6 Comments

Mr. B, speaking of hitters one doesn't know what to make of, how about Nelson Velazquez? He is hitting .129 this month. Egad, that's MJ territory! He has exactly one extra-base hit, that very fortunate triple to help beat the Friars. His slug is .194 in June. Egad redux, that's Chris Taylor territory! Once Renfroe returns how much longer are they going to depend on this guy? He runs into one every now and then. BFD. That's a luxury this team simply cannot afford. I am no fan of Drew Waters but at least he can play acceptable defense.

Expand full comment

I hear you. This outfield offense is still the pits. Royals outfielders are hitting a collective .210/.271/.345 which translates to a 76 OPS+. It’s not the worst outfield production in the game, but it’s close.

I hear fans clamoring for bullpen help at the upcoming trade deadline. For me, the bullpen and outfield are equally needing some attention.

Expand full comment

How unlikely and ridiculous would it be if 3 AL Central teams made the playoffs. After the last few years of it being a joke of a division, it might be good again. Just bad timing for the Royals.

Expand full comment

What Manfred hath wrought. I see a lot of mediocre to poor teams. Maybe one team will catch fire in the second half to join the wild card party at the expense of one of the Central teams. No idea which team, though. Flaws abound.

Expand full comment

Man, I don't know how Fangraphs is calculating their odds. We're rapidly approaching the halfway mark of the season and they're still not giving the Royals any credence for their performance - and it's not like KC is winning in spite of a run differential that suggests they've been lucky. How do you have a better record than a team in your division and still be seen as a significant underdog to them to actually make the playoffs? Come on, Fangraphs, be better.

Expand full comment

It’s a combo of past performance and future projection. Plus a lot of things I’ll never understand. They project the Royals to be 3 games under .500 the rest of the way. I get it. The bullpen is shabby and the outfield production remains an issue. But if Picollo and company make the right moves over the next few weeks, that projection could be turned completely on its head. Here’s hoping.

Expand full comment