Ending Road Trip on a Good Note
Royals won 3-1 today. DJ Carrasco had another fine start for the Royals. Carrasco has had 7 quality starts in his first 9 starts this season. One of the starts, at Coors Field, I'll give him a free pass on. Can Carrasco keep it up? I think he may be able to. Carrasco's fastball has good movement on it and gets a lot of groundballs. His slider is still a good pitch and his curveball has really improved. His curveball drops off the table and is a legit strikeout pitch. Carrasco's control has been a problem, but he's been able to work around the walks for the most part. Carrasco has walked 21 and struck out 22 in 55 2/3 innings. Those aren't the kind of numbers that suggest long-term success as a starter. But, Carrasco has shown good poise and the ability to work out of jams. Carrasco also gets a lot of groundballs and poorly hit balls that help him get outs without striking a lot of guys out.
On another positive note, our outfielders are have a very good season. David DeJesus is a solid overall player. What I like most about DeJesus is his plate discipline and ability to get on-base. Ideally, a leadoff hitter should be a good basestealer, which DeJesus isn't. But, he's still pretty quick and gets on-base a lot. Emil Brown has emerged as the power-hitting outfielder that Baird desperately searched for in the offseason. Brown has an OBP of around .400 for the months of May and June. He's slugging over .500 during both months as well. Shane Costa has played well so far. Costa was hitting just .274 at Wichita with 5 HRs in 164 ABs. Since being promoted, Costa is hitting .313 with 2 HRs in 48 ABs for the Royals.
The Royals broke a 8-game losing streak today. But, there were some things that really bothered me during the losing streak. First of all, why isn't Buddy Bell playing Justin Huber? In the past couple of games, he's been DHing Terrence Long. So much for giving Huber a taste of the big leagues. I really hope the Royals can ship Long out of Kansas City. I'm tired of Costa and Huber losing playing time to an 4th outfielder who isn't in the future of this team. The other major setback this year has been the play of shortstop Angel Berroa. Berroa has only gotten worse since his rookie year. Berroa's defense was improving until today, when he made an error late in the game that could have cost the Royals the game. He had another bad play that should have been an error earlier in the game. Berroa's plate discipline has been terrible. He's struck out 58 times already and walked just 11. Berroa's power has disappeared since his rookie year. He hit 17 HRs as a rookie and has hit just 5 so far. Berroa also hasn't been successful stealing bases this year. Two years ago, Berroa looked like a 20-20 player. Now, the Royals may be looking for his replacement.
On another positive note, our outfielders are have a very good season. David DeJesus is a solid overall player. What I like most about DeJesus is his plate discipline and ability to get on-base. Ideally, a leadoff hitter should be a good basestealer, which DeJesus isn't. But, he's still pretty quick and gets on-base a lot. Emil Brown has emerged as the power-hitting outfielder that Baird desperately searched for in the offseason. Brown has an OBP of around .400 for the months of May and June. He's slugging over .500 during both months as well. Shane Costa has played well so far. Costa was hitting just .274 at Wichita with 5 HRs in 164 ABs. Since being promoted, Costa is hitting .313 with 2 HRs in 48 ABs for the Royals.
The Royals broke a 8-game losing streak today. But, there were some things that really bothered me during the losing streak. First of all, why isn't Buddy Bell playing Justin Huber? In the past couple of games, he's been DHing Terrence Long. So much for giving Huber a taste of the big leagues. I really hope the Royals can ship Long out of Kansas City. I'm tired of Costa and Huber losing playing time to an 4th outfielder who isn't in the future of this team. The other major setback this year has been the play of shortstop Angel Berroa. Berroa has only gotten worse since his rookie year. Berroa's defense was improving until today, when he made an error late in the game that could have cost the Royals the game. He had another bad play that should have been an error earlier in the game. Berroa's plate discipline has been terrible. He's struck out 58 times already and walked just 11. Berroa's power has disappeared since his rookie year. He hit 17 HRs as a rookie and has hit just 5 so far. Berroa also hasn't been successful stealing bases this year. Two years ago, Berroa looked like a 20-20 player. Now, the Royals may be looking for his replacement.
posted by SoonerRoyal at 8:25 PM
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