The Kansas City Royals (59-39) will take a 2-game lead into the last 64 games of the 2030 MLB regular season.
A +72 run differential (+120 pace) has fuelled a .602 winning percentage that exceeds preseason predictions, all while playing within 2 games of expected performance (57-41). The White Sox (57-41) are pushing the Royals all the way, comfortably leading the
Wild Card race in the AL.
The strong first half performance saw a Stewart-Era High 4 players selected for the
All Star game.
On the batting side, superstar
Bobby Witt Jr. earned his 3rd selection (going 1-1 with a double) while Catcher
Jonathan Gerew earned his first All Star selection although didn’t play on the day.
Pitching wise,
Drew Beam was selected to his first All Star game although didn’t pitch while
Angel Perdomo pitched a one-hit, no run inning on his All Star debut.
Once again the Royals are riding elite pitching to success. With an overall pitching ERA of 3.67 (3rd), both the starting rotation (3.99) and the bullpen (3.21) have an ERA under 4. This has led to a raft of leading AL statistics with hits allowed (726), home runs allowed (94) and strikeouts (932) the most satisfying.
The hitters have improved this year with several Top 6 categories, Hits (848) and Extra-Base Hits (312) both showing marked improvement on previous years. Home Runs (8th) and Walks (11th) are still a challenge and this led to some changes during the All Star break.
The decision to hand over the starting Catching role to
Jonathan Gerew was clearly the decision of the offseason as he has responded with a 2.4 FRM rating backed up by a 121 wRC+.
Dave Holcombe is having a strong AAA season and is ready to replace
Juan Villareal (98 wRC+) although the back up is offering replacement level hitting at the moment so change is not imminent.
Luke Adams (124 wRC+) has missed 5 weeks but will be back before the end of the month which will allow
Hunter Owen (136 wRC+) to move back into a DH role. 29 Home Runs has him gunning for the Royals single-season record of 48!
Nick Loftin (156 wRC+) returned from injury just before the break while his back up
Gregory Barrios (84 wRC+) has shown vast improvement on previous years while providing elite defence (7.8 ZR) and will move to an infield utility role the rest of the way.
Off season free agent signing
Isaac Paredes (82 wRC+) has disappointed to date, continuing the run of under production from 3B for the Royals, although his July was improving (94 wRC+) to provide hope that it was merely an adjustment period. He beat out
Davis Schneider (81 wRC+) which saw Schneider traded to the Astros.
Bobby Witt Jr. (133 wRC+) has had his OSA predicted bounce-back year, premium defence paired with a .524 slugging percentage that has him on track for 25 HRs and 90 RBIs for the season.
Sheng-En Lin (102 wRC+) has been an above average bat and glove in CF, while
Wyatt Langford (94 wRC+) has been close to league average while offering solid RF defence.
Enrique Bradfield Jr. (75 wRC+) has hit above average for the last two months as a solid 4th OF.
Jorge Ruiz (89 wRC+) hadn’t set the league alight and, with
Jimmy Goodman (124 wRC+ AAA) pushing for promotion was the odd man out for the Royals. Goodman will go straight into a starting role at RF for the remainder of the season.
Will Gasparino (99 wRC+) had actually been the second of the 2027 draft class to earn promotion to cover an injury and has hit well enough to retain his place as the 5th OF.
Drew Beam’s (159 ERA+) first All Star selection was well deserved, having produced an 2.85 ERA (3.71 FIP) across 20 starts.
Mason Barnett (115 ERA+) has pitched an equally impressive 20 starts (3.79 FIP) although with slightly less help from the field as his ERA is at 3.92.
Aiden May (80 ERA+) has struggled a bit and may be due a rest while
Josiah Gray (109 ERA+) has adapted well to the move to the starting rotation. The loss of
Chase Burns (118 ERA+) for the rest of the season just before the break was a tough blow;
Cade Townsend’s first start after replacing Burns was a 5-inning victory which hopefully will be a blueprint for the remainder of the season.
The AL-leading bullpen has meant starters haven’t had to be stretched too far, with relievers accounting for 44% of innings pitched so far.
They have been led by All Star
Angel Perdomo (165 ERA+), who has pitched 62 innings with keeping opponents to a 2.74 ERA. This has required some luck, and some excellent defence as his 4.50 FIP is second worst in the group. The FIP leader is
Yusuke Matsumura (246 ERA+) at 3.07 with an ERA of 1.84 while
Raimon Gomez has a WHIP of 0.94, helping him to an ERA of 1.16.
Two rookies have pitched out of the pen with
Isaac Morton (152 ERA+) winning Rookie of the Month for May before a strained hamstring opened the door for
David Hagaman (209 ERA+) to make his debut.
Injuries
Sunday, June 23rd , 2030
• 1B
Luke Adams diagnosed with a torn ligament in his thumb, will miss 5-6 weeks.
Tuesday, July 9th , 2030
• RP
Isaac Morton diagnosed with a strained hamstring, will miss 5-6 weeks.
Thursday, July 11th , 2030
• SP
Chase Burns diagnosed with a torn meniscus, will miss 4 months.
Trades
Wednesday, July 17th , 2030
As MLB broke for the ASB, the Kansas City Royals took the chance to evaluate their roster, making two major moves before play resumes.
Davis Schneider had not impressed in his first 3 ½ months as a Royal and with another year of a $20m+ contract, the Royals looked to see who might be interested. The Astros gave the best offer, offering
Morga (plus power and eye with above average contact) straight up. However, with
Jenkins-Cowart having another average season having been called up from AAA the Royals took the decision to move on from their 2028 trade acquisition to add
Julio Herrera (plus contact with above average eye) onto the deal. The two acquisitions become the 35th and 22nd best players in the Royals farm respectively. Organisational piece
Jose Felipe Torres (2024 MiL FA) was tacked on while the Astros added over $3m in cash to complete the deal.
The second trade was the result of prospect Goodman’s performances at AAA.
Jorge Ruiz had struggled and, having cleared Schneider’s salary from the books, the opportunity presented itself to pick up another elite reliever in
Prelander Berroa. Plus-plus stuff with an 80 fastball and slider as part of a 3-pitch arsenal, Berroa has a one year $5.6m contract.
The second benefit of moving on from Schneider’s salary was that it allowed the team to extend
Nick Loftin to a 3-year $5.5m per year contract with the last two year as a Team Option.
Around the League
At the ASB the American League leaders were:
East: Baltimore Orioles (62-35)
Central: Kansas City Royals (59-39)
West: Houston Astros (60-36)
The White Sox (57-41), the Red Sox (52-44) and the Angels (50-46) were in the Wild Card spots.
Over in the National League:
East: Washington Nationals (64-33)
Central: Cincinnati Reds (56-42)
West: Colorado Rockies (52-45)
It was the Phillies (51-45), the Braves (51-45) and the Diamondbacks (51-46) leading the Wild Card race.
Major Injuries
Pitchers
- Tanner Bibee BOS has suffered a setback in his recovery. He is not expected to recover for another 8 months.
- Hayden Wesneski CHC diagnosed with a torn back muscle, will miss 4 months.
- Aaron Ashby CWS diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff, will miss 9 months.
- Bryce Meccage CLE diagnosed with a torn labrum, will miss 11-12 months.
- Gabriel Hughes COL diagnosed with a torn flexor tendon in his elbow, will miss 13-14 months.
- Arnav Ellenburg DET diagnosed with a partially torn labrum, will miss 3 months.
- Spencer Strider LAD diagnosed with shoulder inflammation, will miss 5 months.
- Cody Morris SD diagnosed with a damaged elbow ligament, will miss 12-13 months.
- Tink Hence TEX diagnosed with shoulder inflammation, will miss 4 months.
- Jaime Dean TOR diagnosed with a ruptured ulnar collateral ligament, will miss 13 months.
- Camilo Doval BOS diagnosed with a torn labrum, will miss 9 months.
- Zac Gallen CHC diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff, will miss 4 months.
- Lucas Giolito HOU diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament, will miss 10 months.
- Alex Lange LAD diagnosed with shoulder inflammation, will miss 3 months. Alex Lange LAD has suffered a setback in his recovery from injury. This is a CAREER ENDING injury!
- Anderson Munoz NYM diagnosed with shoulder inflammation, will miss 5 months.
- Austin Cox NYM diagnosed with a torn labrum, will miss 11 months.
- Michael Soroka NYY diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff, will miss 13 months.
- Yilber Diaz NYY diagnosed with shoulder inflammation, will miss 4-5 months.
- Jake Eder TB diagnosed with a ruptured ulnar collateral ligament, will miss 14 months.
- Adrian Morejon TOR diagnosed with a partially torn labrum, will miss 3 months.
Hitters
- LF Corbin Carroll ARI has suffered a setback in his recovery. He is not expected to recover for another 3 months.
- 3B Bryan Ramos CWS diagnosed with a broken kneecap, will miss 8-9 months.
- CF Parker Meadows CLE diagnosed with a ruptured Achilles tendon, will miss 8 months.
- 2B Jefferson Rojas MIN diagnosed with torn ankle ligaments, will miss 3-4 months.
- 3B Yohandy Morales NYY diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament, will miss 8 months.
- LF Seuly Matias TB diagnosed with a torn back muscle, will miss 4-5 months.
Extensions
- Colorado Rockies: SP Chase Dollander 3 years $70,200,000.
- Houston Astros: RP Matt Brash 3 years $61,800,000.