The Royals didn’t get off to the most fantastic start in the Twin Cities this weekend as they lost 9-4 to the Twins at Target Field on Friday. It wasn’t very pleasant to see, especially after the Royals salvaged the series on Wednesday against the Red Sox at Fenway Park.
On Saturday, they are up 1-0, thanks to Noah Cameron, who’s having another solid start in what’s been a sensational rookie season (2.68 ERA and 1.01 WHIP in 87.1 IP going into this game). Maikel Garcia is responsible for the Royals’ lone run, as he hit a double to the right-center gap that scored Kyle Isbel from first.
We will see if the Royals can add to their slim lead (we are in the 6th). The Royals going into Saturday’s game are 57-59 and 4.5 games behind in the AL Wild Card race. Losing a series to the Twins would be a gut punch to those playoff chances (though in the post-pandemic era, the Royals have not played well at Target Field).
Update: The Royals ended up winning 2-0 thanks to a late RBI by Jonathan India and a stellar outing from starter Noah Cameron and reliever Angel Zerpa, Hunter Harvey, Lucas Erceg, and Carlos Estevez.
I have been working on some more in-depth articles, but I haven’t been able to finish them due to the teacher work week at my school and getting prepared for the new upcoming year. I should have more time starting next Friday, and I hope to get back into a regular posting schedule.
With that said, I wanted to share a couple of thoughts on some Royals developments this week and an announcement on a new writing gig in this edition of the “Reporter Jottings”.
Royals Sign Dalbec to Minor League Deal
On Friday, the Royals announced that they had signed former Red Sox and White Sox corner infielder Bobby Dalbec to a Minor League contract.
Dalbec started the season with the White Sox after spending his entire career with the Red Sox, who drafted him in the fourth round in the 2016 MLB Draft. However, he struggled in his short tenure on the South Side, posting a .285 wOBA and 79 wRC+ in seven games and 21 plate appearances with the White Sox. That led to him being designated for assignment by the White Sox and eventually picked up by the Brewers.
In 61 games and 264 plate appearances with the Nashville Sounds, the Brewers’ Triple-A team, Dalbec posted a slash of .266/.356/.498 with a .854 OPS and .376 wOBA. He didn’t get a call-up to Milwaukee, but he showed solid power in Nashville with 12 home runs and a .231 ISO.
With the Sounds and Charlotte Knights (the White Sox’s Triple-A affiliate), Dalbec demonstrated excellent batted-ball, barrel, and hard-hit metrics, according to TJ Stats. Conversely, his strikeout and whiff metrics were poor, especially for a hitter who was 30 years old and with MLB experience.
Ranking in the sixth percentile in Z-Contact%, fourth percentile in whiff%, and second percentile in K% are endearing marks for Dalbec and his outlook in the Royals organization. That said, he ranked in the 100th percentile in 90th EV, 99th percentile in barrel rate, and 98th percentile in hard-hit rate. For a team starved for offensive firepower (though it’s been better since the Trade Deadline), Dalbec provides an intriguing profile.
Dalbec’s last major stint with the Red Sox in 2024 was unsuccessful, leading to his designation for assignment by the Red Sox at the end of last season. Not only did he whiff a lot, but he also failed to hit the ball with any authority, either, as demonstrated in his TJ Stats profile below.
It was only 93 plate appearances, but a 41.8% whiff rate and 46.2% strikeout rate is hard to tolerate, especially when it is combined with a 2.4% barrel rate.
Strikeouts have long been a problem for Dalbec, as he has a career 36.6% strikeout rate in 1,065 MLB plate appearances. That said, he does have 47 home runs and an ISO of .200, so the power potential is there, even if it may be limited and dwindling at 30 years of age.
On a positive note, Dalbec made quite the debut in Omaha on Saturday night. He struck out in his first two plate appearances and then launched a home run in his third at-bat.
Storm Chaser fans can expect a lot of whiffs and a lot of power from Dalbec. Whether or not that’s enough to get him to Kansas City, however, is yet to be determined.
Quatraro Mixes Things Up At Leadoff
On August 6th in the series finale against Boston, Matt Quatraro dropped Jonathan India from the leadoff spot and replaced him with newcomer Mike Yastrzemski. Quatraro said the move was “matchup-based,” but after a difficult first season in Kansas City, it seems like the Royals are open to having other options at leadoff going forward.
Against the Red Sox, the move paid off as the Royals’ offense came alive against starter Dustin May and the Red Sox bullpen.
On Friday night, Yaz once again hit leadoff. Even though the Royals lost (badly), the former San Francisco Giant led things off with a home run against Royals killer and Billy Hargrove look-alike Joe Ryan.
Against Bailey Ober, Quatraro moved Yaz out of the leadoff spot but opted for Maikel Garcia over India. That move has proven to be a smart one as Garcia has collected two hits against the Twins on Friday night.
It will be interesting to see if India will remain an option at the bottom of the order for the remainder of the season. With a .237/.323/.341 slash and .664 OPS in 466 plate appearances, it is obvious that Quatraro needs to find better options at the top of the batting order, especially with playoff odds sittinig at 5.8% as of Saturday, according to Fangraphs.
That said, it does seem like India hitting lower in the order has taken the pressure off a bit, as he has come up clutch recently in run-scoring situations since the move.
I would expect India to continue to hit in the No. 7 spot and Yaz and Garcia rotate at leadoff for the remainder of the season. Hopefully this can ignite a spark offensively, much like Michael Massey and Tommy Pham moving to leadoff a season ago and Garcia moving down, which ended up benefitting all three hitters involved (and the lineup as a whole).
Joining Just Baseball As A Royals Team Writer
I’ve long been a fan of Just Baseball, a baseball-centric web site that covers everything from the MLB Draft to College to all things Major and Minor League Baseball. This week, I was given an offer to join the Just Baseball team as a Royals Team Writer and I accepted the gig, as I announced on Twitter today.
This doesn’t mean I will be ending my time on Royals Reporter. I still plan on posting a lot on this blog, especially since it’s been around since 2019 and remains my personal place to share my Royals (and Kansas City-related) thoughts and analysis.
However, it does mean I will be writing on two different places from now on. They are both national baseball sites: Pitcher List (whom I’ve been writing with since 2020) and now, Just Baseball. I look forward to not only writing articles and creating content for Just Baseball, but also growing my ability as a writer with the help of the Just Baseball team.
Look for more stuff from Just Baseball and myself in the coming weeks, especially once I get settled in after the first week of school.
Photo Credit: Mark Blinch / Getty Images