One Royals reliever who had a tremendous 2020 campaign was Kyle Zimmer, the Royals former 1st round pick (and 5th pick overall) in the 2012 MLB Draft. Drafted to be a top-of-the rotation ace out of the University of San Francisco, Zimmer has been plagued by injury in his professional career. Going into 2020, it… Read More Digging Deeper into Kyle Zimmer’s breakout in 2020 (and what that means for 2021)
After a week where the Royals stayed pat while the rest of the Central made a flurry of moves (which was further amplified by the Twins signing Nelson Cruz on Tuesday evening), the Royals announced this Minor League deal on Sunday evening that wasn’t earth shattering, but still a noteworthy transaction nonetheless: Hanser Alberto didn’t… Read More Alberto, Lopez, and the possible Royals platoon at second?
When the Royals traded Tim Hill to the Padres last summer, Franchy Cordero and his prodigious power potential seemed to resonate most with Royals fans. However, often overlooked in the deal was right-handed pitcher Ronald Bolanos, a highly-heralded arm in the Padres system who was signed for $2 million out of Cuba during the 2016-2017… Read More Could Ronald Bolanos be a sleeper for the Royals in 2021?
When I initially examined possible free agent outfielders/left-handed batters in a recent post, I left out Yasiel Puig as a serious option for the Royals. While his name was floated out as a possibility by the Athletic’s Jim Bowden, I figured Puig’s projected high price tag (Roster Resource crowd projections is predicting a two-year $11… Read More So, is ‘Puig to KC’ more serious than Royals fans may think?
After a pretty tame off-season, the MLB Hot Stove as heated up exponentially over the last week. Here’s a list of everything that has gone on in the baseball world since Monday: On January 15th, the White Sox announced the signing of former Oakland A’s closer Liam Hendriks to a massive four-year, $54 million deal.… Read More What Wade Davis brings to the Royals (and what other moves do they have left to make?)
There is no question the shadow of George Brett looms large over the third base position in Kansas City. From 1994-2020, only two Royals who have manned the third base position in Kansas City have accumulated a WAR of over 10, according to Fangraphs: Joe Randa (13.2 fWAR) and Mike Moustakas (12.6 fWAR). Furthermore, only… Read More Hunter Dozier could face tougher-than-expected competition at third this Spring
Last year, a key to the Royals improvement was the bounce back in the bullpen. After a disastrous campaign in 2018 (ranked 29th in reliever WAR) and a ho-hum one in 2019 (ranked 17th in reliever WAR), the Royals took a big step up in 2020, ranking 12th in reliever WAR and 8th in reliever… Read More Are Royals fans not talking about Scott Barlow enough?
There is no doubt that the Royals have been active in terms of upgrading their Major League pitching depth this off-season in preparation for 2021. The Royals did see rookies Brady Singer and Kris Bubic make solid debuts in 2020, and have a system chock full of highly rated pitching prospects (with Daniel Lynch, Jackson… Read More Ervin Santana signing with Royals was unexpected, but could be a surprising boost
In MLB.com’s most recent “holiday wish list” for all 30 MLB teams, Will Leitch said that the Royals needed “bullpen help” this off-season. Here’s what the former Deadspin founder (and noted Cardinals fan) said in his writeup on the Royals: The Royals have been impressively aggressive so far, and the additions of Carlos Santana and… Read More Will Junis be the next former Royals starter to thrive in the bullpen?
Without a doubt, Franchy Cordero is a key player to the Royals’ chances in the AL Central in 2021. Projected to be Kansas City’s starting left fielder in 2021 (barring another move from GM Dayton Moore), Cordero was acquired in the Tim Hill trade last Summer (along with Ronald Bolanos), and is a tantalizing combination… Read More Three Statcast metrics to pay attention to from Franchy Cordero in 2021
