Few things are more frustrating in life than Royals pitchers. McArthur was great last night though. I was fully expecting him to give up the lead, although it wasn't really his fault. I'm sure there are plenty of examples, but off the top of my head, I have a hard time coming up with another pitcher who looked as promising as Carlos Hernandez and then totally fell off a cliff. I mean, I was genuinely excited for his potential as a closer in the years moving forward. I never fully bought into him as a starter, even during his brief runs of success, but even when he fell off for good as a SP, it was nothing like this. I thought he might have a chance to join the list of great Royals closers, even if that meant he might eventually get shipped off in exchange for some prospects without ever pitching in truly meaningful games, but this collapse has been something else. You're more plugged in than I am, where do you sit on him? Where do the Royals sit on him? Any chance you think he can be fixed or is he already washed? The stuff obviously didn't magically disappear, but jeez, it feels like a given that he's going to give up a dinger every time he steps on the mound and that things will then go from bad to worse. These sorts of things, which feel all too common with the Royals, make it hard to get too excited about guys like McArthur long-term, but maybe that's not fair. Hernandez aside, I've been mildly encouraged by the progress the new coaching staff has made with some of these pitchers. It hasn't been the dramatic turnaround I was hoping for, but the acquisition of Ragans and his early returns is enough to convince me they upgraded significantly from Eldred and company, and guys like McArthur help their case as well. But I'm still gun-shy on the whole, and this article only reinforces my concerns. Keller's decline started a long time ago, Singer has serious red flags and I'm not confident that they can be worked out, and Hernandez has been a total disaster in the second half. Anyway, those are my rambling thoughts on the matter. Can you tell I'm trying to avoid doing real work right now? Thanks for your help in procrastinating. Great read as always.
Thanks, Patrick. I was with you on McArthur. I didn't think there was any way he could escape that jam. If he didn't I wouldn't have held it against him.
On Hernández, the Royals made the right call last winter to make him a full time reliever. But he's allowed runs in six of his last seven appearances and hasn't had a clean inning since late July. I'm inclined to think some of it may be fatigue, some of it may be mental. He was thriving earlier in the sesaon when he was working generally in the sixth and seventh innings. With Chapman and Barlow removed from the bullpen and his role shifted to the eighth or ninth inning that's when all hell has broken loose. I believe Hernández will be eligible for arbitration as a Super Two, but he will still be affordable enough for the Royals to give him the winter to reset to see what he has for 2024.
If McArthur sticks (which will be a question we all continually ask this winter), he and Hernández could be a servicable back end of a bullpen.
Few things are more frustrating in life than Royals pitchers. McArthur was great last night though. I was fully expecting him to give up the lead, although it wasn't really his fault. I'm sure there are plenty of examples, but off the top of my head, I have a hard time coming up with another pitcher who looked as promising as Carlos Hernandez and then totally fell off a cliff. I mean, I was genuinely excited for his potential as a closer in the years moving forward. I never fully bought into him as a starter, even during his brief runs of success, but even when he fell off for good as a SP, it was nothing like this. I thought he might have a chance to join the list of great Royals closers, even if that meant he might eventually get shipped off in exchange for some prospects without ever pitching in truly meaningful games, but this collapse has been something else. You're more plugged in than I am, where do you sit on him? Where do the Royals sit on him? Any chance you think he can be fixed or is he already washed? The stuff obviously didn't magically disappear, but jeez, it feels like a given that he's going to give up a dinger every time he steps on the mound and that things will then go from bad to worse. These sorts of things, which feel all too common with the Royals, make it hard to get too excited about guys like McArthur long-term, but maybe that's not fair. Hernandez aside, I've been mildly encouraged by the progress the new coaching staff has made with some of these pitchers. It hasn't been the dramatic turnaround I was hoping for, but the acquisition of Ragans and his early returns is enough to convince me they upgraded significantly from Eldred and company, and guys like McArthur help their case as well. But I'm still gun-shy on the whole, and this article only reinforces my concerns. Keller's decline started a long time ago, Singer has serious red flags and I'm not confident that they can be worked out, and Hernandez has been a total disaster in the second half. Anyway, those are my rambling thoughts on the matter. Can you tell I'm trying to avoid doing real work right now? Thanks for your help in procrastinating. Great read as always.
Thanks, Patrick. I was with you on McArthur. I didn't think there was any way he could escape that jam. If he didn't I wouldn't have held it against him.
On Hernández, the Royals made the right call last winter to make him a full time reliever. But he's allowed runs in six of his last seven appearances and hasn't had a clean inning since late July. I'm inclined to think some of it may be fatigue, some of it may be mental. He was thriving earlier in the sesaon when he was working generally in the sixth and seventh innings. With Chapman and Barlow removed from the bullpen and his role shifted to the eighth or ninth inning that's when all hell has broken loose. I believe Hernández will be eligible for arbitration as a Super Two, but he will still be affordable enough for the Royals to give him the winter to reset to see what he has for 2024.
If McArthur sticks (which will be a question we all continually ask this winter), he and Hernández could be a servicable back end of a bullpen.
Hoping Keller Minor League offer isn’t here in KC
I don't think there's any way Keller will be back with the Royals.
Royals have a history of letting players go and then offering them MiL contracts. Just saying...won’t shock me...don’t want it.