Post by Commissioner Erick on Oct 28, 2019 18:06:25 GMT -5
Kansas City Royals (37-36) @ Houston Astros (34-44)
KC: Albert Abreu (3-6, 5.93)
HOU: Leonardo Sanchez (1-6, 4.54)
The Kansas City Royals have gone 1-5 in their last six road series, failing to gain any traction in a Wild Card chase there for the taking. They'll take on a Houston Astros team that continues to disband their club, hoping to accelerate their rebuild. Despite playing for the future, they have one of the league's hottest veteran hitters in Anthony Rizzo, who is batting .269 with 18 home runs, and will likely be an All-Star in a couple of weeks. Kansas City will look to keep him in the park, where their fielders and their league leading zone rating can flag down anything.
Players to Watch
Royals:
RP—Carter Capps:
A World Series winner last season with Washington, Capps has been the same pitcher this year he's been in recent seasons. He strikes out hitters at a terrific clip, but walks a bunch of hitters and carries a high BABIP. He's on a cheap contract with Kansas City, and has been tasked mainly with getting righties out. He's been hammered by lefties to an .889 OPS, while righties bat for a .465 OPS off him. He saved a few games recently, but before that stretch had spent many appearances pitching less than a full inning. Houston is majority right-handed, so Capps may be able to be stretched out again for more than an inning.
RF—Khalil Lee:
The Royals are towards the bottom of the league in power, relying on speed, defense, and walks to win games. Lee represents one of their few guys who are definitively sluggers, as Lee is only hitting .216, but has eight home runs in 200 plate appearances. Lee is patient, which leads to big strikeout numbers, but big walks as well. He does have swing-and-miss in his game, and doesn't carry a high average, so good execution can get him out. Plus, Lee is inept against left-handed pitching. With young Leonardo Sanchez expected to toe the rubber and pitch with his right arm, Lee may have an opponent he can take advantage of.
SS—Christopher Torres:
Lee was a full-time starter last year, despite hitting only five home runs. Torres played .252, played above average defense and short, and was only 23-years old. This year, he doesn't play quite as much as Kansas City is more competitive and Torres' zero home runs in 176 plate appearances does hold Kansas City back. Torres has nearly as many walks as strikeouts, and a decent average against righties, so he starts nearly all those games. He sits against lefties as he hasn't been able to touch them this season. It's a strategy that works, though Torres also presents somewhere Leonardo Sanchez can rest.
Astros:
RP—Jared Jackson:
A 22-year-old acquired in the Carlos Correa trade, Jackson was converted to a reliever this year and has held his own. The former fifth round pick is especially a two-pitch pitcher at this point, as his changeup hasn't developed. He's not striking anybody out, with 28 strikeouts in 43.2 innings, but his walk and home run numbers are reasonable. For a team in a rebuilding process, it's possible they found a nice cost-controlled reliever in Jackson.
RP—Jesus Luzardo:
Luzardo is very similar to Jackson in that he's a young arm, 24-years-old, acquired as a part of a prospect trade, who has only two developed pitches and was thus converted to the bullpen as a major leaguer. The difference is that Luzardo has struggled mightily in the bigs, with a 6.10 ERA. He isn't striking out anybody and his walk numbers are reasonable, however, he's given up 10 home runs in 48.2 innings. Combined with a high BABIP, he's been hit hard. He's only a long man, so he doesn't pitch in high leverage situations. Still, the less Houston sees of Luzardo, the better they're probably doing.
RF: Andrew McCutchen:
McCutchen has had a few nice seasons in lesser-profile situations winding down his career, but this season has been a disturbing one that's hinted that McCutchen may not have too many seasons left. McCutchen's plate discipline has abandoned him as he has just nine walks and 40 strikeouts in 124 plate appearances. He's hitting just .219, he's unable to play the field much, and he'll turn 36 next season. With Houston playing out the string, they're hoping McCutchen can have a hot few weeks so they can trade him, but it's unlikely he'll have a starting job past July either way.
TRIVIA: Who leads Kansas City's All-Time leaderboard in walks?
KC: Albert Abreu (3-6, 5.93)
HOU: Leonardo Sanchez (1-6, 4.54)
The Kansas City Royals have gone 1-5 in their last six road series, failing to gain any traction in a Wild Card chase there for the taking. They'll take on a Houston Astros team that continues to disband their club, hoping to accelerate their rebuild. Despite playing for the future, they have one of the league's hottest veteran hitters in Anthony Rizzo, who is batting .269 with 18 home runs, and will likely be an All-Star in a couple of weeks. Kansas City will look to keep him in the park, where their fielders and their league leading zone rating can flag down anything.
Players to Watch
Royals:
RP—Carter Capps:
A World Series winner last season with Washington, Capps has been the same pitcher this year he's been in recent seasons. He strikes out hitters at a terrific clip, but walks a bunch of hitters and carries a high BABIP. He's on a cheap contract with Kansas City, and has been tasked mainly with getting righties out. He's been hammered by lefties to an .889 OPS, while righties bat for a .465 OPS off him. He saved a few games recently, but before that stretch had spent many appearances pitching less than a full inning. Houston is majority right-handed, so Capps may be able to be stretched out again for more than an inning.
RF—Khalil Lee:
The Royals are towards the bottom of the league in power, relying on speed, defense, and walks to win games. Lee represents one of their few guys who are definitively sluggers, as Lee is only hitting .216, but has eight home runs in 200 plate appearances. Lee is patient, which leads to big strikeout numbers, but big walks as well. He does have swing-and-miss in his game, and doesn't carry a high average, so good execution can get him out. Plus, Lee is inept against left-handed pitching. With young Leonardo Sanchez expected to toe the rubber and pitch with his right arm, Lee may have an opponent he can take advantage of.
SS—Christopher Torres:
Lee was a full-time starter last year, despite hitting only five home runs. Torres played .252, played above average defense and short, and was only 23-years old. This year, he doesn't play quite as much as Kansas City is more competitive and Torres' zero home runs in 176 plate appearances does hold Kansas City back. Torres has nearly as many walks as strikeouts, and a decent average against righties, so he starts nearly all those games. He sits against lefties as he hasn't been able to touch them this season. It's a strategy that works, though Torres also presents somewhere Leonardo Sanchez can rest.
Astros:
RP—Jared Jackson:
A 22-year-old acquired in the Carlos Correa trade, Jackson was converted to a reliever this year and has held his own. The former fifth round pick is especially a two-pitch pitcher at this point, as his changeup hasn't developed. He's not striking anybody out, with 28 strikeouts in 43.2 innings, but his walk and home run numbers are reasonable. For a team in a rebuilding process, it's possible they found a nice cost-controlled reliever in Jackson.
RP—Jesus Luzardo:
Luzardo is very similar to Jackson in that he's a young arm, 24-years-old, acquired as a part of a prospect trade, who has only two developed pitches and was thus converted to the bullpen as a major leaguer. The difference is that Luzardo has struggled mightily in the bigs, with a 6.10 ERA. He isn't striking out anybody and his walk numbers are reasonable, however, he's given up 10 home runs in 48.2 innings. Combined with a high BABIP, he's been hit hard. He's only a long man, so he doesn't pitch in high leverage situations. Still, the less Houston sees of Luzardo, the better they're probably doing.
RF: Andrew McCutchen:
McCutchen has had a few nice seasons in lesser-profile situations winding down his career, but this season has been a disturbing one that's hinted that McCutchen may not have too many seasons left. McCutchen's plate discipline has abandoned him as he has just nine walks and 40 strikeouts in 124 plate appearances. He's hitting just .219, he's unable to play the field much, and he'll turn 36 next season. With Houston playing out the string, they're hoping McCutchen can have a hot few weeks so they can trade him, but it's unlikely he'll have a starting job past July either way.
TRIVIA: Who leads Kansas City's All-Time leaderboard in walks?