Free Agent Signings:
Carlos Santana
Mike Minor
Michael Taylor
Ervin Santana
Top 10 Prospects:
1 Bobby Witt Jr., SS
2 Asa Lacy, LHP
3 Daniel Lynch, LHP
4 Jackson Kowar, RHP
5 Erick Pena, OF
6 Nick Loftin, SS
7 Kyle Isbel, OF
8 Khali Lee, OF
9 Jonathan Bowlan, RHP
10 Carlos Hernedez, RHP [Reply]
The oblique thing is worrisome because those will linger. I think it really depends on how severe they think the thing is. If it's a long term thing the odds of seeing Witt definitely go up.
If it's a 2-3 week thing there's no way they clear a 40-man spot and all that and start his clock. [Reply]
Adalberto Mondesi will open the season on the injured list due to a right oblique strain. The Royals placed their starting shortstop on the 10-day IL on Wednesday, the day before Opening Day against the Rangers at Kauffman Stadium.
The move is retroactive to Tuesday. To replace Mondesi, Kansas City recalled infielder Nicky Lopez from the team's alternate site.
Mondesi hit .256 with six home runs and a Major League-leading 24 stolen bases in 59 games last season. After slumping for much of the season, he was great over the final month, hitting .376/.424/.706 with an 1.130 OPS and all six of his homers over his final 22 games.
The 25-year-old has dealt with injury issues in the past -- Mondesi's career high for games played is 102 in 2019.
Lopez was optioned to Triple-A Omaha on Sunday after a tough spring, with Whit Merrifield reclaiming the Royals' second-base job.
Though he’s been excellent defensively in his two big league seasons, the 26-year-old Lopez has underwhelmed at the plate, hitting .228 with a .586 OPS in 594 plate appearances.
In 2020, Lopez hit .201 with a .552 OPS and one home run in 56 games. [Reply]
Meet the Royals new RF. How Kyle Isbel evolved from really annoying to the brink of his MLB debut. by
Alec Lewis
Originally Posted by :
Royals top pitching prospect Daniel Lynch talked over the winter about competing at the alternate site in 2020. He had faced the same hitters every day. It had been, as he put it, “really annoying.” Especially when outfielder Kyle Isbel, a 24-year-old left-handed hitter, stepped into the box.
Usually, when Lynch faces lefties, he attacks them with fastballs and sliders.
“I was going to get them out every time,” he said.
This wasn’t arrogance but a reality: Lynch is a lengthy lefty with an upper-90s fastball and sweeping slider. (The Athletic’s Keith Law ranked him the No. 17 prospect in MLB for a reason.) Against Isbel, though, this did not work. Lynch would try a fastball and Isbel would hammer it to the opposite field. The pitcher would then feather a slider, and Isbel would spit at it, waiting for the pitch he wanted. Hence, the annoying part. Lynch would have to throw change-ups in counts he had never thrown them before. Isbel was that advanced.
That skill helps explain why Isbel will be breaking camp with the Royals’ big-league club. Manager Mike Matheny announced Wednesday that Isbel will start in right field on Opening Day against the Texas Rangers.
Isbel, whom the Royals selected in the third round of the 2018 MLB Draft, earned an opportunity to compete for the big-league club this spring. His advanced ability to hit shows in the statistics. He has posted a .978 OPS in 48 plate appearances during Cactus League play. Some might balk at the 6.9 OppQual (quality of pitching faced), per Baseball-Reference, but in comparison, Royals starting third baseman Hunter Dozier has posted a 1.042 OPS against a 7.2 OppQual. The numbers are comparable, as is the temperament of both players.
That gets to another element of Isbel’s makeup that the Royals have long noticed. Throughout 2020, as prospects played games at the club’s alternate site in Wyandotte County, Kan., staffers watched how players responded to particular performances. Isbel would tally a 4-for-4 day with a home run against a big-league pitcher and arrive at the ballpark the next day almost unfazed about what he had done. He’d then strike out twice in the next game and arrive the next day with his facial expression and focus exactly the same.
Royals officials observed a similar response when they reassigned Isbel to minor-league camp a couple of weeks ago. There were no eye rolls. No questions as to why. No voicing of frustration.
In Royals circles, the 2018 MLB Draft has become something of a legend because of the amount of pitching they selected. Yet as stoked as the Royals were about the arms they selected, they had their eyes set on one specific hitter: Isbel. When scouting director Lonnie Goldberg exited the draft room after the first night, he was shocked that Isbel was still on the board. He didn’t think they’d have a chance to select him the next day. The Royals were that convinced of his potential because of what they’d seen both in college and during the pre-draft workout.
Royals area scout Ken Munoz had gotten to know Isbel, who batted .376 with 10 home runs and 22 RBIs as a junior at UNLV. Munoz liked the player a lot, so the Royals invited Isbel to a pre-draft workout on a whim. Munoz received a spontaneous call, saying: “Drop everything. Isbel is coming to Kansas City.”
Munoz booked a flight the following day, picked Isbel up at the airport and drove him to the stadium. Their time together only solidified Munoz’s belief.
“It reinforced what a special person Kyle was,” Munoz said.
On the second day of the draft, Isbel remained on the board until the Royals pounced on him with the 94th pick, the 16th pick of the third round.
“I don’t know how things worked out,” Royals scouting director Lonnie Goldberg said later. “But that was huge for us.”
It didn’t take long for Isbel to show why. In 105 at-bats at short-season Idaho Falls in 2018, Isbel posted a 1.063 OPS. The Royals, understanding he was fit for a higher level, moved him to Low-A Lexington, where Isbel continued to succeed. He posted a .779 OPS in 159 at-bats. The performance paved the way to 2019. Isbel earned an assignment to High-A Wilmington and 12 games into the season his OPS sat around 1.100. An opportunity at Double-A Northwest Arkansas seemed inevitable. Then, because this is baseball, there had to be adversity.
In the 13th game at Wilmington, a slicing line drive to center field bounced and hit Isbel in the face. He stayed in the game and later, while, running to first base on a grounder, suffered a torn hamstring. He flew to Arizona for rehabilitation work and, while playing in a tuneup game, lost his grip on the bat during a swing. Isbel’s hand felt weird as he stepped back into the batter’s box. It turns out he had broken his hamate bone.
An operation to remove the bone fragment meant more rehab. Isbel returned to action in July 2019, even though his swing felt off. He struggled but worked through it, and later in the year received an invitation to play in the Arizona Fall League. He showcased his pre-injury talent against upper-minors pitchers, batting .315/.429/.438 (.867 OPS). The Royals noticed and invited him to big-league spring training in 2020, where he impressed immediately. After one batting practice session, a Royals staffer said, “He looks like a big leaguer right now.”
The COVID-19 pandemic put an end to his performance but allowed him to work with the Royals’ revamped hitting development department: director of hitting performance Alec Zumwalt, hitting coordinator Drew Saylor and assistant hitting coordinator Keoni De Renne, among others. Isbel competed at the alternate site, annoying pitchers such as Lynch, but also earning their respect and leaving an impression on the staff. That reputation preceded this year’s spring training.
That’s where Isbel fit in.
(Isbel will remain in right field, and Merrifield will remain at second, but there was a wrinkle Wednesday: The Royals announced that Adalberto Mondesi suffered a right oblique injury; Lopez was recalled and will play shortstop.)
That the Royals are willing to buck service time with this decision speaks as much about the organization as Isbel’s readiness. There’s a reason the Royals wanted him so badly in the 2018 MLB Draft, and that same reason is why the Royals have so much confidence in this move.
It’s not solely about Isbel’s ability to perform. It’s also about how he’ll handle everything else. Everything that comes with the opportunity he’s long worked for.
Infielders (6): Hanser Alberto, Hunter Dozier, Nicky Lopez, Ryan McBroom, Whit Merrifield, Carlos Santana
Outfielders (5): Andrew Benintendi, Jarrod Dyson, Kyle Isbel, Jorge Soler, Michael Taylor
Starting pitchers (4): Danny Duffy, Brad Keller, Mike Minor, Brady Singer
Relief pitchers (9): Scott Barlow, Jake Brentz, Wade Davis, Jesse Hahn, Carlos Hernández, Greg Holland, Jakob Junis, Josh Staumont, Kyle Zimmer
Injured List (1): Adalberto Mondesi
Royals 2021 Opening Day roster
Number Position Player Age 2020 Club
49 IF Alberto, Hanser 28.166 Baltimore Orioles
58 RHP Barlow, Scott 28.104 Kansas City Royals
16 OF Benintendi, Andrew 26.268 Boston Red Sox
59 LHP Brentz, Jake 26.199 None
71 RHP Davis, Wade 35.206 Colorado Rockies
17 3B Dozier, Hunter 29.222 Kansas City Royals
30 LHP Duffy, Danny 32.101 Kansas City Royals
1 OF Dyson, Jarrod 36.229 Pittsburgh Pirates/Chicago White Sox
36 C Gallagher, Cam 28.116 Kansas City Royals
32 RHP Hahn, Jesse 31.245 Kansas City Royals
43 RHP Hernandez, Carlos 24.021 Kansas City Royals
35 RHP Holland, Greg 35.132 Kansas City Royals
28 OF Isbel, Kyle 24.029 None
24 RHP Junis, Jakob 28.197 Kansas City Royals
56 RHP Keller, Brad 25.248 Kansas City Royals
8 2B/SS Lopez, Nicky 26.019 Kansas City Royals
9 1B/OF McBroom, Ryan 28.357 Kansas City Royals
15 2B/OF Merrifield, Whit 32.067 Kansas City Royals
23 LHP Minor, Mike 33.096 Texas Rangers/Oakland Athletics
13 C Perez, Salvador 30.326 Kansas City Royals
41 1B Santana, Carlos 34.358 Cleveland Indians
51 RHP Singer, Brady 24.240 Kansas City Royals
12 OF Soler, Jorge 29.035 Kansas City Royals
63 RHP Staumont, Josh 27.101 Kansas City Royals
2 OF Taylor, Michael 30.006 Washington Nationals
45 RHP Zimmer, Kyle 29.200 Kansas City Royals [Reply]
Good God. One thing you can DEFINITELY count on is to not count on Mondesi for anything. If he isn't being the worst hitter in baseball, he'll be the best hitter in baseball. And, just when we're all excited for a fast start in 2021, the guy shows up injured. Sheesh. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BWillie:
Did we really just DFA Viloria? I mean, catchers don't grow on trees with his tools.
This likely says more about Rivero and Melendez' development than anything. And the fact that Gallagher is about as fine a backup catcher as we've had in a long time. Plus...might be a trade forthcoming if someone wants him and doesn't want to take a chance on waivers.
Viloria and Blewitt make the most sense for the DFA's. Still haven't put Tillo on the 60 day list, I'm guessing? That would be make room for Santana when they need him. [Reply]