I was able to get in a post for today, right before we officially enter 2025, in less than 12 hours.
In this post, I will re-share five of my favorite stories from the 2024 season. Some of the stories were among the most popular on the site in the past year. However, some of the stories I will share in this post held sentimental value, even if they may not have received the most clicks.
So, here are my five favorite pieces from the Royals Reporter from the past 365 Days.
Nelson Velazquez Has Serious Potential (But the Royals Still Need to Be Cautious)
Published on January 14th
For the record, I remain a big Nelly fan. Even though he’s limited defensively and probably will strike out more than average at the MLB level, his power tool remains one of the most intriguing in the Royals organization.
That said, in the winter before Spring Training, Royals fans were too bullish on Velazquez’s outlook for 2024.
While his home-run power was on full display when he moved to Kansas City from the North Side of Chicago, he had some serious contact rate issues, and his barrel rate from 2023 was unsustainable to boot. Unfortunately for Velazquez and Royals fans, he saw significant regression in 2024, was demoted in late June to Omaha, and never returned to the Major Leagues (even though I thought he should’ve).
According to Roster Resource, Velazquez is out of Minor League options, so he needs to perform in Spring Training to keep his spot on the Royals’ 40-man roster in 2025.
Three Takeaways From the Royals’ Trade of David Sandlin for Boston’s John Schreiber
Published on February 17th
This trade was initially received pretty coldly by most Royals fans.
After all, Sandlin was a pitching prospect with a high upside, and Schreiber was coming off a down season in 2023 with Boston. Even though Schreiber had plenty of club control, to some Royals fans, it seemed like a desperate move by a club trying to quickly become relevant after losing 106 games.
My favorite reaction to the trade was this Tweet from Kiley McDaniel, who didn’t hold back on his thoughts about the Schreiber trade and the Royals’ offseason in general.
I guess 86 wins and beating the Orioles in the Wild Card round isn’t “good.”
Schreiber had an up-and-down season, as he had a phenomenal start to the year but regressed a bit after probably getting too much usage due to a thin bullpen. I encouraged Royals fans to be patient with Schreiber in a post for “Farm to Fountains.”
Once the Royals got more bullpen reinforcements in the second half, Schreiber performed much better down the stretch. He posted a 3.66 ERA, 3.03 FIP, and 1.1 fWAR in 51.2 IP in his first year in Kansas City.
As for Sandlin?
The former Oklahoma Sooner product posted a 5.12 ERA in 31.2 IP in High-A and 5.61 ERA in 25.2 IP in Double-A. He still has some development time left (he will be 24 in February), but he wasn’t exactly the “dominant” arm that people made him out to be when he was traded away last February.
Five Bold Royals Predictions for the 2024 Season
Published on March 26th
Here’s a recap of my predictions from last March and how they ended up faring:
- Cole Ragans and Bobby Witt, Jr. Will Be All-Stars: I was half-right with this. Ragans and Witt did make the All-Star game, but so did Seth Lugo and Salvador Perez.
- James McArthur Becomes the Sole Royals Closer: I was partially correct, as McArthur took over mid-April after Will Smith struggled out of the gate. Unfortunately, the “General” was too inconsistent and eventually replaced by Lucas Erceg at the Deadline.
- Brady Singer and Alec Marsh Become Relievers: I was pretty wrong. Singer had a bounceback season and ended up being the key piece in a trade to Cincinnati for new leadoff hitter Jonathan India. As for Marsh, he had a great start but faltered a bit mid-season and was demoted to Omaha. However, he returned and showed flashes of potential once again. He could be a sleeper for the fifth spot in the rotation again in 2025.
- Hampson, Frazier, and Renfroe Won’t Be On This Team in August: I was wrong again on this. All three remained on the Royals roster for the entire season and even in the postseason. That said, many Royals fans wished they hadn’t.
- The Royals Will Finish 3rd in the Division: The Royals tied for second with the Detroit Tigers but held the tiebreaker over Detroit due to winning the season series.
So, I was 2-for-5 on my predictions from 2024. That was good, however, as I was a bit too conservative with the Royals in my 2024 predictions.
Perhaps I will try to do the same for 2025.
With 20 Wins Already, the Royals Are Capturing Kansas City Again
Published on May 3rd
Many fans hoped the club could get off to a hot start in 2024, a struggle for the Royals since 2018. That exception was in 2021, but the Royals’ hot April flipped cold quickly, and the club finished 74-88 that season.
Thankfully, the Royals’ hot start wasn’t just smoke and mirrors like in 2021 but a sign of positive things on the horizon in 2024.
When I wrote the post, fans didn’t know that then. Still, there was a feeling that something special was brewing with this club. That was especially true with the solid pitching of Ragans and Lugo and the breakout start from Bobby Witt, Jr., who ended up finishing second in the AL MVP race and won Silver Slugger and Gold Glove awards.
If the Royals win 20 games out of the gate in 2025 as quickly as they did in 2024, it won’t surprise Kansas City baseball fans time this around. Furthermore, there will be more hope rather than cautious dread, which many Royals felt in early May.
It truly is uncharted territory for Royals fans.
This Royals Squad Truly Feels Like Matt Quatraro’s Bunch
Published on August 26th
At the time, before the 2023 season, Quatraro’s hiring felt like the breath of fresh air this organization needed.
Ned Yost is a World Series winner, Kansas City sports legend, and Royals Hall of Famer. His tenure after 2017 was rough and not exactly how he or Royals fans envisioned. He wasn’t gelling with the clubs in 2018 and 2019, as they lost 104 and 103 games, respectively.
Instead of getting creative, Dayton Moore hired Mike Matheny, the former manager for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Even though Matheny had an excellent W-L record in St. Louis, he seemed to be the wrong fit at the wrong time for the Royals. He didn’t have the talent to turn around the club immediately and wasn’t the right presence to help grow a young team. He said everything right, especially about “analytics” (he took a class, guys). However, things tumbled for good in 2022, and Matheny (and Moore) rightfully parted ways with the Royals organization.
Quatraro was the “anti-Matheny,” which felt appropriate for a small-market franchise trying to turn around their short and long-term fortunes. Unfortunately, the Royals lost 106 games in his first year as manager. That loss total tied a franchise record, and suddenly, some Royals fans began to grumble that Q wasn’t the right fit to turn around the Royals in 2024 and beyond.
Instead, not only did Q help the Royals improve in his second year, but he did so significantly, leading the club to a 30-win turnaround and a Wild Card series sweep of the Orioles, who have long been championed as the “prototype” small-market club. This Tweet from the official team account after the Royals’ victory slaps months later.
In this post, I wrote about how Q helped to turn the Royals around by being true to his philosophy and style. In the process, fans should feel good about the direction of this club as long as Quatraro stays in Kansas City.
Photo Credit: Tommy Gilligan/Imagn Images
It has been an interesting year. The Royals are typical of small market teams. Velasquez, as well as Waters, is typical of many players in the organization in that their game has one or more holes. Power is a great quality in a hitter. But, it all starts with contact.
Let’s hope for a better 2025.
The contact definitely needs to improve for Nelly and Waters. Feel like this is a crucial year for them, even more so than last season. I think both guys could have roles at the MLB level and on a winning team. Whether or not that will be in KC could be determined this Spring. Would hate to see Nelly and Waters find success with other orgs like O’Hearn