I'm thinking 74. 74-88 would be a hell of a jump from the last several years and would really get this fanbase in a frenzy.

Jackson had a 9.6% walk rate as a 27-year-old in his prime season.

What’s the Royals record thru the end of April will be the real question.

I usually am optimistic in Spring. Optimism has not helped the team win games. So this year I'll go with 70 wins.

Lyles gives up back to back to back HRs in the first and I’m actually in attendance LMAO

I don't think our optimism has any effect on their record, so I'll continue to be an optimist until they give me a reason to not be optimistic. What fun is there in being pessimistic?

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Cole Ragans will be the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Royals?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Royals</a> Opening Day starter, the team announces.</p>&mdash; Anne Rogers (@anne__rogers) <a href="https://twitter.com/anne__rogers/status/1769539296317329722?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The QT patch doesn't look that bad on the uniforms. Could have been way worse IMO.

I don't know about that. It's the way of the world nowadays but from a design perspective it's still ugly. But I hate almost all the ad patches that aren't anywhere near the team's color scheme.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Cole Ragans will be the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Royals?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Royals</a> Opening Day starter, the team announces.</p>&mdash; Anne Rogers (@anne__rogers) <a href="https://twitter.com/anne__rogers/status/1769539296317329722?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

As he should be

Brutal.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">That&#39;s rough. Real rough. Royals prospect Asa Lacy announced tonight that he underwent a full UCL reconstruction and won&#39;t pitch in 2024.<br><br>Lacy has been dealt a terrible hand with injuries and health after being drafted fourth overall in 2020. <a href="https://t.co/a9woWroFTp">pic.twitter.com/a9woWroFTp</a></p>&mdash; Preston Farr (@royalsminors) <a href="https://twitter.com/royalsminors/status/1770294355196334366?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 20, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I don't think Lacy has ever really wanted to play.

Is UCL surgery different than Tommy John surgery, or is this some sort of euphemism to make it sound better?

John Rave just tied tonight's game against the Giants in the 9th inning with an inside the park HR. That was a play.

Samesies.

At least he was the most Major league ready pitcher of that draft class.

2020 draft isn't looking good across MLB

The Rangers killed the 2020 Draft. It helped win them a World Series.

Excited to be going to my second opening day. Hope it is warmer and with a LOT less rain than last time. I'm too old for that crap.

Huh?

The only person from the 2020 draft class that did anything was Evan Carter and he had a 1.6 bWAR. What am I missing here?

Oof. Ohtani may have ****ed up BIG time. He or his translator stated he'd wired money personally to cover his translators gambling debts. Guessing both his own people and the Dodgers immediately jumped on how bad that is and changed the story to his translator stole it all. Federal investigators already involved.

So the Royals really have a guy in camp named Kale Emshoff, and this kid's parent's couldn't have done us all a favor by naming him Jack? C'mon... Thanks for nothing.

And he just hit a home run in the bottom of the 9th!!

/who cares it’s spring training!!

Jordan Montgomery was acquired from St. Louis for 2020 draft picks Thomas Saggese and Tekoah Roby. Montgomery had a 2.79 ERA for Texas.

Did you even watch the postseason?

Carter slashed .300/.417/.500 in 72 postseason plate appearances. He was arguably the third best position player for the Rangers after Corey Seager and Adolis Garcia in the postseason.

I'm just saying that's not what I'd consider killing the 2020 draft. In the technical sense, yes, it helped win the WS.

Roby and Saggese are both top 100 prospects. The Rangers' player development built up their value and acquired a number two starter at the trade deadline because of their perceived value.

From Baseball America this spring:
No player better fits that bill than Evan Carter, a highway robbery of a draft pick as part of a stunningly excellent 2020 draft class that should produce four major leaguers out of its five selections.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Alec Marsh is in the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Royals?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Royals</a> rotation, manager Matt Quatraro makes official. Jordan Lyles will begin the season in the bullpen.</p>&mdash; Anne Rogers (@anne__rogers) <a href="https://twitter.com/anne__rogers/status/1770855241501544504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 21, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Reliever Josh Taylor is dealing with bicep soreness, Matt Quatraro said. He&#39;s getting treatment and figuring out next steps. Taylor missed all of 2022 and most of &#39;23 with injuries. He was in the mix for the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Royals?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Royals</a> bullpen this spring.</p>&mdash; Anne Rogers (@anne__rogers) <a href="https://twitter.com/anne__rogers/status/1770863952857268694?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 21, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I still think Marsh's best role is a 1 inning reliever.

He should be able to gamble

Probably not a popular opinion, but Pratto ought to be our 1B most of the time w/ Vinnie getting mostly DH work. Pratto might turn into a pumpkin in the regular season, but he's earned his spot, IMO.

Is there some belief that accumulating any WAR at all by the end of 2023 isn't damn impressive for a 2020 draft pick?

It was a 5 round draft. Saggese will be a major leaguer and have a pretty long MLB career, IMO. Foscue has been exactly as advertised (great feel for the zone; decent power/speed set from a competent defensive 2b) - I suspect he'll have a 6-8 year MLB career as well and will likely be a WAR darling if he ever gets the starting 2b gig.

Carter is a possible superstar. What he did at his age in the post-season suggests someone with that flat heart rate that you need to really transition well to the big leagues. He may just be an MVP candidate in the next 3-5 years.

Roby is a pitching prospect. Who the hell knows? But he's already been instrumental in getting a vital starting pitcher for them. If he never touches a big league mound, he was a hell of a 3rd round pick.

Yeah - the Rangers strafed the 2020 draft. You really can't do it much better than they did.

If the Cardinals could actually develop players at the big league level at all, they'd have had a hell of a 2020 draft as well.

Walker, Winn and Burleson have all seen big league action (and all 3 should actually be pretty good players but the Cardinals **** everything up). Hence is a top 50ish pitching prospect. Bedell has made really nice strides and seems on track to make a big league bullpen in the next couple seasons.

I'd say their draft compared favorably to Texas in raw talent. But the Cardinals will ruin all those guys somehow.

Whoops

Pratto and Waters to Omaha. Pratto was the best hitter this spring so far.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We have optioned the following players to Omaha (AAA):<br><br>C Austin Nola<br>INF Nick Pratto<br>OF Drew Waters<br><br>We now have 49 players in big league camp.</p>&mdash; Kansas City Royals (@Royals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Royals/status/1771253415605096718?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Who's playing CF?

Kyle Isbel

An MLB player survey picked the Royals as this year's surprise breakout team. No pressure.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The players have spoken, now it&#39;s your turn.<br><br>Which team do you think will surprise in 2024? <a href="https://t.co/d0egYQnWO8">pic.twitter.com/d0egYQnWO8</a></p>&mdash; MLB (@MLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1771333463087399004?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 23, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Lineup tonight against Northwest Arkansas - have to think that will be close to the main lineup that they will use
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GJi0KQ7X...jpg&name=large

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Maikel Garcia is someone I&#39;ve talked about a lot as a breakout guy, and .. <br><br>.. I know better than to put emphasis on a few dozen winter/ST PA. You do too.<br><br>&amp; yet<br><br>1.117 OPS in Venezuela<br>.984 OPS in ST <br>93rd %ile hard-hit<br>Best def 3B in AL (buys him time)<br><br>I&#39;m in, let&#39;s go</p>&mdash; Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) <a href="https://twitter.com/mike_petriello/status/1772999938370138589?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 27, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I really like Garcia. If he can get his OPS above .725, then he'd be very valuable, since he has the best defense at 3rd.

This is a picture of my baseball buddy Gary from exactly 20 years ago at the 2004 Royals home opener. My other best baseball buddy was Derrek, who is no longer here to watch the Royals with Gary and me. We were the three amigos at Royals games. Let me tell an opening day story about Derrek and me. Most years -for many years going back to the late 1970s- Derrek, Gary and I would camp out on the concrete overnight outside Right Field GA to be in line for opening day tickets. There were only about 1500 available in right field and 1500 in left field. We liked right field, because we sat down around Joe Hess (Royals Santa Claus) and Darcy our favorite beer man worked right field. So we'd stay up all night long the night before in line; drinking beer and playing poker on the concrete, in all kinds of weather over the years. Rain, cold, wind, whatever. Games usually didn't start until around 3pm, so by game time we were pretty crispy. GA would let you buy two tickets per person. They were cheap; around $2 or $3 each. So we'd send Gary ahead to get down close to the field and save us seats. Derrek and I would buy two extra seats each. So we had two pair of extras. We would then go back to the very end of the GA line. I mean the VERY end. And we'd look for two deserving couples. We would offer them tickets at face value, because we knew by that time the line was so long the tickets would all be gone before they got to the windows. We did it for good baseball karma. People would often jump for joy or cry when we sold them the tickets. It was a cool thing we did every year, and was one of my favorite memories of Derrek. I'll be thinking of him tomorrow as another exciting season of Royals baseball kicks off. Here's also picture of Gary, Derrek, yours truly and one of KCPD's finest from around 1978. GO ROYALS.

I remember RF Santa!!! Matter of fact right field is where we sat most of the time!! Days gone by!!!

PS I bet we sat within shouting distance of one another!! Love it!!

Ah yes...RF GA $3 seats. And Santa. My high school years in a nutshell.

Oh yeah, plenty of RF GA memories from back in the day with "Santa Claus". I remember his thick accent quite well. Wasn't he from Jersey?

Opening Day!

Damn it I thought this shit was going to be on Amazon Prime this year.

There was another guy that was always down front in RF GA. He had a hat that had a Budweiser can sticking out of it. My buddy and I just called him Can Head.

EDIT: Like this...

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/hZsAA...cR/s-l1600.jpg

Ha ha ha!!! Never saw that guy!!! Love it!!

Great memories. Thanks for sharing. Those GA seats were great. I think they were $3.50 when I was a kid in the 80s and probably allowed me to attend more games than I would have otherwise.

They started out at $1.50 and went up to $3.00 at some point.

Royals up 3-0. Thanks to a Salvy dong

I wonder why they aren't wearing the powder blues on a Sunday. Makes me wonder if it has something to do with MLB making them go with the small letters on the back.

I saw most of the powder blue jerseys aren’t ready yet. Good one fanatics.

:facepalm:

The Royals had powder blues all spring but they had the old normal sized letters on the back. There was a whole thing about it because the Royals were the only ones in Spring Training who got to keep the old lettering, but opening day it came out that MLB had forced them to change. Wonder if MLB or Nike stepped in and made the Royals change and now Fanatics has to start over.

Looks like Garcia fixed his launch angle baby!

Bobby is a double away from a cycle

Bobby baseball baby! Dug that one out of the wormhole

Royals are up 10-0 (yes, 10-0), my belly is full (Happy Easter!), maybe time for a siesta. LET's GO ROYALS!

Oh, and BWJ is trying for the cycle.

This team is eminently more enjoyable to watch play baseball.

I still think they're a good LH power bat short of being REALLY dangerous (Would love to have someone to slide into the 3 hole and have Pasquantino hitting in a less pressure-focused role), but they can compete in the Central.

Especially if Ragans is for real and they get good Brady Singer.

Can't wait to dive into the pitch data on Singer from today and see if there are differences to the arsenal he deployed. Would speak to him being to be a little more consistent if there are some changes.

Royals starting pitchers the first 3 games:

19 IP, 10 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 23 K, 0.95 ERA

That LH bat might be coming from Omaha.....

He worked with another beer man named Clem. They used to let us in early on really hot days and we got to sit in the big beer cooler with them exchanging stories.


Both guys worked for Standard Oil (amoco)

Great, great humans.

I want a major-league stick. Proven player. Easier said than done, though.

$1.50 originally. Cost me to drive to and from Topeka, than my ticket.

True but Pratto is looking really good.

My buddy is an avid Twins fan and he thinks the Royals will be second in the Central this year. He thinks they added enough pieces to win quite a few more games and really likes our starting rotation.

I'm still not sold.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Omaha Storm Chasers are excited to team up with <a href="https://twitter.com/Fly_TWA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Fly_TWA</a> on a jersey partnership for the 2024 season!<br><br>📰: <a href="https://t.co/RaeCKkpKlV">https://t.co/RaeCKkpKlV</a> <a href="https://t.co/mJODIzEwpu">pic.twitter.com/mJODIzEwpu</a></p>&mdash; Omaha Storm Chasers (@OMAStormChasers) <a href="https://twitter.com/OMAStormChasers/status/1774814476568793504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 1, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

April Fools.

That's a good April fools joke lol

That reminds me, the TWA museum at the old downtown airport in KC is really neat (if you're into that kind of stuff like I am).

I like Maikel Garcia.

Has the frame to carry a little more weight/raw power and still maintain 30 SB speed. He gets a little too eager at times but seems to have a solid feel for the zone and good hands.

I don't think he's likely to ever be a 'traditional' 3b type with an .800 OPS and 30 homers. But I think you may see him develop into a 15 homer guy who challenges 20 one year, puts up a .780 OPS and steals 30 bases with tolerable K/BB numbers. I don't think he's a leadoff hitter, but he could be a lot of fun around the 7 hole.

I dunno - I started watching him a bit last year and he just seems to be quite a bit more talented than the prospect hounds thought. There are some loud(ish) tools there.

Yep. I've always been high on him. He's really a SS playinh 3B so hes really good over there and will get better.

I would love to see him settle in at second base.

I think he'll mature out of the position.

He's not a small guy. And if you wanted to put another 10 lbs of muscle mass on him you probably could. You do that and he's not going to be as lithe as you'd like to see at 2b.

Now if the Royals have a hot-shit 3b prospect they need to clear a spot for, you do that (I truly have no idea). Or ultimately if Witt moves off SS and back to 3b (which seems likely as he matures). But that's a hell of along ways off.

I just think you hope to get 2-3 years of added offensive development and another 2-3 years thereafter of a really nice, if unconventional, offensive weapon at 3b. Anything beyond that is gravy.

He is a natural shortstop but he isn't replacing a generational talent like Bobby Witt. Very serviceable third baseman. I just think with his glove and bat, he would be elite at second base. Body type he could put some muscle on but judging by his cousins - Escobar and Ronald Acuna maybe not a whole lot.

Yeah, Garcia just is a really nice player. Not going to be a superstar or a centerpiece, but an above-average starter who contributes in a lot of ways.

I think he could handle 2nd if they can get a bigger bat that plays at 3B, but he's so good defensively there, it's not a major priority.

I’d love to see Maikel Garcia settle in to a Joe Randa type of career, except with more defensive flexibility on the infield and more speed. I think he’s pretty close already.

Crazy stat on the season so far. 8 of the 15 runs allowed have been in the ninth inning.