Kauffman Corner Pod streaming at 10P Central. @Jazayerli and I break down another winning week for the Royals.
- Playoff Optimism Meter.
- Royals depth.
- Jonathan Bowlan to start.
- Catchers are OBP Machines.
- Royals vs. Winning Clubs.
- Winning 1-Run Games.

I'm pretty sure the 98.1 mph fastball Will Klein threw was the hardest pitch by any Royal not named Cole Ragans this season.

The Royals need his stuff in their bullpen. But then his stuff was never the question. Keep throwing strikes and he'll be an asset.

Bobby Witt Jr. scored his 23rd run of the season in the top of the first, which ties the all-time Royals record for runs scored by the end of April, set by Carlos Beltran in 2004.

There are nearly four full games left to play this month.

Believe it or not, I wasn't thinking of the Royals at all. A 17-10 start has a way of tamping down the snark.

I'd be lying to say that this is the most excited I've been about a Chiefs draft in years, because, well, 2022 was just two years ago.

But Veach & Co. are just putting on a clinic. Grabbing value everywhere. Rooting for an organization that knows what it's doing is a lot of fun.

And the 2002 Royals and 2022 Pirates both lost *exactly* 100 games, which means this the winningest April ever for a team that lost more than 100 games the year before.

We're in uncharted waters, my friends.

Yesterday, the #Royals reached 7 games over .500 for the first time since May 1st, 2021.

If they reach 8 games over .500, it’ll be the first time since June 1st, 2016.

2,887 days.

Xavier Worthy already feels so at home in Kansas City that he's wearing a Michael Massey shirt

Another reason I love both these picks. Age isn't everything, and I know Rashee Rice was 23 when he was drafted last year, but man, the development time between 21 and 23 feels awfully important.

(If anyone has seen a study on age and NFL draft success, please let me know.)

Xavier Worthy and Kingsley Suamataia felt like the dream scenario all along for the Chiefs, except that it would require them to give up a ton of draft capital to move up and get both of them.

Well, they did move up. But they didn't have to give up a ton. Feeling good.

UPDATE: The Royals have played 85 games since July 26th, 2023. They are 44-41 in those 85 games.

That is officially the winningest 85-game stretch by the Royals since 2017. All this rebuild needed was a little Tayvoodoo.

The Royals may have won 8-0, but if Frazier doesn't make this catch they go to the ninth trailing 2-1, so I am ABSOLUTELY calling this a game-winning catch for the second straight day.

I can't guarantee this is the Royals' year. But if it IS, we can't claim there weren't signs.

We're still in April, and this is the fifth game the Royals have won by 8+ runs.

They have yet to lose a game by more than 5 runs.

After starting 19 of the Royals' first 23 games in RF, Hunter Renfroe has only started one of the last four. Three different guys have started in his place.

Credit Q for deciding in April that Renfroe can't play everyday anymore.

Blame JJ for signing him in the first place.

The Chiefs got a badly needed pass catcher, yes, but in this trade the Bills got something they are even more desperate for: The feeling of drafting at pick 32.

I'll write something fresh about Worthy tomorrow morning now that he's a Chief to lay out how he's more than speed, but for now here's an excerpt from article linked in the below tweet...

If only they had a quarterback with the arm strength to throw deep

The Chiefs have won back-to-back Super Bowls with Patrick Mahomes throwing TDs in those 2 games to Kadarius Toney, Skyy Moore, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Mecole Hardman.

Their WR corps now goes Hollywood Brown, Rashee Rice, and Xavier Worthy.

Sorry, NFL. You had your chance.

I don't know guys, does Patrick Mahomes have any history of forging a historic bond with a Wide Receiver who literally broke the scale in the 40

The Vikings traded up twice in the first round, got the QB they wanted in JJ McCarthy all along, combined with one of the best defensive players in the entire draft, and didn't have to give up a pick in the first two rounds. Solid work right there.