Smaller sample but catcher Blake Mitchell has caught 24.1% of would-be base stealers this season at High-A. That is a 10% jump from last season in Low-A.

David Shields today lowered his season ERA to 1.68. 5.0IP, 1H, 0ER, 0BB, 8 SO Shields gave up the one hit only, and faced the minimum on the day. (15 batters in 5 innings).

FanGraphs has data going back to 2006. I found 2 instances of an 18-year old starting pitcher posting a sub-2.00 ERA in full-season ball (minimum 50 IP): • Madison Bumgarner 1.46 (2008) • Eury Perez 1.61 (2021) David Shields lowered his ERA today to 1.68 in 53.2 IP.

I love both these players but this logic doesn’t make much sense. For example: Carlos Delgado in 17 years had 1,512 RBI and 483 2B. Mickey Mantle in 18 seasons had 1,509 RBI and 344 2B. Delgado wasn’t even half as valuable as Mantle.

If you missed it, I had the pleasure to be on Sports Radio 810 earlier today talking some Royals prospects with Soren Petro, covering the stellar David Shields, Royals trade deadline, state of the system, and a bit more. player.amperwave.net/8008

Carson Roccaforte today: 2/3, 2 2B, BB, RBI Now hitting .328 at Double-A with a .952 OPS in his first 15 games since promotion.

Tommy Molsky, the Dillsburg, PA native by way of OSU Cowboy Baseball since July 1: 18.2 innings 7 hits 1 run 0.48 ERA 🤯 27 strikeouts 🔥 #RaisingRoyals👑