Kansas City Royals – Call to the Pen

Kansas City Royals: John McMillon call-up is a development win

Brendan Smith — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 17:46:57 +0000

Forgive yourself if John McMillon is not in the forefront of your prospect knowledge. You are also forgiven if you fancy yourself a Kansas City Royals fan but still are unfamiliar with McMillon. With the team clearly out of playoff contention, the Royals have called McMillon up from Double-A, capping a meteoric rise through the […]

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Kansas City Royals: Trade with Atlanta Braves for Taylor Hearn confusing

Brendan Smith — Mon, 31 Jul 2023 16:46:47 +0000

The Kansas City Royals and Atlanta Braves made a puzzling trade on Sunday, swapping infielder Nicky Lopez for lefty reliever Taylor Hearn. Hearn was recently designated for assignment by the Texas Rangers and subsequently acquired by Atlanta for cash. In a bubble, the move seems to be two struggling veterans getting a change of scenery. […]

Kansas City Royals: Trade with Atlanta Braves for Taylor Hearn confusing - Call to the Pen - Call to the Pen - MLB News, Rumors, Prospects, and more

Kansas City Royals: What to expect from Cole Ragans

Brendan Smith — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 17:00:58 +0000

Trade season has begun, as the Kansas City Royals have flipped Aroldis Chapman to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Cole Ragans and Roni Cabrera. Cabrera has been assigned to the Dominican Summer League, his second season in the league. Ragans, meanwhile, has spent some time in the big leagues the last two seasons, with […]

Kansas City Royals: What to expect from Cole Ragans - Call to the Pen - Call to the Pen - MLB News, Rumors, Prospects, and more

Grading J.J. Picollo and the Kansas City Royals front office at the season’s midway point

Bill Felber — Sat, 01 Jul 2023 18:00:24 +0000

Nobody expected J.J. Picollo to turn the Kansas City Royals around this quickly. However, in Picollo’s second season as vice president and general manager of the Royals, the club appears to be back-sliding. It’s not just the 23-58 record, good for last place in the weak AL Central, and on track to be 19 games worse […]

Grading J.J. Picollo and the Kansas City Royals front office at the season’s midway point - Call to the Pen - Call to the Pen - MLB News, Rumors, Prospects, and more

MLB bullpen report: A couple of things to keep an eye on in June

K Michael Sweetman — Sat, 10 Jun 2023 13:00:58 +0000

As the calendar flips to June, here are a couple of interesting MLB bullpen situations to keep an eye on. The Chicago White Sox got a huge boost at the end of May, with the return of Liam Hendriks from his battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The Sox are 6-2 with Hendriks back, and while it […]

MLB bullpen report: A couple of things to keep an eye on in June - Call to the Pen - Call to the Pen - MLB News, Rumors, Prospects, and more

Is mediocre good enough in the AL Central?

Sam Massaro — Sat, 10 Jun 2023 11:00:40 +0000

The 2023 MLB season has come with many surprises, but one thing that won’t surprise many is the AL Central being bad. But how bad can it be before it is surprising? A division filled with spotty rotations, weak bullpens, and shallow lineups sees its best team sitting at 31-32 over a third of the […]

Is mediocre good enough in the AL Central? - Call to the Pen - Call to the Pen - MLB News, Rumors, Prospects, and more

AL Central check-in: Twins, Guardians, White Sox, Tigers and Royals

K Michael Sweetman — Thu, 08 Jun 2023 01:48:23 +0000

With just one team above .500 entering June, it doesn’t seem like anyone wants to win the AL Central. Cleveland and Chicago are definitely underperforming this year, but I don’t think they were expected to be this bad. Cleveland won this division by a full 11 games last summer, while the White Sox crept into […]

AL Central check-in: Twins, Guardians, White Sox, Tigers and Royals - Call to the Pen - Call to the Pen - MLB News, Rumors, Prospects, and more

Kansas City Royals: Vinnie Pasquantino even better than expected

Brendan Smith — Mon, 15 May 2023 16:30:19 +0000

Newly minted Kansas City Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino was drafted without much fanfare in 2019 despite a strong college career at Old Dominion. In just a few short years, the slugging first baseman has rewarded the Royals’ faith. Pasquantino first started to find himself on prospect lists before the 2022 season, during which he […]

Kansas City Royals: Vinnie Pasquantino even better than expected - Call to the Pen - Call to the Pen - MLB News, Rumors, Prospects, and more

AL Central roundup: White Sox, Twins, Guardians, and more

K Michael Sweetman — Sun, 07 May 2023 15:00:37 +0000

On the heels of a 10-game losing streak the Chicago White Sox made 11 roster transactions Tuesday afternoon and, in the words of Ron Burgundy “That escalated quickly.” The chief moves among the reconfiguration of the team was activating Tim Anderson from the injured list, and sending right fielder Oscar Colas to Triple-A for a […]

AL Central roundup: White Sox, Twins, Guardians, and more - Call to the Pen - Call to the Pen - MLB News, Rumors, Prospects, and more

Tigers, Royals, Twins and more: May bold predictions for every AL Central team

Beau Adams — Mon, 01 May 2023 13:00:29 +0000

The American League Central is the most bland, unexceptional, and dissatisfying division in baseball, which is tremendously irritating to the entire division’s fandom. Four AL Central teams will triumphantly fail to make the playoffs, and one will win by default. If your team competes in the AL Central, you’re used to this being the most turbulent division […]

Tigers, Royals, Twins and more: May bold predictions for every AL Central team - Call to the Pen - Call to the Pen - MLB News, Rumors, Prospects, and more