David Lesky

Talking some #Royals on Sports Radio 810 with Soren Petro , Kurtis Seaboldt and @kylecollier810.bsky.social shortly. Come join us!

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Bobby Witt Jr. is Still Remarkable and Other Royals in the WBC The Royals are playing a big role in everything World Baseball Classic

Bobby Witt Jr. showed the world why he's a superstar last night. That was fun. I wrote all about his display, some gains he's made and other #Royals who are part of the WBC.

We're less than three weeks to Opening Day. Feels like a good week to do an #ItCMailbag. Send me your questions and I'll run it on Thursday this week!

A quick Inside the Crown note. A lot of subscriptions come up for renewal around this time of year. If you want to keep your subscription active, make sure your payment method is up-to-date. I think the system auto-sends a note if not, but I’m not 100% sure.

#Royals lineup vs. Parker Messick:

India 2B
Thomas RF
Drury 3B
Newman SS
Rojas 1B
Diaz C
Isbel DH
Waters LF
Tolbert CF
Bergert P

#Royals lineup vs. Chris Murphy:

Loftin 2B
Collins LF
Jensen C
Massey RF
Misner CF
Rave DH
Kaiser 1B
Wilson 3B
Vazquez SS
Cameron P

#Royals lineup vs. Nick Lodolo:

India 2B
Thomas RF
Drury 1B
Rojas 3B
Newman SS
Diaz C
Isbel CF
Waters DH
Tolbert LF
Bubic P

Crown Jewels: BWJ First, Royals Patience and a New Broadcast Three weeks from now we'll be getting ready to watch the Royals play a game that counts.

Fridays are free in the offseason (so two more, eek!) and this week is no different. I wrote about why I like Bobby hitting second, the #Royals hitters and their patience this spring and some brief comments on the new TV home we saw last night.

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#Royals lineup vs. Texas:

India 2B
Jensen C
Thomas LF
Isbel CF
Drury DH
Rojas 1B
Waters RF
Newman 3B
Vazquez SS
Ragans P

You can catch the game on Royals.TV with no payment info required tonight.

Royals 2026 Roster Projection 2: The Pitchers The Royals pitching staff is mostly settled already, but there are still some questions.

Yesterday I projected the hitters, today is time for #Royals pitchers. The starting rotation features zero surprises, but the bullpen might be a bit of a surprise. I tried to break down how I got there too, but I might be less sure than when I started.

Royals 2026 Roster Projection 2: The Hitters Not much has changed from the first Royals roster projection, but there has been movement.

We're about two weeks into spring training, so it seemed like the right time to put out my second #Royals Opening Day roster projection. Today is for the hitters. Tomorrow is for the pitchers. Join me on this journey.

I still think Cameron is the fifth starter and has to be way worse than he was yesterday, but Bergert could have a big day and start to make it interesting.

#Royals lineup vs. Cuba:

India 2B
Massey RF
Thomas CF
Jensen C
Loftin 3B
Collins LF
Rojas 1B
Isbel DH
Kaiser SS
Bergert P

Royals Add Starling Marte to the Mix They've been rumored to have interest in him for years, and now the Royals finally signed him.

The #Royals have now officially signed Starling Marte, so I wrote about what they're getting, how I think they'll use him and what it means for the rest of the roster.

The Marte deal is official.

#Royals lineup vs. Grayson Rodriguez:

Massey LF
Loftin 1B
Waters CF
Drury DH
Díaz C
Tolbert 2B
Newman 3B
Cross RF
Vazquez SS
Cameron P

Click below for the latest Kauffman Corner Podcast. @dblesky.bsky.social and I discussed...
- What Marte brings to KC?
- Best case scenario for Marte.
- Witt leading off?
- First look at the rotation.
- Spring Notes.

Apple
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Oh for sure. I get that completely.

He’s thrown multiple times, so not sure there was ever a real worry other than that he just hasn’t been on a “big league” mound since July.

#Royals lineup vs. Chad Patrick:

Collins LF
India 2B
Pasquantino 1B
Caglianone RF
Jensen C
Rojas 3B
Isbel DH
Rave CF
Kaiser SS
Bubic P

They both are. Lorenzen pitches for the Rockies.

Not in February. He’s thrown plenty, just not in a game yet. There are so many opportunities for pitchers in spring training that aren’t part of games. Ragans hasn’t pitched either.

#Royals lineup vs. Michael Lorenzen:

Witt Jr. SS
Caglianone RF
Perez C
Thomas CF
Massey 2B
Drury 1B
Loftin DH
Newman 3B
Blanco LF
Lugo P

#Royals lineup vs. Jeffrey Springs:

Witt Jr. SS
Garcia 3B
Perez C
Collins LF
Pasquantino 1B
India DH
Isbel CF
Rojas 2B
Waters RF
Falter P

I think we just add it, not update it! Both are very, very true.

Crown Jewels: Cags on Fire, Kolek is Hurt and Royals Bench Battles One week into spring training games and we've got some stories.

This week's Crown Jewels is free for all, as usual. Today I wrote about Caglianone's great start to the spring, Stephen Kolek's injury and what it means for the depth and a look at the #Royals bench battles.

The Optimal Royals Lineup With four pillars, the rest of the Royals lineup is very important to maximize them and boost the values of the rest.

I've written a lot about the leadoff spot, but I was very curious what the optimal full lineup would look like for the #Royals in 2026. I came up with something that isn't all that surprising, but there were a couple things that stood out.

#Royals lineup vs. Bryan Woo:

Garcia 3B
Witt Jr. SS
Pasquantino 1B
Perez DH
Thomas RF
Isbel CF
India 2B
Misner LF
Tresh C
Cameron P