I know versatility is the name of the game these days and I get that it's a numbers game and someone is going to have to play out of position, at least part of the time, but it would be so nice if the Royals could bring in a prospect or FA or trade piece and just let them play their natural position for once.
I know what you mean, but I don't mind focusing on India as a leadoff hitter and figuring out his defensive position later. Leadoff was such a massive, massive hole for this team a year ago, and if you start getting too fine (we need a right-handed hitting outfielder, we need a left-handed hitting third baseman, etc.) it just makes it that much more difficult to focus on bringing in good players. (See: Carlos Beltran trade.)
That's my concern. His most important role is at the top of the order, 100% agreement on that. So long as learning a new position in the field doesn't disrupt what he's doing at the plate, by all means, experiment away. If he struggles, please just park him at 2B. The real catch 22 is I could say the same about Massey. Ultimately, I think India's production is more crucial, but a Massey breakout, which I definitely believe is possible, would be huge for this team, so I don't want to hamper it either.
Great point. As I mentioned, it sounds to me (and of course I don't have all the information and we don't see practices) like India isn't settling in well in LF. To your point, if it's not working out, I hope they scrap it quickly and stick him at 2B/DH, maybe an occasional day at 3B if Garcia jumps to CF.
Admittedly, I love all the shifting around of positions, adjusting lineups daily, etc. It encourages athleticism in the game, something that was sorely missing for a decade or more.
Totally agree on the latter point. That's the way the game is going, and I don't think it's a bad thing. Players and teams have to be willing to adapt to it, and I think KC is. You just don't want to force something to your own detriment. Q and JJ are smart guys, and they definitely don't seem as stubborn as the previous regime, so I'm optimistic they'll figure it out.
Is there any chance that Lugo regresses from last year? He’s getting older, and last year was the best year of his career… I’m being slightly influenced by the tiny sample size that is Spring Training, even if it doesn’t mean anything!
He's almost certainly going to regress, but that's more an indication of how great he was in 2024 than an indictment on Lugo as a pitcher in 2025. Steamer is projecting him for 2.7 fWAR, 43rd among pitchers. Perfectly adequate for a No. 2 starter.
If the expectation among Royals fans is for him to equal last year's production, there'll be a lot of disappointed folks in KC. But that doesn't mean he won't be an exceptionally valuable arm.
One more question: would you be able to point me in the direction of a resource that can explain some of the advanced metrics that you talk about? (Such as tjstuff+, or any other of the bajillion stats that baseball has) I really enjoy reading your blog, but I do sometimes wish that I understood some of the metrics that you talked about (obviously that’s a me problem)!
Absolutely! I need to do a better job of explaining some of those stats -- maybe a full newsletter at the start of the season laying out some of the stats/metrics I'll use.
And MLB's Baseball Savant has a great glossary available. Scroll to the bottom of the page to see a full list of terms. https://www.mlb.com/glossary/statcast
Victory lap away! I still like the idea of keeping him stretched out should KC need a starter early, but with Hernandez's diminished stuff to this point, it's just hard to argue the Royals should roster worse pitchers. The margin of error is too small to plan for a bunch of contingencies.
I know versatility is the name of the game these days and I get that it's a numbers game and someone is going to have to play out of position, at least part of the time, but it would be so nice if the Royals could bring in a prospect or FA or trade piece and just let them play their natural position for once.
I know what you mean, but I don't mind focusing on India as a leadoff hitter and figuring out his defensive position later. Leadoff was such a massive, massive hole for this team a year ago, and if you start getting too fine (we need a right-handed hitting outfielder, we need a left-handed hitting third baseman, etc.) it just makes it that much more difficult to focus on bringing in good players. (See: Carlos Beltran trade.)
That's my concern. His most important role is at the top of the order, 100% agreement on that. So long as learning a new position in the field doesn't disrupt what he's doing at the plate, by all means, experiment away. If he struggles, please just park him at 2B. The real catch 22 is I could say the same about Massey. Ultimately, I think India's production is more crucial, but a Massey breakout, which I definitely believe is possible, would be huge for this team, so I don't want to hamper it either.
Great point. As I mentioned, it sounds to me (and of course I don't have all the information and we don't see practices) like India isn't settling in well in LF. To your point, if it's not working out, I hope they scrap it quickly and stick him at 2B/DH, maybe an occasional day at 3B if Garcia jumps to CF.
Admittedly, I love all the shifting around of positions, adjusting lineups daily, etc. It encourages athleticism in the game, something that was sorely missing for a decade or more.
Totally agree on the latter point. That's the way the game is going, and I don't think it's a bad thing. Players and teams have to be willing to adapt to it, and I think KC is. You just don't want to force something to your own detriment. Q and JJ are smart guys, and they definitely don't seem as stubborn as the previous regime, so I'm optimistic they'll figure it out.
Is there any chance that Lugo regresses from last year? He’s getting older, and last year was the best year of his career… I’m being slightly influenced by the tiny sample size that is Spring Training, even if it doesn’t mean anything!
He's almost certainly going to regress, but that's more an indication of how great he was in 2024 than an indictment on Lugo as a pitcher in 2025. Steamer is projecting him for 2.7 fWAR, 43rd among pitchers. Perfectly adequate for a No. 2 starter.
If the expectation among Royals fans is for him to equal last year's production, there'll be a lot of disappointed folks in KC. But that doesn't mean he won't be an exceptionally valuable arm.
One more question: would you be able to point me in the direction of a resource that can explain some of the advanced metrics that you talk about? (Such as tjstuff+, or any other of the bajillion stats that baseball has) I really enjoy reading your blog, but I do sometimes wish that I understood some of the metrics that you talked about (obviously that’s a me problem)!
Absolutely! I need to do a better job of explaining some of those stats -- maybe a full newsletter at the start of the season laying out some of the stats/metrics I'll use.
Here's a good primer for Stuff+ from FanGraphs. tjStuff+ is simply a different version of the model created by Thomas Nestico (TJ Stats on Substack and X/Twitter). https://library.fangraphs.com/pitching/stuff-location-and-pitching-primer/
And MLB's Baseball Savant has a great glossary available. Scroll to the bottom of the page to see a full list of terms. https://www.mlb.com/glossary/statcast
Welcome to the dark side on Carlos Hernandez!
Ha! I thought you'd be here to celebrate me changing my mind on Lynch!
Oh geez, I forgot all about that! Just added another victory lap to my to do list for today! 😂
Victory lap away! I still like the idea of keeping him stretched out should KC need a starter early, but with Hernandez's diminished stuff to this point, it's just hard to argue the Royals should roster worse pitchers. The margin of error is too small to plan for a bunch of contingencies.