Originally Posted by GabyKeepsMeWarm
Are the Royals good? Best guess? Yeah, maybe.
BWJr is the real deal, and he’s just entering his prime. He’s not simply a potential all-star, he’s a potential MVP.
Maikel Garcia is good, and has times of being very good. Great glove, great speed and just seems to have a very high baseball IQ. I think he’s got a chance of being an occasional all-star.
Vinnie can hit. He had a bad first week and half of chopping wood, but that swing is real, and his eye is real. He’s gonna get 60-70 walks even in a bad year, and I really think he could be a very close version of Mike Sweeney, only left-handed. Also has so much personality and a very easy dude to root for. I think he could have some MVP vote seasons, and certainly a few all-star seasons
Salvy is doing it again. And he could be looking at a 9th all-star selection if he even comes close to continuing his current numbers. At the end, he’ll have his numbers, and even at his age, he’s no worse than middle of the pack at the catcher position.
Mervyl is potentially gonna be a beast offensively. If the work he’s done in the offseason in the outfield plays, he’s gonna be another potential all-star.
Nelson V. What a trade this has been. So far he’s been hitting to all fields, but his Kauffman numbers are insane. So happy he’s on the team. Potential all-star
Those are the first six dudes in the lineup. They’re getting it done.
The next three are a mixed bag, Renfroe, Frazier, Isbel…. But while they haven’t been excelling at anything collectively, they also haven’t hurt things too much, and they’ve all had a few moments already. Defense has been mostly solid, sans Frazier a bit. And nobody here is gonna carry the club, but hopefully not kill them either. Plus, Massey, Waters, and Loftin lay in the weeds.
But now we get to the pitching…
Wacha has the longest history of anyone in this rotation, and thus far, he’s been terrific. Dude is a total pro.
Lugo just got his 3rd start, and while he isn’t striking out many, he’s missing bats and making hitters look dumb or just hitting into easy grounders. Total pro. Haven’t been too many pitchers who went from being primarily relievers at the big league level to being starters, so I’m expecting a couple dead arm moments from him.
Brady Singer. Has he arrived? Or is this another odd/even year nonsense? He’s got the arm. He’s been mostly healthy. He’s in his prime and he’s looking locked in. He’s missing a lot of bats, and he’s doing something he hasn’t done much yet, getting a lot of easy innings, while still getting K’s. I really think he could get a no-hitter at some point. He could be an all-star.
Alec Marsh…. Way too early to say much. But if we can even get 5-6 innings out him or anyone from the fifth spot, we’re cooking with gas.
Cole Ragans is everyone’s hope and prayer for a real ace. He was the MAN last August and was the AL pitcher of the month. No small feat. He’s a revelation. The only question is can he do this for a full season. Cy Young and all-star potential.
Bullpen…. It’s been shaky. We don’t have a closer. We’ve got relievers and they’re all gonna have be used at the right time as I believe this crew is a work in progress. Nobody in this pen scares anyone. We have nobody who can go out there and simply knock em down. Thankfully, we have a good defense, and if they don’t give up too many meatballs, we should hang in most games.
So far, this season really couldn’t be going much better. A real rotation has been a revelation. But history says we won’t have a sub 2ERA from our starters, and there’s gonna be injuries and we’re gonna see Lynch, McMillon, Davies, Bubic and others at some point. No team goes without their share of injuries, but good seasons depend on limited injuries and nothing ever getting into stupid shit like losing 16 out of 20 games. Limit 2-3 streak losses, and keep your head up.
I think I predicted 77 wins +/- 5. I’m gonna stick with that, hope for the plus 5, and hope for even more. When the Royals win. People show up, and this joint turns into a baseball town rocking that stadium. Let’s win, rock that joint for a few more years before it gets lifted up and plopped downtown. Then we can just hopefully keep rocking while BWJr is in the middle of a HOF career…
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