were done barring injury.

Minnesota's getting healthy at the right time, also. Both Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton are back, and they've added both Jose Cisnero from the Tigers and Casey Sadler from the Mariners to supplement the bullpen. Cleveland could sneak in there with some of the recent moves they've made; including Amir Garrett from the Royals, and nabbing Donovan Solano from the Reds to shore up second base. Jesus Aguilar was a nice add for them back in June, as well.

In sum, I like the White Sox to eventually take it. Minnesota has some guys who are nice stories (Jharel Cotton's resurgence, Joe Ryan's a underrated ROY candidate), and have a great shot at a wildcard if they don't take the division first. But ultimately the better pitching resides on the South Side. I'd put Chicago's top four starters against any other top four in the league, and they're backed by a pretty solid bullpen that's led by Liam Hendriks.

Who's next to be traded?

The obvious choices would either be 1) Whit Merrifield, or 2) Zack Greinke. I was originally a little surprised they bailed on Garrett with another year of control remaining, but I think Clement is a late bloomer-type that can play a Merrifield-style role if they decide to move on from him. The club also has a bevy of depth in the minors from the left side they can draw from, as well.

The problem for both of them, however, will come down to cost vs. production. Greinke was probably over-signed at $13 million to begin the year, but has turned out to be the team's second-best starter behind Brad Keller. The Royals might have to eat some money to move Zack, and there's actually some recent chatter that he may be amenable to returning next year -- but not without some assurances from the club.

Merrifield has accrued enough time this year that his $4 million escalator option (spending more than 110 days on the non-IL active roster) will kick in for 2023, meaning his super-cheap $2.75 million is now a still-inexpensive $6.75 million -- that could be enough to scare some, if not all, suitors off, especially with his sharp decline in play this year.

What will it take for the club to finally pull the plug on Cal Eldred?

I suspect the club will wait until the end of the year to make a decision on him. Frankly, if Eldred goes, I think Mike Matheny is probably out of a job as well despite the fact the team exercised his 2023 option before the season started. Facts on the ground have changed. The hitting coach to begin the season is already out, and three of the four vaunted 2018 class of college pitchers have spent extended stints in Triple-A (one of them barely peeing a drop in MLB this year). That's....not good, and doesn't reflect well on the major league staff.

Brady Singer is just now throwing his changeup with pretty good success, and has been arguably the team's third-best starter behind veterans Brad Keller and Greinke. Daniel Lynch was solid to begin the season, and then fell off a cliff in recent weeks. Kris Bubic has been hot-and-cold, and Jackson Kowar was an absolute mess to begin the year, although he has a 3.74 ERA with the Storm Chasers since then, working in both the rotation and out of the pen.

What do you do with Hunter Dozier at this point?

It's really kind of criminal what they've done with him as they signed him to a fairly lengthy and costly extension based off his 2019 season, never really established a position for him, and then the pandemic hit and pretty much wiped him out for an entire season and change. After a pretty good start to 2022, he's had an awful last few months. With Benintendi now gone, I think you'll see him play more in the outfield and also to spell Pratto/Pasquantino at first base from time to time, as well as DH.

The real issue will be in 2024, when he's due $9 million in his age-32 season. The Royals will presumably have one or both of the aforementioned Pratto and Pasquantino healthy and productive, and Salvador Perez is likely going to be moved from behind the plate to DH at that point for M.J. Melendez (or another catcher if he transitions to the OF or 3B, per se). Since he has little defensive utility and has struggled against righties, I think all the Royals can hope for at this point is just hope he can carve out a niche as a lefty masher and try and get some value for him down the road.

[artoodeetoo]

Series Preview: Tampa Bay (54-38) @ Kansas City (40-52)

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PITCHING MATCHUPS
07/22: RHP Shane Baz (1-2, 5.03) vs RHP Zack Greinke (2-7, 4.12)
07/23: RHP Corey Kluber (8-4, 3.21) vs LHP Angel Zerpa (0-3, 3.46)
07/24: RHP Luis Patino (2-1, 4.03) vs LHP Kris Bubic (1-2, 5.66)

WHO'S HOT?
RHP Brad Keller, Kansas City -- 20 IP, 11 K, 4 ER (4 starts)
SS Wander Franco, Tampa Bay -- 11-for-24 (.458), 2 2B, 2 HR

WHO'S NOT?
IF Hunter Dozier, Kansas City -- 5-for-50 (.100), BB, 18 K
IF Emmanuel Rivera, Kansas City -- 3-for-25 (.120), 7 K
OF Kevin Kiermaier, Tampa Bay -- 2-for-20 (.100), 6 K

TAMPA BAY INJURED LIST
1B Ji-man Choi (oblique) -- 10-day IL
LHP John Doxakis (back) -- 60-day IL
RHP Tyler Glasnow (elbow) -- 60-day IL
RHP Drew Rasmussen (tricep) -- 60-day IL
RHP Tommy Romero (elbow) -- 60-day IL

KANSAS CITY INJURED LIST
SS Adalberto Mondesi (knee) -- 60-day IL

[Scuzz]

Re: Series Preview: Tampa Bay (54-38) @ Kansas City (40-52)

Kind of wish you took Barriera there

[glenzariczny]

Re: All-Star Teams (07/18)

2022 MLB All-Star Game Rosters -- Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA
American League		National League
Manager: Dusty Baker, Houston		Manager: Brian Snitker, Atlanta
Pos	Starters	Pos	Starters
C	Salvador Perez, Royals	C	J.T. Realmuto, Phillies
1B	Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., Blue Jays	1B	Freddie Freeman, Dodgers
2B	Jorge Polanco, Twins	2B	Ketel Marte, Diamondbacks
3B	Jose Ramirez, Guardians	3B	Manny Machado, Padres
SS	Xander Bogaerts, Red Sox	SS	Trea Turner, Dodgers
LF	Michael Brantley, Astros	LF	Ronald Acuna, Jr., Braves
CF	Mike Trout, Angels	CF	Brandon Nimmo, Mets#
RF	Aaron Judge, Yankees	RF	Juan Soto, Nationals
DH	J.D. Martinez, Red Sox	DH	Max Muncy, Dodgers
Pos	Pitchers & Reserves	Pos	Pitchers & Reserves
RHP	Nathan Eovaldi, Red Sox (Starter)	RHP	Sandy Alcantara, Marlins (Starter)
RHP	Shane Bieber, Guardians	RHP	Chris Bassitt, Mets
RHP	Paul Blackburn, Athletics#	RHP	Corbin Burnes, Brewers
RHP	Griffin Canning, Angels#	RHP	Carlos Carrasco, Mets#
RHP	Shohei Ohtani, Angels	RHP	Jacob deGrom, Mets
LHP	Tarik Skubal, Tigers#	RHP	Pablo Lopez, Marlins#
RHP	Noah Syndergaard, Angels	RHP	Logan Webb, Giants#
LHP	Kolby Allard, Rangers#	RHP	Anthony Bass, Marlins*#
LHP	Aaron Loup, Angels#	RHP	Kenley Jansen, Braves
RHP	Keyvius Sampson, Rays#	RHP	Walker Lockett, Cardinals#
LHP	Aroldis Chapman, Yankees	RHP	Edwin Diaz, Mets
RHP	Liam Hendriks, White Sox	RHP	Gio Gallegos, Cardinals#
RHP	Andres Munoz, Mariners#	LHP	Josh Hader, Brewers
C	Yasmani Grandal, White Sox	C	Luis Campusano, Padres#
C	Sean Murphy, Athletics#	C	Tyler Stephenson, Reds#
1B	Nate Lowe, Rangers#	1B	Josh Bell, Nationals
2B	Rougned Odor, Orioles#	1B	C.J. Cron, Rockies#
2B	Trevor Story, Red Sox	1B	Matt Olson, Braves
3B	Alex Bregman, Astros	3B	Nolan Arenado, Cardinals
SS	Carlos Correa, Twins	3B	Ke'Bryan Hayes, Pirates#
SS	Wander Franco, Rays#	SS	Francisco Lindor, Mets
SS	Corey Seager, Rangers	OF	Jesus Sanchez, Marlins*#
OF	Taylor Ward, Angels#	OF	Nick Castellanos, Phillies
OF	Steven Kwan, Guardians#	OF	Randal Grichuk, Rockies*#
OF	Kyle Tucker, Astros#	OF	Seiya Suzuki, Cubs#

Injured: RHP Zack Wheeler, Phillies (Voted In); 2B Jazz Chisholm, Jr., Marlins# (Starter); LF Kris Bryant, Rockies (Starter)
* denotes replacement addition after original announcement
# denotes first-time All-Star selection

Unavailable Pitchers (AL): Bieber, Blackburn, Skubal, Syndergaard, Allard, Sampson
Unavailable Pitchers (NL): Bassitt, Burnes, deGrom, Lopez, Webb

Damn Muñoz my only all-star