Zion Rose’s first official game in the Royals system didn’t come with a hit. The club’s first-round pick from last month went 0-for-5 with a pair of strikeouts in his debut Tuesday night in Quad Cities, the Royals’ High-A affiliate.
Kansas City also got a different kind of milestone in the lower minors, where Michael Lombardi and Jhon Reyes teamed up for a combined no-hitter in the second game of the Columbia Fireflies’ doubleheader. Lombardi handled 4.2 innings, Reyes covered the final 2.1, and the Royals’ Low-A affiliate finished the night with a history-making pitching performance.
At the big-league level, Michael Massey was the one who delivered the decisive swing. His go-ahead homer powered the Royals to a 2-1 win over Minnesota, a timely answer after a rough moment in the field earlier in the game.
Massey’s defensive mistake came in the fourth inning. On a groundball off Twins outfielder Kody Clemens, he got caught in no-man’s-land. As Josh Bell, who had walked to start the inning, charged toward second, Massey tried to apply the tag in the basepaths.
The win belonged to Noah Cameron just as much as it did to Massey. Cameron was sharp again Wednesday night, carving through the Twins for eight innings of one-run ball. He matched his career high in innings, set last week against this same Minnesota team, and tied his career best in strikeouts with nine, a mark he also reached on July 11 against the Orioles.
It was the second straight start in which Cameron worked eight innings, and he has allowed just one earned run over his last 23 innings since July 24. That’s the version of Cameron the Royals have been chasing all year, and the one they need to keep seeing down the stretch and into next season.
Elsewhere, Michael Wacha stayed put at the trade deadline. Anne Rogers reported that even if it would have taken an offer that “wowed us and knocked our socks off,” as general manager J.J. Picollo said, the process still came with the usual deadline tension.
“I never really let myself dive into those rumors too much,” Wacha said. “It just feels good to still be here in Kansas City.
We’ve grown to love this city, and we feel like it’s where we need to be. Extremely excited to still be here with these guys.
I feel like we still have a great group of guys in here that know how to compete and know how to play baseball at a high level. That’s what I’m expecting moving forward.”
Wacha said he had spoken with Picollo “a little bit” before the deadline, and the Royals were clear with him and with other clubs about the price. They wanted Major League talent back, and the asking price was high enough that talks never really got off the ground. Blair Kerkhoff of the Kansas City Star also wrote about some seemingly unbreakable Royals records.
In Other News...
Royals Just Took A Chance On A Former Top Pick
After the trade deadline, the Royals found a small-window opportunity to add a bat with some pedigree, acquiring infielder-outfielder Jacob Berry from the Marlins. Berry has bounced through the minors since Miami made him a first-round pick in 2022, and his profile still carries the kind of appeal clubs tend to keep watching for: enough offensive production to stay interesting, plus the defensive versatility to move around the field.
For Kansas City, the timing matters as much as the price tag, because post-deadline deals can still happen for players who have not spent the full season on a 40-man roster. It is a low-cost swing on a former premium draftee, the sort of move that can fill organizational depth now while leaving open the possibility that Berrys next step is the one that finally starts to separate him from the pack. [Read more 🡒]
Bobby Witt Jr Is Making The Royals Decision Harder To Ignore
Bobby Witt Jr. has kept putting pressure on the Royals to keep moving him up, and his season with Double-A Northwest Arkansas has only strengthened the case. The top prospect has been one of the most productive players in the system, showing the kind of offensive growth that makes a promotion to Triple-A feel less like a possibility and more like the next logical step. He has also been working closely with Whit Merrifield, gaining from that mentorship while staying focused on helping his team win and refining the parts of his game the Royals value most.
The timing only adds to the intrigue. Witt is set to be on one of baseballs biggest prospect stages at the MLB Futures Game, which will only sharpen the spotlight already following him around the Royals farm system. For Kansas City, the question is getting harder to avoid: how much longer can they keep a player like this in Double-A when he keeps looking ready for what comes next? [Read more 🡒]
Danny Duffys Push To Return Comes With A Real Royals Risk
Danny Duffy has been out since late August with a low-grade pronator strain in his left arm, but the Royals are still weighing a path that could put him back in the rotation before the season is over. The left-handers situation has lingered long enough to raise real concern, even as manager Ned Yost keeps the door open for a return and the club looks at a six-man rotation as one way to ease the workload.
Duffy has made it clear the discomfort may have to be dealt with after the season, yet he wants to keep pitching through it for now. The Royals would welcome the extra arm, but the bigger question is whether pushing for one more stretch in September is worth the risk when a more permanent fix could be waiting once the year ends. [Read more 🡒]