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KC Royals Insider Jaylon Thompson gives us the latest update on what is happening with the Kansas City Royals and problems to deal with now to save the year.
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00:00teams you follow it's another sports daily insider interview on KFH
00:05all right welcome back in everybody joining us now our Royals insider Jalen Thompson
00:13Kansas City star beat reporter for the Royals as they take on the White Sox and as they back-to
00:20-back
00:20nights fall six to five Jalen as they back-to-back nights are let down by their starting pitching
00:27in what's becoming a little bit of a trend here we're seeing some struggles there we're seeing
00:33Cole Reagans on the IL we'll get to him in a minute but how concerned should we be as they
00:39finally hit the ball that they're not going to be able to pitch the ball enough here with this train
00:43rolling I think you just have to come to the realization that this is what this team is this
00:50season this team is very much a up and down 500 type of team you know they haven't put all
00:59three
00:59phases together if that's what you want to call it some people say four or five just haven't put it
01:06all together at one moment there was a stretch where they did and they won 11 of 15 then they
01:13come right back down right so I just think that the only saving grace that this team has right now
01:20is the fact that the American League is terrible and they're going to be around regardless of the
01:27fact that their record says they shouldn't be but like you said hitting is coming together but there's
01:34too many mistakes there's too many situations where they did not hit the ball with runners in scoring
01:40position yesterday's game in in particular you can't strike out three times against Jordan Hicks
01:47and expect to win a game and then um yeah even the the ninth inning yesterday you you you do
01:55down
01:55three you get the home run but it's only a two-run homer from Bobby Wade Jr not a three
02:00-run homer
02:00can't tie the game up pitching was not there John Shriver gives up the home run to uh the young
02:06guy
02:07and that's what it looks like right so they gotta figure it out and it is only May but how
02:15many times
02:16we're gonna say it's only May it's only June it's only July at some point you gotta fix it
02:20that's true uh back to your point about the American League before we dig deeper into the
02:24Royals problems uh are the White Sox good uh we can't figure it out if they are going to be
02:28legit or
02:28not the White Sox are improved I mean they took a big risk in taking Murakami and he's worked out
02:37for
02:38them yes he strikes out a ton but if you're a Royals fan when you want somebody that's hitting
02:44home runs and driving in RBIs if he strikes out a billion times I at this point I'm sure you
02:50probably
02:50will want something like that the Royals just haven't gotten what the White Sox have this season and
02:55that's just consistent offense and a pitching staff that has proven to be very strong at certain
03:03points that bullpen is very good and you saw that this this series yeah they're gonna give up runs
03:08but when it's time to get some outs they're getting those outs so I think they're improved I wouldn't
03:12say they're a playoff team but I say that you can't just walk over them no more yeah and and
03:19that's a
03:19part of it okay so maybe they're a contender in this division them being a contender in the division
03:24might not be the worst thing right because it means muddying the waters and it feels like the Royals are
03:31going to need that this year like if I look at the division and I told you two teams are
03:38going to
03:38run away with it or four teams will kind of stay competitive I think the latter is going to benefit
03:45the Royals this year they kind of need this thing to stay ugly a little bit in the division because
03:52I'm
03:53not sure based on what we've seen they're going to be able to keep up with somebody who starts to
03:58win
03:59a bunch of games and makes it like a two-team race I think they're they're more equipped for a
04:03four-team race yeah I think you're right Jacob I and and I think that when you look at this
04:10team
04:12you better win tonight because if you go to St. Louis in St. Louis it's one have you seen the
04:20central that that everybody in that division is winning so if you don't win today tonight and you
04:28go to St. Louis and you lose two out of three you're you're putting yourself behind eight ball
04:31with the Boston Red Sox coming in Seattle Mariners coming in you know that's pretty tough back to the
04:38Royals problems uh the thing about the pitching is that the pitching is now letting up a bunch of runs
04:43and the offense is keeping up uh complete opposite of what we saw a month ago uh so we've asked
04:48this
04:48question multiple times now is that which version is the Royals uh we've made the point it feels like
04:54Vinny's you know at least 85 percent 90 percent back to form uh Salvi is getting healthier uh you've
05:02gotten more outfielders than you know what to do with that can hit lefties or righties I guess
05:06it feels like the offense is going to be okay right well TJ I think the offense will be okay
05:14but like like you said it doesn't matter if the pitching is not up to far up to far and
05:21I think
05:21they they've gotten good pitching I won't say it's everyone I mean you look at what Seth Lugo has done
05:29you look at what Michael Walker has been great I if there was if there's anyone to go to the
05:33all-star
05:34game this year so far it's Michael Walker uh I and that's just out of anyone on the entire team
05:40of
05:40course Bobby Woodridge you're just going to get voted in and things like that right but Michael
05:44Walker deserves to be there um I just think that where do you go that I think that's the thing
05:52for
05:52the Royals right now this is what you kind of got I mean do you you don't really have anyone
05:57that you
05:57can say we're going to turn to this guy to turn around or we got this ace in the hole
06:02that we can
06:03use when we when we actually need it no you're gonna have Seth Lugo Michael Walker Noah Cameron
06:11Stephen Colick until Reagan's gets back Chris Bubish that's what you have so they have to pitch
06:17better the bullpen has to pitch better Carlos Estevez is out for three weeks right who knows when he's
06:24going to be able to be back if he does come back from that shoulder injury right so where do
06:31you go
06:31in that bullpen you're gonna have to rely on guys like John Schreiber and you're gonna have to rely
06:35on guys like Matt Strom and Lucas Ursa those guys can play but is it enough you know did the
06:43role
06:43that was our biggest question is awesome did the Rose do enough yeah and it's clear so far that they
06:48really didn't do enough to get over that extra hump the White Sox did enough to get better the
06:55Rose they look like the same team as last year John Schreiber Jalen Jalen Thompson are Royals
07:01beat reporter last night gave up the big run his all is the first run he'd given up in his
07:06last five
07:06appearances he's that's only the second time he's allowed to run and I think in his last 10
07:12it was so bad at the beginning of the season but man he's been way better lately that was a
07:18bummer
07:19last night what did you see out of that I mean it was you could not have you couldn't have
07:26gone in
07:27and drawn that as a more hittable meatball last night that was kind of the problem early when he
07:35really struggled where did that come from any concern with that because was Estevez out they
07:41kind of need him now and and I know it I know people probably haven't even picked up on how
07:46good
07:47he'd been lately but man he wasn't on that pitch and and so what how do you evaluate that pitch
07:52and trust him now I think you're the I mean Michael Trevick gonna keep going to John Schreiber
07:58that's that's one of his guys he's gonna keep going to him right regardless of what fans or people
08:04might think well maybe go try someone else that's his guy when he needs to get a ground ball that's
08:10his guy when he's gonna need to get a big out so he's gonna keep going to him I think
08:14he just
08:14threw a pitch yesterday where he tried to get over the plate and tried to get an easy strike call
08:20and
08:20guy gets over the fence I mean like you said it was right down in the middle pretty much and
08:25it was
08:26gone so that can't necessarily happen but the world's they have guys pitching in roles that
08:34maybe they didn't intend for him to pitch in early so early in the season like you said you move
08:39everybody up a spot when you have I'm sorry down a spot when you have Carlos Estevez you know hurt
08:46so
08:47he's pitching in you got Daniel Lynch because he's in a situation as a high leverage reliever
08:51they didn't expect Daniel Lynch to be a high leverage reliever this season they expected him to be a
08:57part of the bullpen but he's in a big role same with you know you have Ursa now closing it
09:03may
09:03expect him to close they expected him to be one of those fireman roles where he can go and pitch
09:08in
09:08different situations can you imagine if you had Lucas Ursa in that spot instead of John Schreiber
09:13yesterday how does that game look different same with the game on Tuesday how does that game look
09:20different if you have Ursa being able to be in the seventh inning or the sixth inning in those clutch
09:25spots they just don't have that right now so it's just it's a way where the roles have to just
09:32navigate these waters and try to get the 500 before they end the month and they can do that then
09:38maybe
09:38they stay around but like you said you've got to muddy the wires of the AL central that's the only
09:43way that they're gonna move it uh let's play our favorite segment every time Jalen gets on the radio
09:48I think it's time we need a cold open for this kind of thing I'm gonna play today uh back
09:55-to-back
09:55lefties yesterday and today Jalen uh has he he hasn't sat back-to-back days because they've been
10:00fortunate not to face back-to-back lefties I don't think do you recall are they gonna do it again
10:06I think he'll play today I think he'll play today
10:10Katara must have a headache thinking about that well yesterday was a different situation the guy
10:17is 6'10 Nathan Jordan that guy was ginormous I mean they're talking about Randy Johnson out there
10:23pretty much right and that angle is just tough against any left-hander so we'll see you know I
10:29think he'll I think they'll have both Carter and Jack Caglione in the lineup today and I think that
10:35you'll probably see Lane Thomas in there as well okay and Collins was 0 for 3 yesterday so it's an
10:43easy sell I suppose or do you say Kyle Isbell and then he let Lane Thomas be in there and
10:49let
10:49Collins switch hitter so I'm gonna I'm here's what I'll say you think he's gonna play I think
10:54they're gonna sit him Jalen I think they're gonna sit him I think it's a pride thing now he won't
10:59do
10:59it he won't do it stick to the analytics Q I mean either way I know people want Jack Caglione
11:07and
11:07Carter Jensen to be in the lineup right but like I always say you want them in the lineup they
11:12gotta
11:12hit they have yeah I mean Carter Jensen came in last night went two for two so it's kind of
11:17hard not
11:17to put him in so he'll probably be maybe I'm not quite as concerned about his at-bats though he's
11:23still he's still like a rookie Cags isn't really a rookie anymore like we're up over the amount of
11:29at-bats now where he doesn't like you just get like again it's I know we have the same conversation
11:35but like you're protecting one of the future cornerstones of your like people don't do that
11:40they I'm trying to think of like who who profiles for another organization like Cags
11:47and imagining them 300 at-bats into their big league career being a platoon player
11:51I mean Nick Kurtz is the perfect example isn't they're the same draft Nick Kurtz leads off every
11:56night for Oakland or for the athletics apologies Sacramento Sacramento West Sacramento
12:04they'll get to Vegas soon enough to your point I just think that
12:11you have even the only way this is good this conference is ever going to be
12:16rectified is if Jack Caglione hits like he hit in the minor leagues and he just hasn't done that yet
12:22you know and I I really think I I hear both sides of the discussion you want to play him
12:28every day to
12:28allow him to push the show that he can do that I get that I get that part of it
12:33but the way they've
12:34been bringing him on bringing him along slowly you've seen the defense vastly improve I mean
12:41the arm strength has been there he's been taking better routes to the baseballs in right field
12:46you can tell he's getting comfortable out there right you can tell the plate discipline's improving
12:51where he's not really waving at balls out of the strike zone he's being more selective and he's in
12:57the ball the off field so I think he's performing right where they want him to perform at and right
13:02where he needs to perform at does he need to play every day so that he can so that he
13:08can
13:08left handers I mean that's possible that they could do that but like I said if you do that then
13:14you're taking Lane Thomas's bet out the line I'm taking Starling Marte's bet out the lineup
13:18and they both were really good against lefties at least the last couple of nights they played
13:22and the last couple of times they played against lefties so what do you do we'll know about two
13:28o'clock Jalen we appreciate it good luck safe travels to St. Louis tomorrow we will follow along
13:34on X and at the KC star we'll be back right after this thank you so much guys see you
13:40next time
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