Mindset at Heart of Duffy's Emergence As Starter

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March 31, 2017 LOCAL The next season, Duffy was back in the rotation and stayed there until struggling in late August and September. He finished that season in the bullpen, posting a 0.00 ERA in six Mindset at heart of Duffy's emergence appearances. as starter Former reliever trusted with KC's Opening Day Hmmm. The Royals have converted many starters (Wade Davis, Luke Hochevar, et al) into shutdown relievers in nod following breakthrough season recent years, but the decision to attempt the same with Duffy March 30, 2017 By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com was debated. The Royals liked Duffy's success out of the http://m.royals.mlb.com/news/article/221509754/royals- bullpen so much that he started last season in that role. He danny-duffy-to-start-on-opening-day/ didn't disappoint, posting a 3.00 ERA in 16 games. What really went wrong for the 2016 But as fate would have it, injuries to the rotation forced the Royals and what must change in 2017 Royals to make Duffy a starter again. And this time, he March 30, 2017 By Sam Mellinger/KC Star looked like a different starter. Duffy posted a 3.51 ERA and a http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/sam- 12-3 record in 26 starts last year, attacking each batter as if mellinger/article141708154.html he were still a short-inning reliever. As spring training closes, Royals pitcher Travis Wood impressed with Don't pace yourself. Attack. team chemistry The new approach worked, just like it had years ago with March 30, 2017 By Shelby Hyde/KC Star former Royals ace Zack Greinke, who used a bullpen role to http://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city- eventually become more aggressive as a starter en route to royals/article141819314.html winning an American League Cy Young Award.

Getaway day and a minor-league "Being in the bullpen was really beneficial," Duffy said. "I umpire cost Christian Colon a needed had mostly really short stints in the bullpen, and having some at-bat success there really helped my confidence. March 30, 2017 By Lee Judge/KC Star "And I took that approach, of just attacking, back to when I http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns- started again. It changed everything." blogs/judging-the-royals/article141691789.html Royals’ Kennedy breaks camp with a Duffy's turnaround as a starter in 2016 inspired manager Ned Yost to call the 28-year-old one of the elite left-handers in the spring ERA of 0.00 Majors. And for Yost, it was an easy call to make Duffy the March 30, 2017 FOXSportsKC.com (via AP) Royals' Opening Day starter on Monday in Minnesota. http://www.foxsports.com/kansas-city/story/kansas-city- royals-ian-kennedy-breaks-camp-with-a-spring-era-of-0-00- "He earned it," Yost said. "He has emerged as an ace." 033017 Eric Hosmer could benefit from Duffy, who will be making his first career Opening Day start, getting off the ground said he was deeply moved when he got the news. March 30, 2017 By Jake Seiner/Topeka Capital Journal "It's such an honor," Duffy said. "I've been in 10 camps now (via AP) and put in a lot of hard work to get to this point. So, yes, it http://cjonline.com/sports/royals/2017-03-30/eric-hosmer- was an honor. It was rewarding." could-benefit-getting-ground MLB TRANSACTIONS Duffy said he has no intention of changing his new, March 31, 2017 •.CBSSports.com aggressive approach, even at the suggestion that it might be http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/transactions impossible to go all out with every hitter as a starter.

"I kind of disagree," Duffy said. "I understand about the LOCAL whole fatigue factor. But even when I had just 70 percent left in the tank last year, I would still go 100 percent, all out, with Mindset at heart of Duffy's emergence that 70 percent. as starter "Obviously, your velocity will drop after a while, but that's what I do. It brought me success. I just try to condition Former reliever trusted with KC's Opening Day myself to keep up my velocity, even in the seventh and nod following breakthrough season eighth." March 30, 2017 By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com http://m.royals.mlb.com/news/article/221509754/royals- Duffy doesn't worry if other starters still have success with an danny-duffy-to-start-on-opening-day/ old-school approach that favors pacing.

The origin of Royals left-hander Danny Duffy's breakthrough "Hey, there's no wrong way to eat a Reese's," Duffy said. season in 2016 can be traced to 2014. "Everyone gets things done in different ways."

That's when the Royals experimented with Duffy in the What really went wrong for the 2016 bullpen and he posted a 2.16 ERA in six appearances before Royals and what must change in 2017 returning to the rotation. March 30, 2017 By Sam Mellinger/KC Star http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/sam- mellinger/article141708154.html “The mentality, yeah,” he said. “We missed a lot of guys, and we were tired from the last two years. We got down. When Before we get to the meat of this column about what went we’re at the stadium, we play hard anyway; you don’t think wrong for the Royals in 2016, a quick story about what went too much about it. But we got tired.” right for the Royals in 2015. You remember that season. The energy. The comebacks. The parade. That’s human nature, I said.

(Editor’s note: This story is part of The Kansas City Star’s “Human nature, yes,” he said. “You don’t think about it. But 2017 Royals season preview, which will be available Sunday, we were tired. It was our mentality, sometimes it’s not April 2 on KansasCity.com and also in a 30-page special physical or anything. It’s mentality. That’s why we need to section inside Sunday’s print edition of The Star.) be better, stay strong always and get back to the World Series.” But back in April, long before the dog-pile at Citi Field, the Royals had what Wade Davis considers their defining There is another side to this, one that general manager moment. It was the Oakland series, at Kauffman Stadium, the Dayton Moore felt but hadn’t articulated until now. one where Brett Lawrie’s reckless slide into Alcides Escobar’s knee set off a weekend of finger pointing and Moore’s Royals have always believed in the power and testosterone. importance of resilience, perhaps more than most organizations. When Moore’s first official draft with the Lawrie sent an apologetic text message to a number he had Royals began with selecting Moustakas second overall, the for Escobar, who said he never saw it, but either way a biggest concern the organization had was that Moose had not message came back from that number that was, well, less yet been through adversity. They did not know how he would than gracious. There was posturing, words and ultimately a handle it. contentious weekend in which Yordano Ventura was ejected for plunking Lawrie, Kelvin Herrera was ejected for throwing That’s a good problem to have, of course, but that philosophy behind Lawrie and pointing at his own head — and the — drive, effort and resilience often being more important Royals completed an eighth-inning comeback to win the than talent — guided the Royals over the last decade. series. The results in 2014 and 2015 could not have been a more More than any of the Royals’ other 94 wins that regular emphatic confirmation. The results of 2016 were an almost season, more than the epic comeback in Houston, more than unfamiliar step back. Lorenzo Cain’s dash around the bases in the ALCS and more than Eric Hosmer’s sprint home in the World Series, this was “You have to have the same relentlessness you had in the moment that stuck out to Davis. pursuing a championship if you’re going to repeat,” Moore said. “You have to have the same focus on the fundamentals, “You almost have this sense of, ‘(Expletive), did we screw on perseverance, and as human beings we tend to get a little up?’ ” Davis said. “And I felt like, as a team, we were like, satisfied at times. We should celebrate our successes, but you ‘It doesn’t matter, we’re still going to come get you.’ That have to really stay relentless if you’re going to win.” was the coolest moment for me. Moore hasn’t made this point before. He hasn’t wondered out “I’ve been on teams where stuff like that happens, you throw loud about whether the 2016 team was too satisfied. at somebody, and people don’t know what to do. You know it’s happening. You get rattled, and the next couple of days “I think we could’ve managed it a lot better,” he said. “I it’s a meltdown. In that moment, we were just going to get think we let (fatigue) be an excuse at times. When people better than anything said about us or what was going on.” bring that up, it’s easy to say, ‘Yeah, we’re tired.’ ”

We can talk about specific baseball reasons the Royals won This sends Moore on a story. He said he was relieved when just 81 games the season after the parade. Davis, Mike the Royals won Game 5 of the World Series in New York, Moustakas and Lorenzo Cain were injured. Alex Gordon was because he sensed his team was wiped. Going back to Kansas injured, and terrible. Eric Hosmer’s on-base and slugging City would’ve meant going back on a loss and having to beat percentages slipped. The rotation lacked depth, the bullpen Noah Syndergaard or Jacob deGrom. was not overwhelming and the defense was merely very good. The 2015 Royals played baseball the way a mosh pit watches a concert — constant movement, constant intensity, constant “Just kind of seemed like whenever we had things rolling, madness. It worked, but it also required an enormous and stuff was going good, something would happen,” stamina. Hosmer said. “I mean, we lost two guys on one play. We’d win three or four in a row, then someone would go down. It “You can’t let that creep in and affect you mentally,” Moore just didn’t happen.” said. “Maybe at times (that happened). I think what happened to our team, we had some mental and physical fatigue, and This is usually where the conversation about 2016 leads. Too then you get injured and you have to get through that mental many injuries, and the cumulative fatigue of 324 regular- fatigue again. season and 31 postseason games over the previous two seasons catching up with them. “We had a terrible July, and then a good August, but when when Cain went down again, you just feel it, all of us The team that overwhelmed the American League with went ...” — Moore exhales, and slumps his shoulders — “… swagger and bravado won just seven games in July, and now no matter how we tried to combat that.” it’s 2017. I asked Salvador Perez if that same mentality fell back a bit. Which brings us back to Davis’ story, at the top of this “I think our culture is very important … to care for each column. other and be a good teammate,” Yost said. “We do a lot of homework on that when we bring guys over.” Injuries are different than a unifying anger, so this is not a direct apples-to-apples comparison between 2015 and 2016. Yost said Wood, who came from the Cubs, fits in with the team’s culture “very, very nicely.” Few things in sports can be better motivation than losing the World Series by one swing and then feeling like the baseball For upwards of two months in spring training, the Royals world is out to get you the next year — and few things in players have gotten to know each other better and have sports can be more deflating than losing four All-Stars to furthered their relationships, all the while focusing on their injury, including two on one play. individual games.

But we don’t get to pick our obstacles, and the only thing that Infielder Whit Merrifield said his biggest takeaway from matters is that the 2015 Royals beat their obstacles to a pulp spring training is that he’s happy with how he is playing. while the 2016 Royals could not. “(At) this point you just want to be feeling good about your The 2015 Royals, quite literally, fought back — Davis said game going into the season,” Merrifield said. “That’s where I that was the moment. The 2016 Royals covered up — Moore am. As spring (has) gone on, you work on certain things and said they let adversity be an excuse, instead of fuel. try to get to the point where you feel good about your game, and I feel good about my game right now. When an organization and team is built so heavily on the intangible, these things take on disproportionate importance. “You try to get your timing right,” Merrifield added. “You try to put the barrel on the ball as much as you can and get The 2017 Royals have reason to believe. Some of that is the back to the rhythm of picking up the ball ... just get back to calendar, of course, because even the 2004 Royals believed getting reps in on defense and at the plate. That’s pretty much this time of year. But the rotation is better, and deeper, than what spring (is) for, and that’s where it is right now. it’s been in years. The lineup will have as many as six or even seven home run threats. They should have that energy “Whether it’s a spring training game or the season, the goal back, and with four important pending free agents, a group of every day … when you walk out in between those lines, it’s friends should have every motivation for both individual and to win the game. It’s the kind of atmosphere that is in this team success. clubhouse, and, hopefully, we can do a little better job this year of getting some wins.” But these things are impossible to predict. The Royals are Getaway day and a minor-league projected to finish even worse than they did in 2016, according to several metrics and Las Vegas. As with any umpire cost Christian Colon a needed season, the list of things that might go wrong is long and at-bat daunting. March 30, 2017 By Lee Judge/KC Star http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns- Baseball seasons are often measured in numbers, and around blogs/judging-the-royals/article141691789.html the Royals, we’ll keep close track of their home runs and quality starts and bullpen success. But if the last few years On Wednesday the Royals and Rangers played their last have taught us anything, we’ll learn much more in the spring-training game in Arizona. After the game, both teams moments when this group is challenged, either by themselves flew to Texas, where they’ll play a couple of exhibition or the opposition or just bad luck. games in Arlington before starting the regular season on Monday. Because that’s where they thrived in 2014, and especially 2015. And that’s where they failed in 2016. When a team plays a game and then travels, it’s known as As spring training closes, Royals getaway day. pitcher Travis Wood impressed with And if you got a peek behind the scenes of the Royals’ team chemistry spring-training complex, you saw a team preparing to travel. March 30, 2017 By Shelby Hyde/KC Star http://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city- The clubhouse attendants were packing up boxes, a room was royals/article141819314.html filled with suitcases ready for shipping, moving vans were being filled with all kinds of gear and the players’ cars were Left-handed pitcher Travis Wood signed with the Royals just being loaded on trucks to be driven back to Kansas City. as spring training was opening in mid-February. Now, as spring training ends, he says his greatest takeaway from it is Wednesday was the last game after a long spring training and how the players are there for one another. everybody was anxious to play a quick one; even the umpires. “Everybody pulls for each other, and it’s a true team,” Wood said of the Royals. “Everybody likes each other. We all get It was a very quick game along, and when we’re out there, you can see people pulling for each other and backing people up.” The game was scheduled to start at 12:05, but the umpires jumped the gun and started it at 12:03. The whole affair took Royals manager Ned Yost said the team-as-family dynamic 2 hours and 11 minutes. The game ended in a 0-0 tie, but the begins with Royals general manager Dayton Moore and teams didn’t have enough interest to stick around to play includes Yost as well as the scouts. even one extra inning. That’s the kind of game it was. The Kansas City Royals broke camp with Kennedy not allowing a run in 17 1/3 innings in four Cactus League starts. Minor-league umpires are often used in spring-training He held opponents to a .155 batting average, allowing nine games and one of those minor league umpires, Billy Cunha, hits, striking out 19 and walking three. was behind the plate Wednesday. “I’ve always given up runs,” Kennedy said. “Usually by the If I counted correctly, 64 batters came to the plate and 22 of end of spring training, I’ve had solid outings, where it makes them saw the first pitch called a strike. If the umpires wanted you feel good going into the season, but I can’t say this is a quick game, the hitters were cooperating; 27 of them swung added (confidence). at the first pitch. “It’s still spring training. If I had a bad spring, I’d say, ‘Oh, I If it sounds like everyone was trying to speed things up and had a bad spring.’ I try not to be too high or too low. I try not finish a fairly meaningless game because they had more to look too much into it. I’m still a realist. I still know it’s important things to do, you’ve got the picture. spring training. Some of the guys I won’t face during the year.” But to Whit Merrifield and Christian Colon — a couple guys fighting for a roster spot — this game mattered a lot. Kennedy finished last spring training, his first with the Royals, with an 0-3 record and a 6.30 ERA in six starts. His Colon’s eighth-inning punchout career spring record is 13-13 with a 4.05 ERA over 188 2/3 innings. If you trust those strike zones we see put up on our TV and computer screens, the first pitch to Colon was a strike on the “From the very beginning, I approached as if it was any other outside corner. But strike two was inside and it wasn’t even spring,” Kennedy said. “My first three outings, I was trying close to the zone. to work on fastball command, get that checked off. Like that’s another checkpoint, that I could make adjustments With the count 0-2, Colon had to swing at a fastball up and throughout the outing. missed it. “And then throwing my off-speed pitches. I told the catchers Colon gestured to both sides of the plate and generally that in my second and third outings, every other batter let’s throw means if the umpire is going to give pitches on the outside more breaking balls to get my breaking ball feel. It was just corner, he can’t give pitches off the plate inside; he’s making normal. It might have come a little quicker than normal. the zone too big. Colon wasn’t the only guy to have a There’s no secret.” questionable pitch called a strike, but a questionable call on Eric Hosmer isn’t going to hurt his chances of making the Kennedy is no Thomas Edison, inventing new pitches to add team. to his repertoire.

It might be getaway day with a minor-league umpire behind “I’m at that part of my career, where I don’t really,” the 32- the plate, but to some guys those at-bats still matter. year-old veteran said. “I just try to fine-tune what I have. I am who I am. … I don’t know what else I can add at this And Christian Colon had one taken away from him. point.”

On my way back home Nor has he asked teammate Peter Moylan to teach him his sidearm delivery. It’s Wednesday night and I’m in a shabby hotel near the Phoenix airport. The room in kind of depressing — the AC “Nothing like that,” Kennedy said. doesn’t work so well and a fly the size of a B-52 just went by — but if it gets too bad I can always step out on my balcony Kennedy was 11-11 with a 3.68 ERA in 33 starts last season. and enjoy the spectacular view of the dumpster behind the He will start the Royals’ second game of the season neighborhood Denny’s. Wednesday at Minnesota.

Man … it didn’t look like this on the website. He has one more exhibition outing, Friday against the Texas Rangers at Arlington. He says it wouldn’t matter to him if he Nevertheless, the room is clean. I’ll get up at 5 a.m., shuttle gives up a run to end his scoreless streak. over to the airport and catch a 7:35 flight back to Kansas City. “I’m just trying to use that to get fine-tuned for the season,” Kennedy said. “It’s nice to write about.” Spring training is over. Eric Hosmer could benefit from Royals’ Kennedy breaks camp with a getting off the ground spring ERA of 0.00 March 30, 2017 By Jake Seiner/Topeka Capital Journal March 30, 2017 FOXSportsKC.com (via AP) (via AP) http://www.foxsports.com/kansas-city/story/kansas-city- http://cjonline.com/sports/royals/2017-03-30/eric-hosmer- royals-ian-kennedy-breaks-camp-with-a-spring-era-of-0-00- could-benefit-getting-ground 033017 Being a big league hitter these days can require some serious Ian Kennedy has never had a spring training like this. Rest lifting. assured, he is not about to allow the numbers to go to his head. No, not in the weight room. The lift some players are concerned about now? It’s getting the baseball in the air. Jose Bautista, Josh Donaldson and Justin Turner have made also expressed reluctance to change his swing dramatically at millions after revamping their swings to hit more fly balls. this stage of his career. With Jung Ho Kang’s status uncertain Last year, Daniel Murphy, Jonathan Lucroy and Nicholas following a DUI conviction in his native South Korea, Freese Castellanos had breakout seasons while significantly cutting should see expanded playing time this season, so the their ground ball rates. Already this year, journeyman minor opportunity is there for a breakout if Freese can get under a leaguer Jose Martinez has credited that adjustment after few more balls. making the St. Louis Cardinals’ opening day roster. Ian Desmond, Colorado Rockies It raises the question: are there other major leaguers who could benefit from a little extra loft in their swings? As a shortstop with Washington, Desmond won three Silver Slugger awards by topping 20 homers on an annual basis. It’s not an easy adjustment to make, and for players who are He’s since slid down the defensive spectrum, signing a $70 already successful pros, it may not be worth the risk. million, five-year deal with Colorado this offseason to play first base. He’s going to miss several weeks of the season But fortune can favor the bold, and the difference between a after breaking his left hand in spring training, but when he good hitter and a great one can be a slim margin — perhaps a returns, he’s a prime candidate for a power spike. He matter of a few degrees of launch angle. averaged 91.5 mph on batted balls last season, but he hit 53.4 percent of those on the ground. The thin air at Coors Field With the help of numbers from MLB’s Statcast, here are doesn’t make much difference when the ball is rolling, but if some players who might benefit from a little more upper cut. Desmond can add a little loft, he could make good on his new role and salary with the Rockies. Eric Hosmer, Kansas City Royals DJ LeMahieu, Colorado Rockies Even in a disappointing 2016 season, Hosmer ranked among the game’s leaders with an average exit velocity of 93.4 mph. The 28-year-old second baseman was a breakout performer The problem? Too many of those hot shots found infielder’s in 2016, winning the NL batting title with a .348 average. gloves. Hosmer’s ground ball rate spiked to a career-high LeMahieu rarely strikes out and tends to hit the ball hard, 58.9 percent, which resulted in big drops in batting average, averaging 92.5 mph on batted balls last season — just ahead on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Hosmer has the of Albert Pujols and Paul Goldschmidt. The difference is raw strength to be a big-time slugger, but he’s only topped 20 those homer-hitting first baseman averaged over 12 degrees homers once in his career. The 27-year-old can be a free on their launch angles, while LeMahieu ended up at 6.3. agent after the 2018 season, and a power spike could lead to a LeMahieu has already become a very pleasant surprise for bigger payday if he hits the open market. the Rockies, but the numbers hint there could be even more there for this middle infielder. Christian Yelich, Miami Marlins MLB TRANSACTIONS March 31, 2017 •.CBSSports.com Yelich is already a top young outfielder, and last year he hit http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/transactions more balls in the air than ever before. In 2015, Yelich led all qualified major leaguers by hitting 62.5 percent of his batted balls on the ground. Last year, he shaved that number to 56.5. TEAM PLAYER TRANSACTION The result? He tripled his home run output to a career-best 21. Despite that, Yelich is still an extreme ground ball hitter — of 373 players with 100 batted balls last season, Yelich ranked 368th with a 2.6 degree average launch angle. On the Arizona Christian flip side, he was 15th with an average exit velocity of 93.3 Outrighted to Minors mph. Few hit balls harder than Miami’s 25-year-old budding Diamondbacks Walker star. If he can just hit them a little higher, he may get out from under the radar.

Carlos Correa, Houston Astros Baltimore Alec Asher Sent to Minors Correa may be another case where if it isn’t broke, don’t fix Orioles it. He hit .274 with 20 home runs last season, and at 22, he’s already one of baseball’s best shortstops. Like Yelich, though, there could be frightening room for improvement. Correa averaged a 91.8 mph exit velocity last season, but at a Baltimore launch angle of just 6.5 degrees. That velocity puts him in the Logan Verrett Sent to Minors Orioles same range as sluggers like Chris Davis and J.D. Martinez, and it’s not hard to imagine Correa hitting 30 to 40 home runs a season with a little more lift.

David Freese, Pittsburgh Pirates Baltimore Oliver Drake Outrighted to Minors Orioles Freese won World Series MVP in 2011 after hitting a game- ending homer in the 11th inning of Game 6 for the Cardinals, but the long ball has never been a huge part of his game. He has the strength to do more damage, evidenced by a 91.5 mph exit velocity in 2016, but he also nearly led the majors with a Boston Red Sox Drew Placed on 10-Day DL, (Flexor 61 percent ground ball rate. Freese has said he sees the benefit of hitting the ball in the air, but the 33-year-old has Pomeranz strain, left forearm) Los Angeles Chris Taylor Sent to Minors Dodgers

Cleveland Michael Purchased From Minors Indians Martinez Los Angeles Julio Urías Sent to Minors Dodgers

Cleveland Giovanny Sent to Minors Indians Urshela Minnesota Ehire Placed on 10-Day DL, Twins Adrianza (Strained right oblique)

Cleveland Wily Mo Released Indians Pena Minnesota Ryan Placed on 10-Day DL, Twins O'Rourke (Strained left forearm)

Cleveland Erik GonzalezSent to Minors Indians Minnesota John Ryan Sent to Minors Twins Murphy

Cleveland Yandy Díaz Purchased From Minors Indians Sean New York Mets Sent to Minors Gilmartin

Colorado Jordan Sent to Minors Rockies Patterson New York Rob Sent to Minors Yankees Refsnyder

Detroit Tigers Mike Pelfrey Released New York Chad Green Sent to Minors Yankees Houston Astros James Hoyt Sent to Minors

Philadelphia Placed on 10-Day DL, (Right Luis Garcia Sent to Minors Houston Astros David Paulino Phillies arm inflammation)

Philadelphia Collin Placed on 10-Day DL, Brock Stassi Purchased From Minors Houston Astros Phillies McHugh (Hypertrophy, right arm)

Philadelphia Los Angeles Trayce Daniel Nava Purchased From Minors Sent to Minors Phillies Dodgers Thompson Philadelphia Tyler GoeddelDesignated for Assignment Phillies

San Diego Craig Purchased From Minors Padres Stammen

Placed on 60-Day DL, San Diego Robbie Erlin (Recovery from left elbow Padres surgery)

St. Louis Trevor Placed on 10-Day DL, Cardinals Rosenthal (Strained right lat)

Placed on 10-Day DL, (Right St. Louis Álex Reyes elbow surgery - out for Cardinals season)

St. Louis Sam Called Up from Minors Cardinals Tuivailala

St. Louis Placed on 10-Day DL, John Gant Cardinals (Strained right groin)

Placed on 10-Day DL, St. Louis Tyler Lyons (Recovery from right knee Cardinals surgery)

Tampa Bay Chase Sent to Minors Rays Whitley

Tampa Bay Jaime Schultz Sent to Minors Rays

Rougned Signed, ( 2017-2022; Opt Texas Rangers Odor 2023)(six-year extension)