Daily Clips
April 3, 2018
LOCAL
Tough 5th frame dooms Royals in Detroit
April 2, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Duda exits game with hamstring tightness
April 2, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Royals claim Almonte off waivers from Indians
April 2, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
A third trip through the Tigers' order dooms Royals starter Jason Hammel in loss
April 2, 2018By Maria Torres/KC Star
Royals designate Miguel Almonte for assignment to clear room for ... another Almonte
April 2, 2018By Maria Torres/KC Star
The Royals' Jason Hammel, Ned Yost and the dilemma of managing a third time through the order
April 2, 2018By Rustin Dodd/The Athletic
How Whit Merrifield’s career year can carry over into 2018 for Kansas City
April 2, 2018By Jared Koller/KCTV 5
MINORS
Chasers Announce Initial Roster For 50th Season
16 from 2017 roster set to return, Opening Night on April 5
April 2, 2018Omaha Storm Chasers
Naturals roster filled with familiar faces
April 3, 2018By Paul Boyd/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Former Little League World Series hero headlines 2018 Lexington Legends roster
April 2, 2018By Lexington Herald-Leader
Biggest breakout prospect for each AL Central team
April 2, 2018By Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo & Mike Rosenbaum/MLB.com
MLB TRANSACTIONS
April 3, 2018 •.CBSSports.com
LOCAL
Tough 5th frame dooms Royals in Detroit
April 2, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Royals right-hander Jason Hammel and manager Ned Yost could sense the question coming: Did the third time through the Tigers' order on Monday doom Hammel again as it did so often in 2017?
Hammel was cruising through four innings, giving up one and three hits. But the Tigers scored four runs against him in the fifth inning -- the third time through the order -- on their way to a 6-1 win at Comerica Park.
But both Hammel and Yost said Hammel's stuff was every bit as good in the fifth inning as it was earlier.
"Had a few [hits] fall in, basically is what happened," Hammel said, shrugging his shoulders.
Yost agreed, saying, "Third time around they just found some holes. … It's a tough situation, because he's at 50 pitches and throwing the ball well. It's not like he got to the third time through the lineup and they were bashing the ball off the wall. There was none of that."
Last year, opponents slugged .543 and had a .931 OPS against Hammel his third time through the order.
"But today was one of those maddening games where I feel like I executed the game plan pretty well," Hammel said. "It just didn't go our way. Everything felt great. I felt really good. But it's frustrating when you feel that good and come away with a loss."
Hammel gave up four hits and had an intentional walk in the fateful fifth inning.
Meanwhile, the Royals' offense showed little life against crafty left-hander Francisco Liriano, who went 6 2/3 innings and gave up four hits and one run.
"He mixed his pitches well," Yost said of Liriano. "Spotted his fastball, showed his fastball. But his slider and changeup really kept us off-balance."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Free pass haunts Royals: The Royals have seen enough of Miguel Cabrera over the years to not have wanted any part of him with runners on second and third with one out in the fifth. The resulting intentional walk loaded the bases for Nicholas Castellanos, who singled in a run before Victor Martinez connected on an 0-2 high fastball for a line drive into the gap in right-center to plate his first two RBIs of the season.
"A little bad luck," Hammel said. "I think they caught onto the game plan, coming in hard on a few guys and they were able to get the bat to the ball."
Royals strike first: The Royals took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when shortstop Alcides Escobar doubled down the left-field line, advanced to third on a wild pitch from Liriano and scored on Drew Butera's sacrifice fly to center field. Escobar also tripled in the fifth, his first two hits this season.
"This guy always throws good against us," Escobar said of Liriano. "He's got a really good fastball, slider, changeup. He can hit with those pitches inside, outside. I see the ball good on Lirianio, just waiting on the ball when I can and trying to hit the ball the other way."
WHAT'S NEXT
Right-hander Jakob Junis makes his first start of the season in Game 2 of the Royals' series with the Tigers on Tuesday at 12:10 p.m. CT. Junis went 9-3 in his rookie season in 2017 with a 4.30 ERA. Junis had a strong spring, going 2-0 with a 1.88 ERA in four Cactus League starts.
Duda exits game with hamstring tightness
April 2, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
First baseman Lucas Duda left the Royals' 6-1 loss to the Tigers on Monday in the seventh inning because of right hamstring tightness.
Royals manager Ned Yost said the tightness likely developed after Duda tried to run out a grounder in the fourth inning.
The Royals described removing Duda from the game as a precautionary move.
Cheslor Cuthbert replaced Duda.
Royals claim Almonte off waivers from Indians
April 2, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
The Royals designated for assignment right-handed pitcher Miguel Almonte and claimed former Indians outfielder Abraham Almonte off waivers on Monday.
Abraham Almonte was put on the 40-man roster. He was designated for assignment by Cleveland on Thursday.
Abraham Almonte, a 28-year-old switch-hitter, played in 69 games with the Indians last season, batting .233 with three home runs. He has played in parts of five Major League seasons with the Mariners, Padres and Indians.
In 16 games in 2017 between Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha, Miguel Almonte, 24, posted a 1.72 ERA. He was battling posterior shoulder soreness at the time of his designation.
A third trip through the Tigers' order dooms Royals starter Jason Hammel in loss
April 2, 2018By Maria Torres/KC Star
On a chilly Monday afternoon at Comerica Park, Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar made an easy turn at first base, kicked up infield dirt as he ran and cruised into the bag at second with a double.
He hadn’t gotten a hit in his eight plate appearances to start the season. He was unable to make solid contact, getting under pitches that turned into lazy fly balls and rolling over others that became easy ground-outs.
But on an 0-2, 92 mph offering from Tigers pitcher Francisco Liriano, Escobar laced a hit up the third-base line and into deep left field. Within moments, it seemed, he had moved over to third base on a wild pitch and come home on a Drew Butera sacrifice fly to score the first run of the game in the third inning.
But the lead was not enough for Royals starter Jason Hammel, who after getting through the Tigers’ batting order twice with relative ease, ran into trouble in the fifth inning. Notorious for struggling on his third time facing batters in a game, Hammel wound up with a loss in the Tigers’ 6-1 defeat of the Royals.
"It’s one of those maddening games where I feel like I executed the game plan pretty well," said Hammel, who last year posted an 8.79 ERA the third time through the lineup. "It just didn’t go our way."
With one out in the fifth, Leonys Martin lined a single to left field. Then Jeimer Candelario stretched what looked like a one-base hit into a double, taking advantage of left fielder Alex Gordon pulling up on a ball that blooped in front of him. The next four batters reached base.
By the end of the inning, the Tigers had driven up Hammel’s pitch count to 82 and tacked on four runs — two scored on designated hitter Victor Martinez's RBI single — to break a 1-1 tie.
Hammel was charged with five runs on seven hits and three walks.
Before his start took a turn sharper than Escobar's on the basepaths, Hammel recorded three strikeouts in four innings. He held the Tigers to relatively weak contact — they mustered an average exit velocity of 80.3 mph on six batted balls in the third and fourth innings — after the second inning and was the beneficiary of a few defensive shifts the Royals employed Monday afternoon.
But in the fifth, eight of the nine batters who faced Hammel got enough of his pitches to jack the average exit velocity up about 6 mph. A ball that travels 86.2 mph off the bat registers a light pink color on MLB's Statcast tool and generally doesn't cause much of a disturbance in a pitcher's outing.
Yet the Tigers felled Hammel by taking advantage of those soft-hit balls anyway.
"Third time around, they just found some holes off him," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "That ball up the middle (an error on Whit Merrifield) we had it played perfectly. I thought he threw the ball OK. They just found holes."
The Royals did little in the immediate aftermath to help their cause. Reliever Blaine Boyer allowed a triple to Nicholas Castellanos in the seventh inning and then watched him score easily on Martinez's sacrifice fly to center field.
Mike Moustakas and Lucas Duda, who was removed from the game in the seventh because of tightness in his right hamstring, stranded Whit Merrifield in the sixth inning. Jorge Soler was left on base after drawing an one-out walk from Liriano, who pitched 6 2/3 innings, in the next frame.
Only Escobar, who hit a triple when he faced Liriano a second time on Monday, could find any traction at the plate. Ironically, Escobar had never had much luck against the left-hander, who entered Monday's game having held Escobar to a .100 (2 for 20) batting average in 23 plate appearances dating to 2010.
"He's throwing really good change-ups, really good sliders," Escobar said. "I was waiting for the ball and trying to get a base hit."
The Royals, who have led at some point in each of their first three games, dropped to 0-3 to start the season.
Royals designate Miguel Almonte for assignment to clear room for ... another Almonte
April 2, 2018By Maria Torres/KC Star
The Royals on Monday designated pitching prospect Miguel Almonte for assignment in order to clear room on the 40-man roster for outfielder Abraham Almonte.
Miguel Almonte, the 11th-ranked prospect in the Royals' farm system according to Baseball America, was optioned to Class AAA Omaha on March 18. He appeared in five Cactus League games and allowed one earned run and six hits in nine innings.
Abraham Almonte was designated for assignment by the Cleveland Indians on Thursday. In parts of three seasons with the Indians, he hit .254 with 37 doubles, nine triples, nine home runs and 56 RBIs.
Abraham Almonte was optioned to Omaha in Miguel Almonte's place.
When he wasn't sidelined by arm discomfort in 2017, Miguel Almonte had proved he was better than the career-worst 5.92 ERA he posted in 2016 between stints at Omaha and Class AA Northwest Arkansas. He limited hitters to a .244 average and struck out 52 last year. But a strained rotator cuff cut his season to 47 minor-league innings, during which he allowed nine runs for an ERA of 1.72.
Miguel Almonte, who will turn 25 years old on Wednesday, appeared healthy this spring. He threw a powerful fastball — which can hit 98 mph on a good day — and showed command of his breaking pitches. He demonstrated enough improvement that the Royals were forced to reconsider if they wanted to relegate him permanently to the bullpen or return him to the Storm Chasers' rotation.
But between optioning him to minor-league camp and Monday's announcement, Miguel Almonte developed soreness in his shoulder again. When the Storm Chasers announced their opening day roster less than a hour before the Royals' transactions, he was slated to start the season on the seven-day disabled list.
Miguel Almonte can still clear waivers and remain in the Royals' organization, of which he's been part since signing with the team out of his native Dominican Republic in 2010.
The Royals' Jason Hammel, Ned Yost and the dilemma of managing a third time through the order
April 2, 2018By Rustin Dodd/The Athletic
Jason Hammel stood near the mound Monday afternoon and asked for a new baseball, holding his glove in the air. He wiped his right hand on his jersey and took a deep breath. He could not contain the gathering storm kicked up by the Tigers’ offense.
The singular flaw 0f Hammel’s 2017 campaign was surfacing just five innings into his second season with the Royals. The Tigers were on their way to four runs in the bottom of the inning. He could not navigate an opposing lineup for a third time in one game.
In a 6-1 loss to the Tigers at Comerica Park, the trouble spot was flayed open and laid bare on a cold afternoon in Detroit. The festering wound left the Royals with a third straight loss, still winless as they opened a three-game series against the Tigers.
“This is one of those maddening games,” Hammel said, “where I feel like we executed the game plan pretty well.”
Hammel, 35, maneuvered through four innings against the Tigers, yielding just one run. He sought to challenge hitters on the inside part of the plate. And, for the most part, he secured outs and kept his pitch count low. Yet when he reached the top of the Detroit lineup for a third time in the fifth inning, the day began to crumble.
He surrendered a one-out single to leadoff hitter Leonys Martin. He served up a double to Jeimer Candelario. He opted to intentionally walk first baseman Miguel Cabrera to load the bases. He could not escape the jam.
Nicholas Castellanos lined a 2-1 fastball on the hands into left field for an RBI single. Victor Martinez followed with a two-run single on an 0-2 fastball. The inning came apart when second baseman Whit Merrifield, shifted up the middle, bobbled a ground ball and allowed a fourth run to score.
Hammel, who exited after finishing the fifth inning, described the third trip through the order like this: “They had a few fall in basically.” But the afternoon underscored a persistent issue that has dogged him since arriving in Kansas City before last season: He is, like many pitchers, most vulnerable once hitters have seen him at least twice.
The numbers are fairly evident: In 2017, Hammel allowed opponents to bat .339 with a .931 OPS during their third trip through the lineup. In contrast, he held opponents to a .690 OPS during the first trip through the order and a .740 during the second. Put another way, Hammel turns every lineup into Freddy Galvis (.690 OPS last season) during the early innings and Cody Bellinger (.933 OPS) during the third trip through the order.
The phenomenon is hardly unique to Hammel, of course. And in an industry consumed with finding competitive advantage, teams are more aware than ever of the third-time-through splits. On Opening Day in Atlanta, Philadelphia’s Gabe Kapler, a first-year manager guided by an analytical approach, pulled starter Aaron Nola at 68 pitches in the sixth inning because he was facing a lineup for a third time.
The progressive decision backfired when the Phillies lost a five-run lead. Yet Kapler believed the decision — and the numbers behind it — were sound.
On Monday, Royals manager Ned Yost faced his own dilemma. Bottom of the fifth. The scored was tied at 1-1 as the offense struggled against Detroit's Francisco Liriano. Hammel’s pitch count was still below 60 pitches.
“It’s a tough situation because he’s throwing the ball so well,” Yost said. “He’s at 50 pitches, and he’s handling the lineup. It’s not like he gets to a third time around, and they start bashing the ball around. There were some well-placed hits.”
Yost remains fully aware of Hammel’s struggles during the third time through the order, he said. Other concerns, though, often take precedent. On Monday, for instance, the Royals’ bullpen had allowed 12 runs in the first two games of the season, both losses. To remove Hammel in the middle of the fifth inning would have further taxed an inexperienced relief corps. The numbers suggested an aggressive hook; the reality was more difficult to manage.
“I thought he threw the ball, all in all, OK,” Yost said. “Just got to the third time around, they just found holes.”
The Tigers did not crush Hammel, though the contact was sharper than it first appeared. Candelario roped a double to left that came off the bat at 95 mph. Martinez pounced on a mistake — an 0-2 fastball that was not high enough — and pounded a two-run single to right field.