Two months into the season, the Kansas City Royals only have one problem: The Guardians can't lose, either.
The Royals just completed a perfect 6-0 homestand against the A's and Tigers during which they never trailed, not even for an inning. They improved to 32-19, good for the third-best record in the American League ... and yet they didn't gain a game in the division, because the Guardians have also won six in a row, improving to 33-17.
The element that's fascinated me about the Royals is that they're only 6-9 against teams with a winning record, so they've feasted on some of the league's bottom-feeders. They're 6-1 against the White Sox and 3-0 against Oakland, which accounts for eight of 13 games they're over .500.
On the other hand, they're also a combined 8-2 against Houston and Toronto, two teams that were supposed to be better than they've shown, and they also kicked the Tigers three games below .500 with the recent sweep.If the Royals have contributed to their disappointments, that should signal something about their place in the American League hierarchy, right?
If there are reasons to be skeptical, they're getting an awful lot out of Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Perez, and nothing from their outfield. Conversely, it seems like they've learned to identify starting pitching (3.03 ERA from their rotation, fourth-best in baseball), or at least how to supplement good pitching with good defense (third in DRS), particularly in the infield.
The Royals have had similarly hot starts ultimately end up as mirages, but Max Rieper at Royals Review thinks this year could be different. For the time being, FanGraphs is projecting a three-team race ...
- Guardians, 87-75
- Royals, 86-76
- Twins, 85-77
... although it also projects the White Sox to go 61-101, when they're on pace for 49-50 wins, so you have to think that one or two of these teams will buck the inherently conservative forecast.
Spare Parts
Keith Law opens his draft rankings by saying, "This might be the worst MLB Draft class I’ve ever worked on," adding that it's a poor year to go under slot with the first pick in order to save money for later.
The reclassification of the Negro Leagues as a Major League has encountered one obstacle after another, but in a sign of progress, MLB and the MLBPA announced that it's expanding existing financial benefits to Negro Leaguers who played fewer than four seasons, which covers approximately 50 living players.
- Chris Sale is dominant once more -- FanGraphs
- Chris Sale is dominating hitters like it's 2018 -- MLB.com
Chris Sale produced the most remarkable run of pitching I've ever seen close-up, and it sucked to see him start falling apart as he approached 30. He's 7-1 with a 2.22 ERA and 70 strikeouts against just eight walks with the Braves thus far, and baseball's better for it.
Craig Calcaterra notes that the recent news regarding the Oakland A's moving to Las Vegas actually isn't news, as the only "movement" is in the form of symbolic votes, while the city's Stadium Authority has reduced its meetings regarding John Fisher's plans to every other month.
I can't say I've ever seen an umpire ask the manager to eject somebody because he couldn't tell who said what, but this Jomboy breakdown is fantastic.
- Uni Watch founder gets send-off from The Athletic -- Uni-watch.com
- 'Uni Watch' founder walking away after 25 years -- The Athletic
Paul Lukas, the preeminent sports aesthetics blogger and critic, will be calling it a career -- at least at Uni Watch -- when he reaches his 25th anniversary on Sunday. I always appreciated his devotion to the details and the medium of long-form blogging, and I'm hoping he'll apply both to whatever catches his attention next.
