It was a rough start to the final road trip of the first half for the Royals, as they were swept by the Twins in Minnesota. The Royals were unable to do much against Twins starter Pablo Lopez, who also started for Minnesota on Opening Day at Kauffman Stadium, as he posted his first career shutout and struck out 12 Royals batters in the process.
While it hasn’t been a good start to the road trip (and may not get better with a four-game slate against the Guardians starting today), there is some room for excitement on the way, especially with the MLB Draft looming on Sunday.
In this edition of the “Jottings”, I highlight a Royals Draft Preview from Just Baseball, talk about my appearance on the Behind the Seams podcast with Jared Perkins (who also wrote the Royals Draft Preview), and look at Alec Marsh’s second start, which took place last night.
Royals Draft Preview from Just Baseball
The MLB Draft will take place from July 9th-11th, with the first round of the draft taking place on Sunday night in Seattle (where the All-Star game will be taking place as well).
Jared Perkins, of Just Baseball, wrote a pretty thorough piece on the Royals’ possible draft strategy as he previewed some key players to watch in the draft who get selected with the Royals’ first three picks.
Due to the lottery, the Royals hold the 8th pick in the first round of the draft. They also hold the 44th pick in the second round and the 66th pick in the competitive balance B round. While the Royals don’t possess a valued Top-Three pick (which they could’ve gotten in the lottery), they do have an opportunity to help restock their farm system in this draft, especially with their first three picks.
A lot of names are being thrown out, but Jared is particularly high on Kyle Teel, a catcher out of the University of Virginia, going in the Royals’ spot in the first round.
Here’s what Jared says about Teel and his professional outlook in this post.
Kyle Teel is the big name everyone in the Royals world is clamoring over. In his recent mock draft, Joe Doyle has Teel falling to the Royals at #8. According to Doyle, the Royals are in love with Teel and sent scouts to take in his games toward the end of the year.
He feels that if Teel makes it to the Royals at #8, it is a done deal. He also mentions that there is a real good chance he lands on a team prior to the Royals pick. If he falls to them at #8, this would be a massive win for Kansas City if they take him.
I had the opportunity to watch Teel in my Live Looks for Prospects Live and he has by far one of the best approaches at the plate I’ve ever seen. He has an incredible feel for the strike zone and when he makes contact, he is able to get barrel to ball with ease. Defensively, Teel has a plus-plus arm and is very athletic behind the dish. He could use some improvements there, but with his athleticism the sky’s the limit.
“Kansas City Royals 2023 MLB Draft Guide” by Jared Perkins; Just Baseball
Jared has some great analysis in this article, with some other names profiled such as Enrique Bradfield, an outfielder from Vanderbilt, and Colin Houck, a high school shortstop from Georgia.
Make sure to check this preview out so you’re not totally waylayed come Sunday by whoever the Royals select in what will be the Royals’ first draft in the post-Dayton Moore era.
Behind the Seams Podcast with Samad Taylor and About Royals System
Speaking of Jared, I was also able to appear on his new podcast, which is called “Behind the Seams”, which is run through the “Just Baseball” network.
In this edition of the podcast, Perkins and I talk about the state of the Royals farm system, as we talk about some key prospects, including Austin Charles, who’s gone from a 20th-round pick, to arguably a borderline Top 10 prospect in the Royals system at the midway point of the season.
In the podcast, I compare Charles to another former Reds infield prospect who was not too heralded when initially signed, but has suddenly become a star and key to the Reds’ future.
In addition, after Jared and I talk, Royals fans can listen to Jared’s interview with Samad Taylor, whom he talked with this offseason, prior to the start of Spring Training.
Jared does a great job of taking with prospects to help give baseball fans a different view of life in the Minor Leagues. Like and subscribe to “Behind the Seams” through whatever service you enjoy podcasts through. You won’t regret it!
A Review of Alec Marsh’s Start Against the Twins
While Lopez stole the show, Marsh produced a stellar line himself, even if it was in a losing effort in Minnesota.
Granted, the walks were still a bit high in his second MLB start, and he’s walked seven batters in his first two outings this season. That said, his swing-and-miss ability has been impressive thus far at the Major League level, which is much needed in a Royals rotation that has been missing that ability for the past couple of seasons.
In fact, Marsh only generated two fewer whiffs than Lopez yesterday, despite pitching four fewer innings.
For the game, Marsh did a great job generating called-strikes and whiffs with his four-pitch repertoire, especially his curve ball. Marsh only threw his curve 7.4 percent of the time in his first outing against the Dodgers, but as Royals fans can see below in the Tweet, he vamped up that percentage against the Twins, to positive results.
As his second-most thrown pitch, Marsh’s curve generated a whiff rate of 33 percent and CSW rate of 57 percent, which was pretty stellar, even against a streaky lineup like the Twins.
Command will make or break Marsh’s future at the MLB level and whether or not he will stay in the rotation. That said, if he continues to succeed with this kind of mix (especially the curve), then it is likely that Marsh will continue to get chance to start, especially during this evaluation season.
Photo Credit: Kyle Rivas/Getty Images
[…] Kevin O’Brien at The Royals Reporter: “Reporter Jottings”: Draft Preview from Just Baseball; “Behind the Seams” Royals Talk; Revie… […]