Royals Rumblings - News for October 5, 2022

Oct 5, 2022 - 12:00 PM

Anne Rogers’s newsletter this week talks about what Bobby Witt, Jr. has learned from this season, and then a section on Kris Bubic:

Moving forward, Bubic would like to throw his fastball less, upping the usage on his changeup and curveball to keep hitters off balance. There were also hints again at Bubic adding a slider to his arsenal. He threw the pitch in spring but scrapped it earlier in the year to focus on his curveball.

“He definitely made a stride forward in making his breaking ball a legitimate pitch now, and he believes in it,” Matheny said. “He may end up putting another pitch into his repertoire, maybe keeping the right-handers honest a little bit more and the lefties with a shorter break. I think he’s ready for it now that he’s got the breaking ball established.”

Bobbers!

Craig Brown on Drew Waters:

Whatever he unlocked in Omaha, he’s carried it with him to the majors. After Monday’s two-hit performance that included that go-ahead dinger, Waters is now hitting .261/.350/.523 with an 11.9 percent walk rate and a 144 wRC+.

[...] It’s an impressive debut that gives the organization plenty to consider this winter.

A few things to note about Waters and the small sample size of a month of games. The walk rate tends to stabilize around 120 plate appearances. Waters is at 101 with two games left, so he’s close to that mark. I’ll buy a double-digit walk rate from him based on what we’ve seen since he joined the organization. Whatever Drew Saylor and Alec Zumwalt and company have taught him, they have a willing pupil.

The strikeout rate above 32 percent (he whiffed in the two at bats where he didn’t get a hit) is concerning but not so much that it should preclude the team from giving him an opportunity in 2023.

Kevin at Royals Reporter looks at three key metrics that will be important for MJ Melendez moving forward.

Outfielder Brewer Hicklen had some kind of surgery for a nagging injury, according to his own Instagram caption.

The Braves once trailed by as much as 10.5 games in the NL East, but clinched the division title with a win over the Marlins last night.

Aaron Judge hit his 62nd homer of the season.

The Mariners and Tigers played two yesterday, and the winning pitcher for Seattle in game one was catcher Luis Torrens.

Old friend Johnny Cueto is open to pitching for the White Sox again.

At FanGraphs, Michael Baumann goes in a lot of unexpected directions in a call for MLB to expand dramatically.

VERY IMPORTANT METS HIGHLIGHT:

General Managers in the NBA chose the Bucks as the likely champs this year, in the annual poll of GMs for the NBA App.

Speaking of the NBA, what do we think of the new theme music and graphics package ESPN announced for the upcoming season?

A new report details years of “systemic abuse” of players in the NWSL.

Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen have reportedly hired divorce attorneys.

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It’s about the time of year to consider stocking Cold & Flu Supply Tote for yourself.

Apparently the deal is back on for Elon Musk to buy Twitter. Great.

Tupperware’s shift away from social selling means you may find Tupperware containers on shelves at Target. Personally, I am stoked.

WHEW, what would you advise this husband to do? His wife stalked and harassed a former friend, and the civil suit has drained their finances. The original post and update (all at this one Reddit link) are a roller coaster.

And this week’s Reddit question is (hopefully) nice and light-hearted: What do you get every time you go grocery shopping? For me, it’s a single-serving bottle of chocolate milk. I don’t know why I started, but it’s a tiny little treat for when I finish putting all the groceries away.

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SOTD: Loretta Lynn - Coal Miner’s Daughter.