Things haven’t gone well for the Royals rotation recently. After a string of poor starts, the rain really poured with the announcements that Chris Young and Kris Medlen were headed to the disabled list. Dillon Gee is taking Young’s place in the rotation, while Danny Duffy will be stretched out to take Medlen’s spot for […]
Author: Hunter Samuels
Joakim Soria, and How Dave Eiland is (Still) a Wizard
Joakim Soria didn’t get off the kind of start he was hoping for this season. He allowed four runs in his first three appearances, and his ERA after seven innings of work was an unsightly 7.71. Fifteen batters reached base against him in that span. His return to the K looked anything but special. It […]
How Double Plays Have Been Doubly Painful For Royals
One of the most aesthetically-pleasing plays in baseball, in my opinion, is the 4-6-3 double play. There’s just something almost majestic about the artistry middle infielders display. The footwork and creativity needed to get the ball to the bag. The lightning-quick hands to get the ball from glove to hand. The arm strength to fire […]
Diamonds in the Rough 4-29-16
It was a tough Friday night for the Royals’ affiliates, as the three teams that played all lost, while the Naturals’ game was postponed due to rain. HR Roll Call – Cheslor Cuthbert (5), Jose Martinez (2), Brett Eibner (2) BP Kansas City Hitter of the Day – Brett Eibner: 3-6, 2B, HR BP Kansas […]
Diamonds in the Rough 4-27-16
With Omaha having the night off, the other three Royals affiliates couldn’t pick up the slack, going 0-3. HR Roll Call – Frank Schwindel (3) BP Kansas City Hitter of the Day – Frank Schwindel: 2-4, 2B, HR BP Kansas City Pitcher of the Day – Josh Staumont: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 […]
The Early Returns on Kris Medlen’s New Pitch
Adding a new pitch isn’t always easy. Some pitchers may be able to tweak an old pitch to create a new one, but learning a brand new pitch from scratch can have its difficulties, which is why many pitchers won’t bother with changes to the repertoire that got them to the big leagues. They’d rather […]
How Jarrod Dyson’s Speed Can Help Alcides Escobar Improve
With Jarrod Dyson rejoining the Royals’ big league roster, the lineup finally looks like the one the organization had in mind before Spring Training began. Neither Paulo Orlando nor Reymond Fuentes did much to wrest the right field job away from Dyson while he was rehabbing, so he strolled right through the clubhouse into the […]
On Lorenzo ‘K’-ing
The Royals, you may have heard, are not a team that strikes out very frequently. Last year, they had the lowest strikeout rate in baseball, and it wasn’t particularly close. The lineup is filled with players who tend to avoid strikeouts like they’re a modern-day plague on baseball, which is good considering that’s essentially what they […]
Recap: Royals 4, Athletics 2; Just Enough Offense, Just Enough Eddie
The first series against the Athletics in 2016 got off to a much more peaceful start than last year’s matchup. No fireworks between the dugouts, and really, not many fireworks on the diamond. After scoring a pair of runs in the first inning, the Royals were unable to do much more offensively the rest of […]
The Royals’ Rotation is Racking Up Strikeouts
For the last several years, the Royals run prevention has been centered around their defense. They have Gold Glove-caliber defenders basically all over the diamond, with eleven awards among them. The 2016 squad appears to be another excellent defensive club, but the first few games have revealed another potential way this team can prevent opponents from […]