Welcome to this edition of the Royals Beat newsletter. My name is Anne Rogers, and I’ll be delivering news and insight to your inbox all season long. Thanks for following along! CLEVELAND -- Royals bullpen coach Mitch Stetter has a term he likes to use with his pitchers, one dating back to when he was the pitching coach for Low-A Lexington from 2016-19 and one that has appeared on T-shirts over the years as a reminder of what the end goal is when a pitcher heads to the mound: Donuts and punchies. Donuts = Zeros on the scoreboard. Punchies = Strikeouts. “The punchies encompasses what you’re trying to do as a pitcher,” said Stetter, who meets the Royals relievers out in the bullpen before a game with a specific handshake, forming a circle with his hands (donuts) before fist-bumping each reliever (punchies). “You want to get 0-1, and you want to get to two strikes as quickly as possible. It’s a mixture of stuff and command. If you have good stuff, if you have good command, if you have a mix of stuff and command, you’re getting donuts. And if you’re throwing up zeros and you’re punching people out, you’re going to move up levels, and you’re going to have success.” When Daniel Lynch IV heard the term again this year, he was transported back to 2018, the year he was drafted No. 34 overall by the Royals. He joined Lexington at the end of that season, making nine starts and posting a 1.58 ERA, helping the Legends win a South Atlantic championship. |
Stetter had shirts made back then with a photo of two donuts and a fist bump. Somewhere in his archives, there’s a photo of Stetter with all his young pitchers wearing those shirts. Lynch was reminded of the phrase earlier this year and called his dad with a question: Do you still have the donuts and punchies shirt from 2018? “And he sure did,” Lynch said. “It’s vintage.” The dark blue shirt was in a box in the back of Lynch’s closet in his childhood home in Virginia. A few days later, it appeared in the mail for Lynch in Kansas City, and he wore it that day at the ballpark. “I think it’s a quick and easy way of saying, ‘Go be nasty,’” Lynch said. “Think of yourself in that way and be confident. Mostly just trying to instill confidence in us.” And a bit of a full-circle moment for Lynch, too. He’s back in the Royals’ bullpen now -- reunited with Stetter and throwing up lots of donuts on the scoreboard. Dating back to Aug. 26 of last season, when Lynch was recalled from Triple-A and joined the ‘pen down the stretch, the lefty has thrown 27 2/3 scoreless innings. Seven of those innings have come this season. |
Lynch has 29 strikeouts during his scoreless streak. The streak is the third-longest scoreless streak ever by a Royals reliever, only trailing Kelvin Herrera (31 innings in 2014) and Wade Davis (31 2/3 innings in ‘14). “It’s really cool to be a part of when he first got to the organization and just to watch him grow and mature not only as a pitcher but as a human being,” Stetter said. “He’s ready for anything. He’s a guy that’s just ready for any opportunity he’s going to get, and he’s going to take advantage of it.” Every scoreless streak comes to an end; every outing can’t turn into a donut. And Lynch is going to be challenged soon with higher leverage moments after the Royals’ bullpen was altered over the weekend with Hunter Harvey and Sam Long placed on the 15-day injured list. But the 28-year-old Lynch seems to have embraced this moment, and this role, with the Royals. “I just want to pass the baton,” Lynch said. “Want to go out there and do well. It’s definitely still a learning curve. But I’ve enjoyed getting a taste of leverage. I kind of showed myself that I can do it and I could be locked in like that. But I just want to be ready for whatever.” |
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Royals outfielder Kyle Isbel debuted a new bat this weekend against the Guardians, trying his hand at the torpedo bat that has made its way through Major League Baseball this season. He ordered a few from Victus Bats about a month ago and has been swinging them during batting practice for the past week. On Friday, he brought a torpedo bat into a game for the first time. “I like it,” Isbel said. “Just more balanced. Comfortable. I feel like it gets through the zone pretty good.” Isbel went 0-for-3 on Friday night and actually splintered one of the torpedo bats when he lined out to second base, hitting a sinker off the end of the bat. Because there’s more weight in the middle of the bat, hitting a ball off the end stung Isbel’s hands a lot more than it normally would. |
Regardless, Isbel said he likes the torpedo bat and the feel of it when he’s swinging. And he changes the model of his bat based on the pitcher he faces. That’ll continue. “There’s so many models of bats, right?” Isbel said. “There’s a lot of different pitch shapes we face. To me, it’s more of a balanced model. I tend to swing a more end-heavy bat against sinker guys and right-cut guys, more of a balanced model. I was just curious to try.” A few other Royals have tested out models, like MJ Melendez, and they’re open to changes. But a hitter’s bat is all about feel, so it remains to be seen if we see them in the game … and if it helps. |
In January 2023, the Royals sent outfielder Michael A. Taylor to the Twins and acquired two relievers: Steven Cruz and Evan Sisk. It’s been two years, but those pitchers are now in the Majors with Kansas City and getting opportunities to help the Royals. The club called up Cruz on Friday when Hunter Harvey (right teres major strain) hit the IL and Sisk on Sunday when Sam Long (left elbow inflammation) was also placed on the IL. Both are intriguing arms, with the righty Cruz throwing in the upper 90s with an improved breaking ball that hit 90 mph in his two appearances over the weekend. The lefty Sisk throws from a low three-quarters slot and is tough on left-handers with tons of deception in his delivery and stuff. How much they’ll help the 'pen remains to be seen as we learn more about their roles and how they’ll handle big moments. “It’s a great sign for the overall health of the organization,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “That’s a win for pro scouting. It’s a win for the front office and the communication, and that goes on with pro scouting and understanding other organizations’ systems, to know guys that you value and that can help you win games in the big leagues.” |
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