Kansas City Baseball Vault

The All-Star Break was good to the Royals and they came back somewhat rejuvenated in the second half. We discussed their positive week back, and the impact of some good, young starting pitching leading the way. Can it hold up in Yankee Stadium? 

We also discussed Mike Moustakas and his potential trade suitors. The trade deadline will have passed before our next episode, so we tried to size up the top possible locations, but it's still pretty murky out there. The Royals say they won't just give him away, but now is the best time to leverage a deal.

Along with all that, we talked a bit about clubhouse leadership, Whit Merrifield's unique spot in recent Royals history, and the acquisition of Brian Goodwin.

Follow the Vault at @KCBaseballVault. Follow host Jeff Herr at @TheJeffReport, co-host Michael Engel at @michaelengel. You can also email feedback to [email protected].

The Royals limped...crawled...technically made it to the All-Star break and are on pace for a franchise-worst record. There weren't a lot of positives in the first half, but Jeff and Mike made some predictions in March and had to check on the status of those calls at the break. 

We discussed Jorge Soler, Alex Gordon, Jakob Junis, Mike Moustakas and more, plus a brief look at the Manny Machado trade and how it might impact the Royals over the next couple weeks.

Follow the Vault at @KCBaseballVault. Follow host Jeff Herr at @TheJeffReport, co-host Michael Engel at @michaelengel. You can also email feedback to [email protected]. Email us a question and if we answer it on the air, we’ll send you a gift certificate to our friends at Kelly’s Westport Inn.

The way this season has gone, it's a miracle the Royals get an All Star representative (even if it's in the rules that they do...) but we discussed Sal Perez as this year's sole representative. He gets a sixth appearance in a row, despite a rough stat line.

But that's the type of year it's been. And the Royals have also run into injuries, particularly in the pitching staff. We discussed injuries and shuffling among the Royals rotation as they limp into the All Star break. 

Then we discussed some of the fun players to watch the rest of the season and what we might learn.

Also, somehow we ended up talking about Josh Brolin being cast as Ned Yost. It should totally happen.

Follow the Vault at @KCBaseballVault. Follow host Jeff Herr at @TheJeffReport, co-host Michael Engel at @michaelengel. You can also email feedback to [email protected]. Email us a question and if we answer it on the air, we’ll send you a gift certificate to our friends at Kelly’s Westport Inn.

The Royals have had a terrible June and a miserable 2018, so when it comes to positive news, there isn't a lot to report. The Royals did promote two significant prospects though, sending Khalil Lee to Double-A and Nicky Lopez to Triple-A. We discussed their significance and what might be reasonable expectations.

Then we talked about the rough June and what's out there to get excited about. From Brad Keller's emergence to Rosell Herrera's hustle, we pretty much covered the most exciting things lately, though the difficult year did bring up a question: Who's the actual all star for the Royals this year? In a season with few standout performers (and their best one on the DL), who should get to represent the team in the Midsummer Classic? 

Follow the Vault at @KCBaseballVault. Follow host Jeff Herr at @TheJeffReport, co-host Michael Engel at @michaelengel. You can also email feedback to [email protected]. Email us a question and if we answer it on the air, we’ll send you a gift certificate to our friends at Kelly’s Westport Inn.

With the Royals well below .500, the sell-off has started. It started a few weeks ago with Jon Jay, but he's only got a couple of months as a Royal on his resume. Kelvin Herrera, however, has been a Royals since 2006 and now goes to the Washington Nationals.

Herrera was such a huge part of the Royals success in 2014 and 2015, and he's one of the more notable relievers in Royals history, so we chose to remember some key moments of his Royals career and our favorite highlights. We also discussed the trade itself: the prospects, the money, and what our general thoughts are about what Kansas City got back.

We also covered the Jorge Soler injury and the call-up of Adalberto Mondesi and the Royals promise to play him often with him back in the big leagues.

Follow the Vault at @KCBaseballVault. Follow host Jeff Herr at @TheJeffReport, co-host Michael Engel at @michaelengel. You can also email feedback to [email protected]. Email us a question and if we answer it on the air, we’ll send you a gift certificate to our friends at Kelly’s Westport Inn.

So your team just got shut out by the Reds. They've scored 23 runs in two weeks. What the heck do you do?

Well, you look at a few positives, mostly some good performances from Ian Kennedy, Jason Hammel, and Danny Duffy. We talked about some of those starts, plus we assessed the Mike Moustakas trade market (even though Dayton Moore says they won't trade him just to trade him *wink*), and the imminent return of Jorge Bonifacio.

We also discussed the Royals quick signing of a majority of their 2018 draft picks as well as their unsigned players and the remaining draft pool. We also talked about the significance of the last two changes to the draft pick signing deadlines and how a couple of Royals prospects have benefitted. We also took a look at the Royals minor leaguers who have been named All Stars in their league so far.

Follow the Vault at @KCBaseballVault. Follow host Jeff Herr at @TheJeffReport, co-host Michael Engel at @michaelengel. You can also email feedback to [email protected]. Email us a question and if we answer it on the air, we’ll send you a gift certificate to our friends at Kelly’s Westport Inn.

The Royals entered the 2018 MLB Draft with more money available than any other team and loaded up on college pitching to pair with a promising group in A ball.

To discuss the picks and the Royals' approach, Clint Scoles of Baseball Prospectus Kansas City tracked down Lonnie Goldberg, Director of Scouting for the Kansas City Royals.

They discussed how this draft group fits with what the Royals have in the system today, the development of those college pitchers and where they might add some upside, and other players who stuck out.

To hear Clint's views on the draft with the Kansas City Baseball Vault, click here. Clint's minor league work and draft analysis can also be found here at Baseball Prospectus Kansas City and on Twitter at @ClintScoles.

A couple of weeks ago, we had Clint Scoles give us a preview of the Royals draft and now that the picks are all in, he joined us again to talk about the results. It's an unexpected set of picks, but there's talent there. Clint covers the big names, the approach, and what it means for the Royals future.

We also discussed Brad Keller, Danny Duffy, a putrid Royals offense, and - unexpectedly - a Jon Jay trade that broke while we were recording.

Follow the Vault at @KCBaseballVault. Follow host Jeff Herr at @TheJeffReport, co-host Michael Engel at @michaelengel. You can also email feedback to [email protected]. Email us a question and if we answer it on the air, we’ll send you a gift certificate to our friends at Kelly’s Westport Inn.

The Royals had some success this week, including some solid pitching performances by Brad Keller, Danny Duffy, and Jason Hammel. We covered some of the recent DL moves and the way it's shifted the pitching staff. We also discussed Jon Jay's successful May, Hunter Dozier's adjustment to the big leagues, and took another look at how trade values may be shifting.

In a second segment, we looked at some year by year numbers to see how strikeout, home run, and hit rates have changed over the years. Of course, the strikeout and home run rates we see today are higher than in the past, but by how much? And how quickly have they shifted? We picked out some key seasons where things started to change, and how the game shapes up today as a result.

Follow the Vault at @KCBaseballVault. Follow host Jeff Herr at @TheJeffReport, co-host Michael Engel at @michaelengel. You can also email feedback to [email protected]. Email us a question and if we answer it on the air, we’ll send you a gift certificate to our friends at Kelly’s Westport Inn.

After a week off, we got caught up and despite a poor record, we sought out some bright spots through the first two months of the season, including a few emerging bullpen arms, some developing trade value, "hacking" baseball strategy, and the optimism of baseball's annual draft. 

To help prepare for this year's draft, we brought on Clint Scoles to share his insight into the Royals draft approach, the benefits of their league-leading draft pool, and the potential players who may be available (and who best fit the Royals' plan). Clint has written extensively about these potential draft picks all year long, and we're happy to help share more of his thoughts. 

Follow the Vault at @KCBaseballVault. Follow host Jeff Herr at @TheJeffReport, co-host Michael Engel at @michaelengel. You can also email feedback to [email protected]. Email us a question and if we answer it on the air, we’ll send you a gift certificate to our friends at Kelly’s Westport Inn.