Royals Rumblings – News for April 30, 2025

Welcome to The Show, Noah Cameron.

Sam McDowell pleads for the Kansas City Royals to give Bobby Witt Jr. more help, and fast. [$]

Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. is hitting everything these days, and he redirected the pitch down the third-base line, a double Sunday extending his career-best hitting streak to 19 games. Witt has been on a tear recently, even by his own standards, hitting .357 with a .420 on-base percentage and 10 extra-base hits over the last 19 games. The problem? He’s just about the only one. In that same 19-game stretch, the rest of the Royals have combined to hit .199 with a .534 OPS. It’s ugly, frustrating and not really all that small of a sample size.

Manager Matt Quatraro talks about pitcher Noah Cameron getting the start in lieu of Cole Ragans on Wednesday.

As for how Cameron became the best choice for Wednesday’s game: He impressed in spring camp and looks to add another quality start for the Royals. “There is a lot to like about him,” Quatraro said. “He has good stuff and good poise. We think he can get righties and lefties out. You know, he is physical and has a lot of characteristics that good pitchers have.”

David Lesky has a huge mailbag newsletter at Inside the Crown. He starts off with a pair of utility players he is watching for MLB help.

Internally, I’m very curious to see what Peyton Wilson and Javier Vaz can do. Wilson is hitting .392/.506/.689 in AA. He’s played mostly second, but can handle outfield as well. He was just called up to AAA, so we’ll get to see soon if he’s just mastered AA or if he’s actually shown marked improvement. Vaz missed time with an injury from spring training, but he’s been back for four games and has hit well in the limited time. Both of those guys, in my opinion, should be in AAA to see if they can be knocking on the door, but I’ll accept Wilson for now. Nick Gordon and Harold Castro are getting plenty of playing time. They shouldn’t be stopping either Vaz or Wilson from playing in Omaha.

Royals Data Dugout takes a closer look at the Triple-A Omaha pitchers, including the surprising overhaul from Andrew Hoffman and the 2025 results.

Now, after some apparent work with Driveline, Hoffman is an over-the-top relief ace with a mix that works vertically rather than horizontally. It’s a complete overhaul that’s leading to a breakout. Hoffman’s 37.7% K and 31.1% K-BB are both top 10 in the International League among pitchers with 10+ innings. He’s been even better than the surface numbers indicate, too, with a .382 BABIP and 70.6% LOB that should both even out as the season progresses.

New North Kansas City mayor sets the tone for possible Royals stadium move.

“There’s some real good questions, some real boots-on-ground-affecting-the-residents things that we need to talk about before anything is going to move forward. Then, we talk about money, we talk about financing, we talk about what that will look like. But the residents will have a say and — pardon the god-awful pun that I’m going to throw out there — but if this is not a home run for North Kansas City, we’re not going to move forward.”

The Royals Weekly crew talks about whether or not sending a Royals infielder down is the sensible move.

Kevin O’Brien gives out his stars from the weekend series, with Jonathan India earning a closer look at what could be causing his issues.

It’s interesting to see that India’s issue has been against fastballs this year, based on wOBACON. He’s producing a 0.354 wOBACON on breaking balls and a 0.418 wOBACON on off-speed pitches. Against fastballs? That wOBACON is only 0.213. India is too good of a hitter to see that wOBACON stay that low against fastballs. Once that ticks back up, his overall lines will start to look a lot more impressive. Hopefully, last weekend’s games against the Astros were a step in that direction.

The San Diego Padres designate former Royals slugger Yuli Gurriel for assignment.

Pete Grathoff details Bobby Witt Jr.’s tribute to his agent Scott Pucino, who passed away Sunday. [$]

Get to know Royals prospect Noah Cameron a bit more in this 2024 interview ahead of his debut today.

Tremayne Person at Kings of Kauffman names the two needs Kansas City should upgrade at ahead of the trade deadline.

The Royals have done a lot right this season, especially when it comes to their pitching staff. But if they want their climb back to .500 to turn into something real — a legitimate playoff chase instead of a short-lived hot streak — they should consider being proactive. Upgrading their outfield and injecting some life into their super-utility spot aren’t luxuries, it’s a necessity. With strong pitching giving them a fighting chance, the Royals are just a few key moves away from continuing where they left off in 2024.

One month into the season, MLB.com predicts Bobby Witt Jr. will earn first-team All-MLB honors.

Entering play Monday, Witt led all shortstops in OPS (.858) and led all players in doubles (12). He also has an MLB-best 19-game hitting streak, during which he’s hit .357 with a .948 OPS. With the glove, he leads all shortstops in OAA since last season (19).

The Royals support and honor fallen firefighter Graham Hoffman in a fundraising effort.

Royals are the biggest positive movers in the latest CBS Sports’ MLB power rankings, jumping five spots.

Keep an eye on outfielder Erick Torres in High-A Quad Cities. The 20-year-old has been on a heater to start the season.

Check out these defensive gems down on the farm.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan flames the Colorado Rockies blowing money in recent years.

Are there too many acronyms in baseball today?

The Rockies are on pace for 23 wins this season in worst season start in NL history.

Lance Brozdowski looks at the minor-league pitching standouts so far this season.

Down on the Farm has another minor-league data update for prospect hounds.

Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Daulton Varsho makes a catch of the year contender in MLB return.

New York Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. exited Tuesday’s game early with an injury.

Cleveland Guardians reliever Paul Sewald lands on 15-day IL with right shoulder strain.

Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic is paying for the restoration of a vandalized mural for Kobe and Gigi Bryant.

14-year-old batter Vaibhav Suryavanshi smashes a record-breaking T20 century in cricket’s Indian Premier League.

New Starbucks in Texas is chain’s first 3D-printed store in the U.S..

New Marvel movie Thunderbolts is drawing rave reviews.

Today’s song is Jason Eady’s Once Upon a Time In New Orleans.