The Brady Crunch

 

Kinda funny how things turn around. A couple weeks ago I was seriously wondering if the A's would out-do their worst-ever record, and now the Royals have more losses than they do. Not that it's a race, but...the Royals aren't exactly winning.

The Royals do have highlights this year, like Bobby Witt Jr. becoming a star, Cole Ragans having a lights-out August, Freddy Fermin making a case to be the next Royals catcher, and Maikel Garcia providing a taste of a more contact-friendly team. Other than that, barely anything to speak of. Lot of replacement levels guys like Jordan Lyles, Michael Massey and M.J. Melendez, guys who are great defensively but can't hit [looking at you, Kyle Isbel], and a few people who were supposed to perform better this year.

And while a few of the 2023 surefires fading off I can get, as Vinnie Pasquantino, Kris Bubic and Brad Keller all got injured, Brady Singer's 2023 may be the most damning aspect of this team. Going into this year he was primed for great things, and was coming off a 2022 where he went 10-5 with a 3.23 ERA, his best season by far. For whatever reason, despite consistent innings, things just did not click for Singer this year, and though his last few starts have been better, he's still one of three Royals starters to lose 10 or more games, and the only one under 30 at that, and has a 5.15 ERA that he just can't seem to get down. It's a big misstep on the way to a come-up several people thought was coming this year. Mitch Keller had the year that I figured Singer would have, and what's funny is that while Keller has struggled down the stretch, Singer has improved since the ASG break and was turning it around before a few consecutive 4-run games.

With all the injuries, and with Singer being out for a few days on paternity leave, the Royals have been left with an infuriatingly low amount of sure bets in the rotation. Lyles and Greinke are still around, but both are having really rough seasons. Alec Marsh has been starting games recently, and it has not gone well for him. Angel Zerpa is healthy and starting and he's got a 7.04 ERA. In Singer's absence, Ragans has been the only competent one. And in a rotation that was supposed to feature Bubic, Daniel Lynch and Brad Keller, that's an extremely crushing feeling. It's the same 'well let's just wait 4 days and maybe we'll win' kinda thing the Yankees went though last month.

You can only hope that this rotation is healthier and more consistent next year, because that's one of the ways they can avoid an 100-loss season, which has become all too common in KC. If Singer, Lynch, Bubic and Ragans all are better next year, that'll be an improvement. It's just seeming like a lot to ask for now.

Coming Tonight: Like Greinke, a legend who may be at the end of his rope.