Heavy Rotation

 

There's a Simpsons gag where Homer and the family are trying to watch TV, and when their dog blocks the TV with its paws it's endearing and cute, but when the cat does it Homer yells 'GET THAT CAT OUT OF THE WAY'. 

That's basically where I'm at with both the Royals and Astros trading for rotation updates they don't especially need. It's fine if the Royals do it because they replace a C starter with a B+ starter. It's not great if the Astros do it because for the love of god, there's like 20 pitchers waiting to come off the IL and you're already saying there's no room for them. 

So after dealing for Michael Lorenzen, the Royals will be headed into the last two months of the season with a rotation consisting of Seth Lugo, Brady Singer, Cole Ragans, Michael Wacha and Lorenzen. That is...insanely good. Everybody in that rotation has an ERA lower than 3.80. Lugo is still a Cy Young candidate, but Singer and Ragans are honestly just as good. And Wacha, now active, is having a nice season himself, with a 7-6 record and a 3.65 ERA. Wacha is one of those guys that doesn't need to be the star of the rotation but can deliver consistency and solid work wherever he goes. He's played for a different team in each of the last six seasons, and while he was a little more impressive in Boston and San Diego, he's been very good here and only has room to improve.

Putting Lorenzen in this rotation gears the Royals for a playoff run, and it comes at a time when they're dangerously close to the Twins in the standings. Both teams are very good, and could progress to October, but in a playoff picture where the Yankees, Mariners, Red Sox and Rangers are also after wild card spots, it's gonna take a lot to truly stand out. I think the Royals can do this with this rotation, and their improved pitching picture [thanks to Hunter Harvey, who I really hope didn't just immediately hurt himself]. 

It also helps that Bobby Witt, Salvador Perez, Freddy Fermin and Vinnie Pasquantino are all having great seasons. I think the lineup is missing one more true power piece, and while there's a lot of great defenders on this team not all of them are hitting well at the moment. But having Witt in full 'decade defining superstar' mode is extremely good for this team, and could be the element that makes them a competitor again after years of being a third-at-best team.

I really hope the very smart moves the Royals have made this year amount to something, because it's a really cool strategy, and a really good underdog team. 

Coming Tonight: Probably a 'Top 10 Deadline Deals' post. Expect Lorenzen to be somewhere on it.