David Lesky

Crown Jewels: Duke Gets the Call, Royals Bullpen, Versatility Spring training starts...next week!

In today's Crown Jewels, unlocked for all, I wrote about John Wathan making the #Royals Hall of Fame, the hunt for another reliever and how they make that fit and the versatility of the roster.

How the 2026 Royals Match Up in the AL Central Can the Royals get back to the playoffs? Win the division?

I did this last year and was so wrong that I wanted to do it again. Today I looked at how the #Royals stack up in the AL Central in five categories. It was fun to take a look at all of it, but it'll be more fun if I was wrong again.

Finding a Bat That Fits is Harder Than It Seems The Royals roster and adding a bat is a little difficult to figure out, and a lot of it is because of Jac Caglianone.

The #Royals need another bat. I'm not arguing that point. But it is a more difficult task in the outfield than it seems. People will probably scoff at that, but that's why I wrote about it today!

Crown Jewels: Royals Non-Roster Invites, WBC Participants, Brian Sweeney The last Crown Jewels of January means the Royals report to spring training soon.

Crown Jewels is, as always, unlocked for all. This week, I put the #Royals non-roster invites into three categories, I looked at the players committed to the WBC and then pushed Sunday night's Kauffman Corner interview with Brian Sweeney that I thought was well worth a listen.

Join @dblesky.bsky.social, Les Norman and @sorenpetro.bsky.social on the Kauffman Corner YouTube live stream! Watch and comment with the link below…

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Leading Off for the Royals... ...we don't know yet! Who should lead off for the Royals?

The #Royals had a BIG problem at the leadoff spot in 2024. They improved by more than 60 points in 2025 and now have to choose from a few candidates to take that top spot in the lineup in 2026. I dove into the four who make the most sense to me.

Click below for the latest Kauffman Corner. @dblesky.bsky.social pinch hits for @jazayleri.bsky.social. We welcome Royals Pitching Coach Brian Sweeney to talk...
- Injuries in '25.
- Value of the strikeout.
- Moving the fences in at The K.

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Crown Jewels: The Late Move, Royals Prospect Debuts, Beltran Gets In Somehow, Royals players will start reporting to camp in just over two weeks.

Crown Jewels is unlocked for all! This week, I wrote about the #Royals proclivity to make a move around this time of the offseason. I also looked at prospects who could debut in 2026 and Carlos Beltran getting the Hall call.

Click below for the latest Kauffman Corner Pod. @dblesky.bsky.social, Les Norman and I draft the top 6 Hitters that have the biggest variance and could make the biggest difference, good or bad, for the Royals in 2026.

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Bottoms Up The Royals roster was FULL of negatives in 2025. Can they eliminate them?

The bottom of the #Royals roster was a massive problem in 2025. It's low-hanging fruit, but a pretty quick way to get a few extra wins...if they can fix it. There's reasons to believe, but also reasons to doubt.

The Royals Still Need More But It Won't Be Easy They are firmly in the mix for the American League Central, but the right moves would help a lot.

The #Royals shouldn't be done this winter. I don't think they want to be done. But a market that was also limited in options hasn't worked out especially well for them either, which means it'll be tough to find the move that actually moves the needle.

Click below for the latest Kauffman Corner Podcast. @dblesky.bsky.social, Les Norman and I discuss the fences moving in at Kauffman Stadium.
- Why now?
- Who benefits most?
- Help in Free Agency?
- How many more HR's?

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Royals Pitching vs. New Kauffman Stadium Dimensions With the walls coming in, the Royals have helped their bats, but at what cost?

After looking at key hitters yesterday, today I dove into the #Royals pitching and how new dimensions might impact them. They'll have to be better than last year to end at the same spot, but I was surprisingly encouraged by my findings.

insidethecrown.substack.com/p/royals-pit...

Kauffman Corner streaming at 8:30A Central. @dblesky.bsky.social, Les Norman and I discuss the fences moving in at the K...
- Who benefits most?
- Will it help with Free Agency?
- How it affects OF defense?
- Royals hit how many HR's in '26?

Click below...
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One thing that I keep seeing is people comparing the #Royals moving the fences in to 1995. The big difference is that they moved everything but the corners in then. With this change, center field between the auxiliary scoreboards is unchanged. That's an important distinction.

New Year, New Walls: How Royals Hitters Will Benefit The Royals are bringing the fences in.

The changes aren't drastic, but the #Royals are bringing most of the walls in at Kauffman Stadium. Today I looked at how that will impact a few key hitters in a way that was somehow both exhaustive and not nearly enough.

Sources: Royals to move in fences at Kauffman The Royals are moving the majority of their outfield fence in by 10 feet, drastically changing the offensive environment at Kauffman Stadium, sources told ESPN.

www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/...

You better believe I'm writing about the #Royals moving the fences in on Inside the Crown tomorrow.

Checking In On the AL Central Where do the Royals stack up in the offseason moves?

We're about a month from spring training, so I thought today was a good day to dig in to what the rest of the division was doing and compare it to what the #Royals have done this winter. Check out who I think has had the best winter so far.

Crown Jewels: Royals Arbitration Numbers, Q for 4 and More Stadium Issues The Royals have some salary certainty, their manager for the next four years and a stadium headache.

It's a Crown Jewels Friday, which means it's free for everyone! This week, I wrote about the #Royals arbitration exchanges, Quatraro's extension and the stadium issues.

Click below for the latest Kauffman Corner Pod. @dblesky.bsky.social and I discuss...
- Quatraro extension.
- Bubic trade heating up?
- Bo Bichette an option?
- Al Central Win Totals.
- Jensen/Caglianone the answer?

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Offsetting Some Royals Salary The Royals claim to be up against it, and maybe they are, so how can they clear some cash? It's easy!

Whether the #Royals really are up against their payroll ceiling is up for debate, but if they are (and even if they aren't), I wrote about the players they could move to clear some salary, who might want them and what they might bring back.

insidethecrown.substack.com/p/offsetting...

Kauffman Corner Pod streaming at 8:30A Central. @dblesky.bsky.social and I discuss...
- Quartraro... Four More Years!
- Bubic Trade warming up?
- Bo Bichette to KC?
- AL Central Win Totals.
- Jensen/Caglianone affect.
- In other news...

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Jac is the Royals Key The slugger dominated the minors, but the majors proved to be a problem for the Royals first rounder from 2024.

No matter what the #Royals do the rest of the winter (and I don't think they're done), the best version of them means Jac Caglianone is producing. I looked at his two biggest issues, chase and grounders, today on Inside the Crown.

Matt Quatraro now has a contract through 2029 with an option for 2030. I’ll talk about that and maybe some other #Royals topics with @sorenpetro.bsky.social, @kseaboldt.bsky.social and @kylecollier810.bsky.social on Sports Radio 810 here shortly. Listen in!

Not surprising at all, but the #Royals have extended Matt Quatraro through 2029 with an option for 2030.

Crown Jewels: A New Potential Royals Target, India Bounceback Chances and My 2025 Faves A new player appears to be on the market, and he might be of interest to the Royals, though I have my doubts.

It’s pretty quiet around baseball, but that doesn’t stop Crown Jewels. In today’s free newsletter, I wrote about Nico Hoerner as an option for the #Royals, if I buy a Jonathan India bounceback and a look at a few of my 2025 favorites.

Click below for the latest Kauffman Corner Pod. @dblesky.bsky.social, Les Norman and I discuss the Royals payroll and more...
- Royals at their limit?
- Need to trade payroll?
- Bubic going?
- Mistake passing on Harvey?

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Subscribe to Inside the Crown Taking a deeper dive into all things Kansas City Royals. Click to read Inside the Crown, by David Lesky, a Substack publication with thousands of subscribers.

If you start the 2014 Wild Card game at 7:15 and become a paid subscriber to Inside the Crown, you’ll see Salvy drive in Christian Colon right at midnight. And you’ll get all my #Royals newsletters right to your inbox.

The ItC Top 25 Royals Prospects List I am not a prospect hound by any stretch, but I do love ranking Royals prospects.

The #Royals system is improving. Some like it more than others, but the top end talent is getting better and it continues to have some solid depth. Today I ranked the top 25 in the system. There are some very interesting names all the way through.