Kansas City

Royals

Ragans was 5-6 with a 3.28 ERA through 19 starts. He’s now 10-7 with a 3.18 ERA through 25. His stuff definitely seemed a little crisper in the first half than it does now, but it’s still currently plenty good enough when he has command like he did today.

Erceg has pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings since arriving from Oakland in trade, and he’d seem to be the current favorite for saves in the Kansas City pen. He should be picked up wherever he’s available.

DeJong is 8-for-25 with two homers since being acquired from the White Sox, which could earn him more playing time at the expense of Maikel Garcia and Adam Frazier. The 20-homer season is the third of his career, two go along with two years in which he finished with 19 (2018 and ’21). He hit 30 during his lone All-Star season in 2019.

Melendez gave the Royals their first run of the night when he hit a solo shot off Zebby Matthews in the second inning. It was the 14th homer of the season for Melendez, who entered the day hitting a blistering .400 on the month.

Lugo found himself in a hole early in this one. Royce Lewis singled in the first inning to score Willi Castro to put the Twins up 1-0, and Jose Miranda would reach on an error to batters later to see Lewis and Matt Wallner score. He would fall victim to Miranda again in the third inning, giving up a double to the Twins third baseman that again scored Wallner to push the Twins’ lead to 4-1. Lugo would be pulled in the fifth inning after allowing the first four batters he faced to reach base, and would up being responsible for seven of the eight runs scored while he was on the bump. Entering the day with a 2.72 ERA, Lugo saw that number jump to 3.04 after this outing. He’ll look to get back on track in his next start, which is scheduled for Monday against the Angels.

Fantasy managers can exhale after Witt made an early exit from Monday’s contest against the Twins after being hit by a pitch in the left forearm. It doesn’t appear to be a serious concern for the 24-year-old fantasy superstar moving forward. He’s back at shortstop and batting second on Tuesday night at Target Field.

Witt Jr. gave the Royals a 1-0 lead with a homer off Pablo López. That gives the 24-year-old superstar 23 homers in 2024, and he’s well on his way to 100-plus RBI with 88 on the season. He just so happens to be hitting 347/.395/.608, as well. Ridiculous.

Singer allowed eight hits and walked two. Two of those hits were homers; a two-run shot to Royce Lewis and a three-run blast to Willi Castro. If you take away the roundtrippers this was a strong start. You very much cannot do that. Singer’s ERA jumps up to 3.32, and he’s given up 10 earned over his last two outings. He’ll try and get back on track Sunday against the Reds.

Massey’s back still isn’t quite right after his month-long absence in May and June, and it sounds like more DH time will be required to help manage it. Massey has hit .235/.275/.431 in 31 games since returning June 24.

Isbel went hitless in eight straight games from July 30-Aug. 7, but he has five hits the last two days, putting him back up to .228/.284/.377 for the season. He needs a solid finish here to ensure that the Royals don’t try to upgrade in center field over the winter. His defense has justified his lineup spot, but he just hasn’t gotten any better since he debuted three years ago.