Royals Rumblings - News for June 24, 2025
Is Lucas Erceg okay?
David Lesky questions some of Matt Quatraro’s decisions on Sunday.
It was in the bottom of the ninth inning with second and third and one out. I don’t know why they didn’t walk Jose Iglesias to set up the force at any base with the bottom of the order due up. It forced Witt to have to go up the middle with the infield way in and he wasn’t in a position to make a throw to stop the winning run from scoring. Iglesias makes a lot of contact and Schreiber gets a lot of grounders, so in a perfect world, sure, maybe you hope one of them is right to someone, but you leave the possibility of what happened happening. So I disagreed with that choice.
But, you know, maybe Daniel Lynch IV doesn’t continue to put runners on base at an alarming rate and that doesn’t happen. Or maybe you score more than two runs and that doesn’t happen.
Craig Brown puts the blame on the offense.
The best opportunity to break the game open came early. The Royals loaded the bases with one out in the second, but Kyle Isbel popped out and Jonathan India had a dreadful plate appearance chasing a pitch well off the zone to end the threat with a whiff.
Popouts were the theme of the day. The Royals hit eight infield pop flies. Eight! Over 12 percent of the balls the Royals hit in the air don’t leave the infield, which is a stupidly elevated rate. Let’s just say they did not do themselves any favors on Sunday. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team hit eight infield pops in a single game. Just horrible execution all around.
Kevin O’Brien at Royals Reporter wonders what is wrong with Lucas Erceg.
That said, there have been some red flags, especially in terms of his strike-generating ability.
After posting a 28.5% strikeout rate with the A’s and Royals last year, his rate is down to 19%. His CSW has also gone from 31.3% in 2024 to 25.9% this season, and his swinging strike rate of 11.8% is also a two percent decline from a year ago. On a positive note, he is walking fewer batters at 4.8% (1.5% lower than his rate in 2024). That said, for a pitcher who comes in high-leverage spots, the strikeout decline is concerning.
Bobby Witt Jr. is second in All-Star voting at shortstop.
The Royals returned Kyle Wright from rehab and optioned him to Triple-A Omaha.
Richard Lovelady now goes by “Dicky” as he is signed by the Mets.
The Reds designate Jeimer Candelario for assignment with more than $20 million owed to him.
The Diamondbacks lose Corbin Carroll to a wrist injury, and Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suarez also exit early with injuries.
Chris Sale’s injury will make it harder for the Braves to come back this season.
What does the AL MVP race look like?
The Twins pick up the option on manager Rocco Baldelli for 2026.
The Red Sox reportedly used an AI bot to conduct interviews with baseball ops candidates.
The Arizona Legislature approves up to $500 million in improvements to Chase Field.
The A’s refusal to embrace Sacramento is backfiring.
Fernando Tatis Jr. sues to void a future earnings contract he signed at age 17.
Prosecutors are seeking a five-year prison term for Wander Franco in his sex abuse case.
Do the Oklahoma City Thunder have dynasty potential?
The Philadelphia Union aren’t interested in signing international star Thomas Müller at his salary demands.
What would happen if you tried to land on Jupiter?
The K-Pop group BTS is back after completing their compulsory military service.
Elio gives Pixar its worst opening weekend box office ever.
Your song of the day is The Tubes with She’s a Beauty.