Game of the Week: July 5: KC @ TOR

[Commissioner Erick]

Kansas City Royals (48-36) @ Toronto Blue Jays (43-41)


KC: Taylor Lehman (8-3, 2.83)
TOR: Dave Bounds: (2-5,5.81)



Royals 5 Key Stats:

1: The number of Royals hitters with more than 11 home runs this year. Jorge Vargas has been a supreme slugger, but the Royals don’t have much power aside from him.

2: Royals relivers with an ERA under 3.72. Kansas City has long had an elite bullpen, but this year, the team is 12th in bullpen ERA. Joe Shilts has been great as a stopper, and Aroldis Chapman has overcome a shaky start to be a lefty specialist, but the rest of the pen has been shaky.

4: Home runs allowed by Taylor Lehman this year. The lefty has exceptional command, which allows him to avoid the middle of the plate. He’s always had good home run prevention numbers in his career. Part of that is pitching in cavernous parks. The other is being a strong pitcher. Lehman is a former AL All-Star, and a three-time minor league All-Star. He has a shot to nab another All-Star nod this year.

16.2: Kansas City’s strikeout rate. The Royals excel at making contact and winning the BABIP game. The Blue Jays will need their defense to be on to win today’s contest.

34: Sacrifice Flies by Kansas City this year. Though they don’t hit a ton of home runs, Kansas City’s high contact rate pays off in other areas. They’re able to bring in runners with men on third and less than two outs thanks to their ability to get their bat on the ball. Part of the Royals game plan will be to get a guy to third with one out, cause the Royals are confident they can bring that man home.


Blue Jays 5 Key Stats:

5.81: Dave Bounds ERA. Toronto has struggled with the back of its rotation and Bounds has been their most recent failed fifth starter. He’s made 10 starts, appeared in 19 games overall, and is 2-5. He’s been good as a reliever, but has a 6.70 ERA as a starter, with an elevated home run rate. Kansas City’s profile may not be able to take advantage of Bounds’ long-ball inducing ways.

-2.4: Jeifry Nunez’ Zone Rating in Left Field. Toronto has a number of strong defenders, but a weird roster construction has resulted in many of them out of position. Nunez has 12 starts in Left. Eric Drouet has 28 starts in Right. Taylor Walls has eight starts at Shortstop. Figuring out an optimal defensive lineup will go a long way for Toronto.

.683: Jake Burger’s OPS. Burger’s up-and-down career is currently down. He has just a .286 OBP with 81 strikeouts, the fourth highest strikeout rate in the league. This may be the fourth season of Burger’s career with a WAR of 0.6 or fewer.

17: Home Runs for Gary Sanchez. Sanchez is on pace for his 11th straight season with 30 home runs or more. He’s also hitting .302, which would be a career high. At age 34, Sanchez is still on top of his game and looking like the best Catcher in the AL.

2.8: Eric Drouet’s strikeout rate. Drouet has struck out just 8 times in 62 starts this year. He’s hitting .312 with 16 steals. Drouet hasn’t walked much and has no homers, but his contact rate is specialist.


Questions for the GMs:


For Daniel Kent, Aroldis Chapman has pitched better of late. Why is he on the block when your other arms are struggling?

Taylor Lehman has pitched great for you. What did you see in him that had you trade from him?

Harland Guenette is struggling a bit with the bat. Could we see Joshua Lowe today?

For Ben Smaller, why do you have Jeifry Nunez playing Left Field when he’s such a good Shoststop?

Anderson A. Tejada has a .606 OPS. How safe is his job at Third Base?

Kole Enright has 14 home runs in 42 games. Why is he on the bench for you?


TRIVIA: Vladimir Guerrro Jr. has more than 10 hits against one pitcher. Who is that pitcher?

[kcgm]

1) For Daniel Kent, Aroldis Chapman has pitched better of late. Why is he on the block when your other arms are struggling?

Though his overall stats have been solid, Chapman's ratings have begun to decline, and his K rate has plummeted. I think he can still be a useful RP in some situations, but I don't think the manner in which he has been effective so far this season is very sustainable.

2) Taylor Lehman has pitched great for you. What did you see in him that had you trade from him?

Lehman has been an effective SP for years and someone I've had my eye on for a long time. He fits the style of high movement/control/groundball SPs my team is built for, and he has practically identical ratings to a couple of my other SPs. I was confident he would be a great fit in my rotation. I also wanted to add a LHP to pair with Tyler Alexander for playoff matchups, and also felt that the 5th spot in my rotation could use an upgrade.

3) Harland Guenette is struggling a bit with the bat. Could we see Joshua Lowe today?

Yes, Lowe will be starting today. Guenette had been hitting very well up until this past sim but had a rough week and is now cold. Guenette will continue starting vs. LHP, but Lowe will be getting the majority of starts vs. RHP for now. Lowe is just coming back from injury and was awful in the few at bats he had before being injured. How starts and playing time will be divvied up at 3B going forward will change from sim to sim depending on how they are each performing at that moment.

*I would like to mention that I do actually have another position player in addition to Vargas with over 11 HRs in Jonathan Bakos (with 12), but he is on the IL at the moment.

[Commissioner Erick]

Royals 5 - Blue Jays 4 (10)


WP: J. Chassagne (3-3)
LP: T. Crombie (1-2)


The Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals provided some drama for the home crowd.

Jorge Vargas impressed in the 5-4 Kansas City win over Toronto. Vargas, who leads the AL in bases on balls with 55, went 2 for 3 with a home run, a double, and 2 walks. He drove in 2 runs and scored once. Kansas City reliever Jaquan Chassagne was the winner. His record is now 3-3. The losing pitcher was Travis Crombie.

Kansas City used the timely hitting of Brendan Tinsman to seize the win. The pinch hitter stroked a run-scoring single in the top of the tenth inning to put the Royals on top, 5-4. It was his only hit in 1 at-bat, but it was a game-changer.

"If I do my job, we've usually got a good chance to win the game," said Tinsman.

The win for the Royals raised their record to 49-36.


For Daniel Kent, Josh Lowe started and went 0-3, a common occurrence this year. How often will you play him over the second half?

Quentin Holmes started and hit sixth. However, he went 0-4 with two strikeouts, dropping his average to .261. He also doesn't have any strikeouts either. Why dis you hit him as high in the order as you did?

Speaking of Holmes, did you agree with pinch hitting Brendan Tinsman for him in the 10th?

For Ben Smaller, no Eric Drouet today. Just a day off or any other reason why he sat?

Jake Burger got the start and went 1-3 with a walk. Why did he get the start?

A.J. Puckett was terrific. Any chance of more responsibility after his great game today?


TRIVIA: Which right-handed hitter has the most home runs in Royals history?

[Commissioner Erick]

Trivia 1: Matt correctly guessed Darwinzon Hernandez

Trivia 2: Daniel correctly guessed Grant Burton.