Royals Win With An Offensive Explosion

Sweeney has a career-high 5-hit game

The Royals won an exciting game tonight and I was fortunate to see it at the "K". The streaky Royals' offense produced 12 runs on 21 hits and the Royals beat the Twins 12-8. Mike Sweeney had his first 5-hit game and had a pair of double and 3 RBIs. David DeJesus went 3 for 5 and hit a home run to RF. DeJesus also made a great catch in centerfield and was able to throw out the runner at first for a double play. Long, Brown, Teahan, Gotay, and Berroa also had multi-hit games. The Royals looked like a completely different team at the plate. The bullpen did a pretty good job. Jensen was a sore spot, but pitched about as well as expected. Nunez came in and pitched well. Nunez had a good outing yesterday as well. Nunez was hitting 95-96 mph on the radar gun. Sisco came in and bailed out Gobble in the eighth inning. Mike MacDougal struck out the first two batters he faced in the ninth. Then, he gave up a double and lost his control. He walked the next batter he faced and fell behind the other hitter. But, he was able to get the final out and no runs scored in the ninth. MacDougal always makes the ninth inning more exciting than it needs to be.

There were some bad events as well though, but the good ones prevailed. JP Howell struggled with his command and was getting hit pretty hard. It's only a matter of time before Howell heads back to the minors. He'll be a good pitcher in time, his promotion was just very premature. Gobble's stuff looked pretty good, but his command is still a problem. He also needs to mix in his very good slider more often. Terrence Long had an embarassing game. He popped up a bunt attempt and the pitcher missed it, but it resulted in a double play with Buck and DeJesus being picked off. Long also should have slid into home, but instead tried to take out the catcher and failed miserably. Long also doesn't seem to know what the cutoff man is supposed to do. I'd really like to see the Royals trade Terrence Long. Buddy Bell is going to play him everyday until we do. Costa is a better player than Long and he has a future with the team.

The umpire crew has been awful during this series. Last night, DeJesus clearly checked his swing and Bell had a case, but the umpire just stood and glared at Bell. Tonight, Emil Brown was clearly safe in the 6th inning and that should not have been a double play. Buddy Bell was then ejected by first-base umpire Lance Barksdale after arguing the call. It didn't matter in the end because the Royals still won.

The Twins didn't look like the Twins teams I'm using to seeing. They played poor defense and the pitching got torched by a weak Royals team. Santana and Radke better have great second halfs, otherwise they will have a tough time winning the wildcard.

Here are a couple more pictures from tonight's game:

DeJesus hits a 2-run homer

Bell argues a bad call made by the first base umpire

Outfield Depth: Is it really a problem?

The Royals have pegged this as a major need in the organization and are looking to add a young power-hitting corner outfielder. It is rumored that the Royals are planning on trading MacDougal for Matt Murton, an outfield prospect in the Cubs' organization. I'll go in-depth about the trade if and when it occurs.

Outfielders already on the ML club:

1. David DeJesus (CF): DeJesus is a solid CF who gets the most out of his ability. DeJesus gets on-base at a pretty good rate and is 3rd on the team in RBIs as the leadoff hitter. He doesn't have much power or speed, but he's a fine option until a better CF prospect arrives.

2. Shane Costa (LF): Costa is a good contact hitter who should develop 20 HR power in time. Costa is a solid defender in LF. His ML line through 63 ABs: 286/348/397. Not bad at all.

3. Emil Brown (RF): Brown has been one of the Royals' most pleasant surprises. After having a horrid April, Brown has improved his OBP from .254 to .358. Brown has pretty good power and is probably a 15 HR, 30 double hitter if he plays everyday. Brown is as good a hitter as the free agency market will offer (Lawton, Cruz, Giles are notable OF FAs). So, he would seem like a good cheap option until the Royals are ready to break in Maier or Butler in RF.

4. Terrence Long (LF/RF): Trade bait

Outfield Prospects who are likely to reach the majors in 2006 or 2007

AA:

1. Mitch Maier: Maier is having a very good season. He is leading the minors with 39 doubles and has 10 HRs. Maier is also the best defensive outfielder in the minors and could become a CF or RF.

High A:

1. Billy Butler: Butler would profile as a young, power-hitting corner OF and an impact bat the Royals desperately want. The question with Butler is his defense. He has a very good arm and could probably play RF, but his range and fielding ability may force him to be a DH.

2. Chris Lubanski: Lubanski had a terrible start, but has improved. His plate discipline still has a long ways to go and he probably won't be a CF unless he improves his defense considerably. Lubanski has almost as many HRs as Butler and looks to be developing good power.

Other possibilities:
1. Alex Gordon: If Teahan develops into a solid 3rd basemen, Gordon could become a RF if it's still a major need. Of course, the Royals still have to sign Gordon, but he could arrive by 2007 in the OF.

Overall, a depth chart of the outfield looks like this:

LF:
1. Costa
2. Butler
3. Lubanski

CF:
1. DeJesus
2. Maier

RF:
1. Brown
2. Maier
3. Butler
4. (Gordon) -if signed and position change is made

This doesn't appear to be a significant weakness anymore. Costa and Maier have advanced and played well at the next level and profile as solid major-league outfielders. Butler, Lubanski, and Gordon could provide the Royals with some power at the corner outfield spots. Unless the Royals can find a prospect/player who is a significant upgrade over these players/prospects (without mortgaging the future), the Royals should focus more on other weaknesses in the organization (there are plenty). My greatest concern is starting pitching. The Royals only have two solid starting pitching prospects in the minors: Luis Cota (low A) and Billy Buckner (high A). This an area that needs to be addressed.

Mike Sweeney Hurt, Again

Ok, I'm starting to feel pretty bad for the guy. His oblique/back problems that were bothering him earlier in the season aren't the problem. They are injuries that really were just bad luck. Tonight, Sweeney was hit by a pitch on the hand. The guy just cannot catch a break. He just returned from the DL after colliding with a player in the Dodgers series.
The injuries are piling up for the Royals. Denny Bautista just had an MRI on his shoulder. He's throwing in the upper 90s, but is having pain when he throws his curveball. Bautista has already been out since early May. Hopefully, it's just a minor setback. But, with shoulder injuries, you never know. He could be out for a year and a half (Baird didn't seem to think this was the case, thankfully), which would put a major dent in the Royals' future rotation.
Affeldt is set to return tomorrow. I hope Affeldt is 100 percent healthy, otherwise he shouldn't be pitching. The last thing he needs to do is reinjure his groin again. At least the blister let him pitch 4 or 5 innings at a time. I often wonder what would have happened if they had left Affeldt in the rotation at the start of last year. He's wasn't pitching that poorly and his blister problems had ceased. Oh well, too late to do anything about that.

A Victory and Some Offense

After being shutout 3 out of their last 4 games, the Royals' offense broke out of its slump. David DeJesus was the star of the day, going 2 for 4 with 3 RBIs and a walk. Not only has DeJesus done a good job of getting on base, he's done a good job of driving in runners. He's in a close third to Sweeney and Brown for the team lead in RBIs with 35. The Royals' youth drove in 7 of the Royals' 8 runs.

It's amazing how little the offense has done since Sweeney has returned. Sweeney also hasn't hit a home run since early May (to an extent because he's been on the DL so much). It's been a week since the Royals hit a home run. This team doesn't have much pop in the lineup and that will be something that needs to be addressed during the offseason.

Carrasco struggled today. He gave up 10 hits (3 doubles and 1 home run). Carrasco was leaving his curveball up in the strike zone and Seattle made him pay for it. But, the Royals beat up on Meche and Carrasco picked up his fourth victory and now has a 4-3 record. The bullpen did a pretty good job. Sisco allowed an inherited runner score and gave up a run. Sisco pitched well in June, although he had a noticeable drop in his strikeout rate, with just 5 K's in 9 1/3 IP. Wood got a double play to bail Sisco out. Gobble pitched a scoreless eighth and struck out 1 batter. I'm still not sold on Gobble because of his control, but his stuff is good. MacDougal picked up his 10th save and has done a great job since taking over the closer's role. MacDougal's control has been much better this year and he can still ring up batters with his great slider.

With Affeldt possibly returning Thursday, a pitcher will likely be sent back down. My guess is that it will be Nunez. He's clearly not ready to pitch in the big leagues. Affeldt hasn't been great in his rehab assignments. Tonight he gave up 2 hits, 1 walk, and 1 earned run in 1 inning. Affeldt has now pitched more innings in rehab assignments at Omaha than he has pitched for the big league team. I'm not sure what the Royals are going to do with Affeldt. He's been mentioned in a lot of trade rumors. If the Royals can get a power-hitting corner OF (or power-hitting anything for that matter) for Affeldt, that would be a good move. We have plenty of good arms in the bullpen and MacDougal seems to have won the closer's role for the immediate future, so Affeldt seems expendable. Affeldt is still pretty much an unknown. He's a lefty with 94-97 mph FB and a very good curveball. There aren't too many of those around, so a lot of teams would be willing to give him a chance.

2005 Draft Update

The Royals are still trying to sign Gordon and Nicoll. The Royals have submitted initial offers to Gordon, so negotiations are underway. The results on the 2nd and 4th round picks so far have been good, especially considering they were considered overdrafted by Baseball America. Billy Butler was considered to be "overdrafted" last year. That's hardly the case now. If the Royals' scouts can get the best talent available and sign them for less, more power to them. Early results on the Royals' top 10 picks look pretty good.

Round 2: SS Jeffrey Bianchi/HS

Bianchi is off to a very good start in the Arizona Rookie League. Bianchi is 19 for 38 so far with 4 HRs, 2 triples, and 4 doubles, and a team-leading 15 RBIs. Bianchi is off to a great start.

Round 4: CF Joseph Dickerson/HS

Dickerson is also off to a good start on the Arizona Rookie Team. Dickerson is 15 for 36 with 8 extra base hits.

Round 5: SS Shawn Hayes/College

Hayes is off to a slow start at Idaho Falls. Hayes has gone 7 for 31 with 3 doubles.

Round 6: LHP Ryan DiPietro/College

DiPietro has pitched in his first 3 starts at Idaho Falls. He's shown very good command, with just 2 walks in 11 2/3 innings and 13 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.97.

Round 7: LHP Brent Fisher/HS

Fisher has the potential for two plus pitches, but is still pretty raw.

Round 8: C Nicholas Doscher/HS

Doscher hasn't done much at the plate, just 2 for 13 so far. Like Fisher, Doscher is more of a project.

Round 9: C Kiel Thibault/College

Thibault has been productive so far, going 6 for 19 for Idaho Falls.

Round 10: C Jeffrey Howell/College

Howell is 8 for 21 with 7 runs scored, 1 triple, 1 HR, and no errors for Idaho Falls.

Baird's Trade Bait: Reel in Another Huber or Bautista

Baird did a good job last season of getting two very good players (Justin Huber and Denny Bautista) for virtually nothing (Jose Bautista and Jason Grimsley). In fact, he got more talent back in that those two trades than he did in the Carlos Beltran deal. Baird has some players who have some value in the trade market (and few surprisingly so) who don't figure into the future of this team. Here's a look at them, in order of most likely to be shipped out:

1. Tony Graffanino-Graffanino has been mentioned in several trade rumors. Teams are looking for a good utility guy to add depth. Graffanino is a veteran who gets on base and is a solid backup player. Graffanino could bring a B-/C+ prospect and I wouldn't underestimate his value to a team in contention.

2. Terrence Long-Assuming the Royals will pick up most of Long's salary, he'll likely be shipped out. Long is a serviceable 4th outfielder who does pretty well against righties. Long is also a pretty good defender in LF. I don't expect to get much in return for Long, maybe a C prospect.

3. Jose Lima-Lima has just plain stunk for the first half of the season. But, his best outings have come against NL teams. An NL team would probably give Lima a chance, especially considering his playoff performance last year. My guess is that the Royals swap Lima for another struggling starter.

4. Matt Stairs-Stairs is having a good season. Stairs is a solid hitter who takes a lot of walks. He isn't really a middle of the lineup hitter for a playoff team though. But, he would add depth and experience to a contending team. The Royals only trade Stairs if they can get a good return for him. Stairs will likely be needed to fill in for Sweeney if (when) he gets hurt.

5. Jeremy Affeldt-Once Affeldt gets healthy, he should attract some attention in the trade market. Affeldt has pitched a grand total of 11 2/3 innings so far this season. So, his value has somewhat diminished until he proves that he can stay healthy and be a consistently good setup man. But, a lefty with a 94-96 mph fastball and great curve will attract teams nonetheless. Affeldt could help the Royals get the corner outfielder they are after.

6. Mike MacDougal-MacDougal has settled into the closer's role and had success. Like Affeldt, MacDougal has great stuff and wouldn't add much to a team's payroll. Because he's stayed healthy and had success as a closer, MacDougal's trade value is higher than Affeldt's. But, removing MacDougal would destabilize the bullpen and start the closer carousel all over again. However, it's not like there are going to be many save situations this year.

7. Mike Sweeney-Sweeney is probably the least likely to be traded out of this group, but would bring the greatest return. The Royals have said they are looking to add a bat to Sweeney in the middle of the lineup. A playoff team desperate for a middle of the lineup hitter and room for significant payroll additions would pursue Sweeney and could bring a couple top prospects. Sweeney's contract and frequent DL stints lower his value. But, he's a valuable commidity, nonetheless.