The boys are playing some ball..
Yes indeed, your Kansas City Royals have risen from the ashes of a horrific month of June to start July 7-2 over their first 9 games. The boys are indeed playing some ball.
There’s lots of stuff to talk about surrounding the Kansas City Royals so let’s dig into a few of them.
POWER SURGE
The Royals have continued to get good pitching for the most part in July as they have all year. What’s fueled the win-loss record is the power that Royals hitters have begun to display. The team hit an almost unbelievably pathetic 4 home runs at the K in June, then clobbered 9 in the recently completed three game home sweep of the Pirates.
I’ve been a Royals fan a very long time, and I don’t remember many home runs ending up where the one Jac Caglianone hit Wednesday night did…
The middle of the order is finally starting to pound the ball. Cags has two homers this month already. Salvador Perez leads the team with 4 homers and a 1.218 OPS for July, Vinnie Pasquantino is right behind him with 3 bombs and a 1.026 OPS. The guys ahead of them in the order, Jonathan India and Bobby Witt Jr., have combined to score 15 runs in July.
Will the Royals sluggers continue to mash for the rest of 2025? Who knows, but I think Cags will continue to improve, Vinnie and Sal just need to stay healthy.
BUYERS OR SELLERS?
I fully expect the Royals to make a trade or two before the July 31 deadline, but I don’t foresee them kicking dirt on the 2025 season and conducting a fire sale. After the sweep of the Pirates they are only 3.5 games out of a wild card berth.
More importantly maybe, there is only one team (Seattle) ahead of them. Two weeks ago there were 5 or 6 teams in front of KC in the wild card race. I’m ready to concede the AL Central to Detroit, the Tigers are 59-35 and 13 games ahead of the second place Royals. 7-3 over their last 10, Detroit shows so signs of coming back to the pack.
Starting pitcher Seth Lugo looks like the most likely Royal to be moved in a deadline deal. The veteran right-hander has been excellent this year, posting a 2.67 ERA and 1.08 WHIP. Lugo is 35 and is in the last guaranteed year of his contract with the Royals. He does have a $15M player option for 2026, but smart money says he doesn’t not take that as the open market would likely be more lucrative.
I wouldn’t completely rule out Lugo exercising his option to stay in KC next year if he isn’t traded though, he and his wife Amanda have made it clear they love being in Kansas City.
Lugo is going to be a valuable bargaining chip, probably the best starting pitcher available this year. The Cubs, Dodgers, and Mets have all been rumored to be interested in a deal for Lugo. The Cubs in particular have a couple of outfield prospects that could fit the Royals needs.
I love watching Lugo pitch, and I hope he remains in Kansas City. That said, if Cole Ragans can come back healthy by early August, a Lugo trade would not torpedo the Royals 2025 post-season chances. I realize that is a BIG IF, but Ragans has started to throw again and apparently has had no setbacks in his recovery from a left rotator cuff strain.
The emergence of rookie Noah Cameron as a reliable starter means the Royals could absorb the loss of Lugo and still field an above average rotation if Ragans is healthy. You only need 3 starters in the post-season, and I’d feel pretty good about Ragans-Bubic-Wacha in that situation.
Fan sentiment is all over the place on the idea of dealing Lugo…
MLB DRAFT
Yes, the All-Star Game is next Tuesday but before that the MLB draft will get started Sunday evening. The first 3 rounds will be that night, airing on ESPN and MLBN starting at 5pm CDT. Royals fans should be watching as the team has 5 picks in the first 3 rounds.
The absolute best way to enjoy the draft is to follow along with the guys from Royals Weekly and their guest Alex Duvall as they livestream the draft on their Youtube channel. They have a lot of fun and provide tons of insight and information on the Royals picks. It’s a can’t miss event for me every summer. Find it at https://www.youtube.com/@royalsweekly.
ROSTER MOVES
The Royals have made a few roster moves over the last week or so. The most interesting was the call-up of INF/OF Cam Devanney from Omaha. Devanney has torched AAA most of the year and certainly deserves a shot. He has not played in the first two games since being recalled, but I’m sure we’ll see him this weekend at the K. To make room on the active roster the Royals put OF Mark Canha on the injured list with left elbow epicondylitis. They opened up a 40 man roster spot for Devanney by shifting Cole Ragans to the 60 day injured list.
Left-handed reliever Daniel Lynch IV also went on the 15 day injured list with left elbow nerve irritation. He was replaced by RHP Jonathan Bowlan.
The Royals also optioned OF Drew Waters to AAA Omaha and recalled C Luke Maile. There was word that Salvador Perez was dealing with some sort of nagging injury and the team wanted a third catcher. Perez has caught 2 games, played 2 at first base, and DH’d once since Maile was brought up. Maile appeared in 4 games for KC earlier this year, but hasn’t played since being recalled this week.
It remains to be seen how long JJ and Q will go with 3 catchers. The theory is that the more Perez plays first and DH, the better his offense will be. It makes sense, and Nick Loftin’s and Cam Devanney’s defensive flexibility may give the team the ability to carry 3 catchers for an extended period.
UP NEXT
The Royals open the last series before the All-Star Game tonight as they welcome the New York Mets to the K for a 3 game weekend set. While the Royals enjoyed an off day yesterday, the Mets were in Baltimore getting swept in a doubleheader by a bad Orioles team. Will they be a tired and dispirited team, or an angry and motivated one?
The Mets are 53-41, 1.5 games behind the NL East leading Philadelphia Phillies. New York is a balanced squad, their staff ERA (3.62) and team WRC+ (110) both rank 6th in baseball. Their pitchers have a combined WHIP of 1.30, only 19th best which is a reflection of a 9.7% walk rate that is the second highest in MLB. We know the Royals hitters abhor walks, but this weekend it may behoove them to exercise some patience and discipline at the plate.
New York hitters on the other hand both hit for power (121 HRs, T-7th) and walk (9.1 BB%, 5th) at a good clip, so their lineup will present some challenges for Matt Quatraro and his pitching staff.
Here’s the pitching matchups…
Tonight - Kodai Senga (7-3, 1.47) vs Michael Wacha (4-9, 3.83)
As you can tell from his top line numbers Senga has been good in 2025. His only appearance against the Royals was a start in 2023 where he gave up 3 earned runs and 11 hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Saturday - Frankie Montas Jr. (1-1, 6.14) vs Michael Lorenzen (5-8, 4.61)
Unlike Senga, the Royals have seen a lot of Montas from his days with the Oakland A’s. Montas has 7 appearances and 5 starts against KC with a 3.31 ERA over 32 2/3 innings. The veteran missed the start of this season with a lat strain, and will be making only his 4th start of 2025 Saturday afternoon.
Sunday - Noah Cameron (3-4, 2.56) will start for the Royals, the Mets have not named a starter for Sunday yet.
The Mets come to town with a lot of star power….remember the 6 million dollar man?
He’s a poverty case compared to Mets left fielder Juan Soto, aka the 700 million dollar man. Between Soto, Pete Alonso, and Francisco Lindor, the Mets are packed with big name bats. Let’s hope all the Mets fans in Olathe just stay home this weekend.
Editor’s note: I am legally obligated to remind you that the Mets drafted Lindor in 2011, three picks AFTER the Royals drafted Bubba Starling
If Kansas City can manage a series win this weekend, they will put themselves in position to make a run at a wildcard spot with only 65 games remaining after the break. As a fan all I’m really looking for each season is meaningful baseball in August and September.
The next 2-3 weeks are going to be eventful for the Royals on several levels, stay tuned to DC for all you need to know!