The question is, is it not better to just trade Maldonado for a prospect right now instead of hoping for a prospect for Montgomery a year from now? The Angels got a decent pitching prospect and $250,000 in international bonus money for Maldonado last year, I don't see why we couldn't have gotten a similar return. Is a subpar starter really better than a prospect?
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Might have to change his name to Brady DINGER



Since being called up to AA he’d given up 5 smashes in 27 ip. (Only 1 at Wilmington)
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That’s a fair question. I guess it depends on what other teams were offering for Maldonado.
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Patrick Sandoval was nothing special.

Montgomery has flirted with being a league average starter. He has been terrible this year for the Cubs but is not far removed from nice production. There’s some upside and potentially a much more valuable trade chip.


Singer needs to find a third pitch to help him neutralize lefties. Looking at the arm slot and action, I’d like to see if he can handle a split finger. I suspect the classic three-finger changeup the Royals pitching development group prefers is tough to command with his delivery.
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He's had some injury issues, and it's only been 20 innings. I wouldn't put too much stock in his numbers this year. This is a great trade.
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Montgomery back as a starter is intriguing because he relies on 'feel' pitches to succeed.

Mongtomery went into spring with the Mariners several years ago and just decided he was gonna lean heavy on his curveball. He had a ton of early success with it, became more and more confident in it and that became who he was. When he was at his best that season (and in '17) it was because he had a good feel for that curve and knew what he was trying to do with it.

The reason so many people throw sliders now (and have for decades) is that it's a grip and rip pitch. The 'feel' for a slider is pretty easy - it's a lot like the cutter and fastball in that you just throw the hell out of it. Very few pitchers truly 'feel' for their sliders and go out there with the ability to change the shape of it. That's for the elite guys. For the vast majority of pitchers a slider is a pitch you just kinda throw so they're ideally situated for relief roles where you don't have to find the feel of it. The grip and a loose arm is about all you need for a 14-20 pitch relief role. Which is good because it's about all you're gonna have anyway.

The curveball is a different creature entirely. A curveball is a big time feel pitch. Well in limited stints and with clearly a crisis of confidence, Montgomery has kinda lost the feel for his curve and it's gone from being his bread and butter to a pitch that just kinda sucks right now. And when guys don't have to honor the curve anymore, his fastball won't play up. And when the fastball won't play up, his change starts to get more hittable.

Montgomery's success, unlike a lot of pitchers, comes almost exclusively via pitching off his curveball. And if he can get more low-leverage innings under his belt to re-find the feel of that curve, he'll get back to being a decent pitcher. But he needs the innings and he needs to get the confidence in his curveball back.

And if it doesn't come, he's of no use to anyone. But there are interviews he did in the months after the Cubs world series where he was so attuned to that pitch and how it's success fueled him that I'm betting he knows exactly what needs to be done to get it back. It's a solid gamble by KCR.
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Tremendous points.

Coming up, Montgomery was a fastball/changeup guy who the Royals couldn’t help find a consistent curveball. Much like a lefty Michael Wacha, actually.

Around the time he got to AAA, he lost a notch on his fastball and started losing effectiveness as a result.
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Yeah, he can't survive fastball/changeup. He doesn't have the slider he needs to be effective as a LOOGY and he doesn't have the octane he needs (or the movement/command) to simply go fastball/change against righties. Nor does he have the precision to work changeup to lefties like someone like Glavine could do. So at that point he just goes up there and hopes guys are getting themselves out because he has very little to work with against them.

He NEEDS that curveball. Without it, he's a AA pitcher at this point. But if he gets that plus curveball back the rest of the arsenal opens back up. Just as it did the FIRST time he found the curveball in the spring of '16 with the Mariners.
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This says a lot about where the Royals are in developing starting pitching in the minors. Oaks (injured), Skoglund (struggles), Zimmer (?), Blewitt (not ready), Hahn (injured). It's a good move for a reclaimation project and attempts to "Dutch Boy" the rotation. Fangraphs shows velocity still up, but a change in the mix of pitches. Different voice (Eldred) than when he was here.... Worst Case........ hes as good as Flynn
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The White Sox defense looks like the Chiefs defense tonight. Just hideous.
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:-) And just after I post that they allow an inside the park homer. Well it should be after this replay.
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That was awesome
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He was chugging at the end lol
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Mondesi down
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Shoulder maybe
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