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Brian Murphy at MLB mothership has an update<\/a> on Bobby Witt Jr\u2019s recovery.<\/p>\n Bobby Witt Jr.\u2019s sprained right knee kept him out of the Royals\u2019 lineup for the third straight game Monday. But prior to the team\u2019s series opener against the Rays<\/a>, the star shortstop went through what manager Matt Quatraro called a \u201cvery encouraging\u201d workout.<\/p>\n Witt \u2014 who has been\u00a0sidelined since suffering a Grade 1 MCL sprain\u00a0during Thursday\u2019s game against the Cardinals \u2014 hit in the batting cage, ran the bases and fielded ground balls on Monday afternoon at Tropicana Field.<\/p>\n He did his on-field activity while wearing a brace over his injured knee, which Quatraro said Witt is still getting used to.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re hopeful that in the next couple days, he\u2019s available,\u201d the manager said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n Jaylon Thompson at the KC Star also covered<\/a> Witt\u2019s workout.<\/p>\n \u201cFelt good,\u201d Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. \u201cYou know, he\u2019s been getting accustomed to wearing a brace. So we are trying to get used to that a little bit, but was very encouraging what we saw today.\u201d<\/p>\n Entering Monday, Witt had missed the last two games and was not expected to play in Monday\u2019s road game against the Tampa Bay Rays<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, the Royals didn\u2019t rule out a potential return this week. The club is hopeful Witt will play during the upcoming seven-game road trip.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n Brian also covers Carter Jensen<\/a>\u2019s hot streak<\/a>.<\/p>\n When his streak began on June 6, Jensen had elevated strikeout and whiff rates (30.2% and 32.6%, respectively). Since then, those numbers have plummeted to 15.5% and 18.4%. Meanwhile, Jensen\u2019s\u00a0hard-hit rate<\/a>, which was 40.2% prior to the streak, is 53.3% over these past couple of weeks. And that rate went up when he smashed a cutter from Rasmussen back up the middle at 109.2 mph to drive in Nick Loftin<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it all starts with just swinging at my pitches,\u201d Jensen said of his recent success at the plate. \u201cNot getting antsy at the plate to swing at everything or try to get the hit in the first two pitches of the at-bat. I think the strong thing that I do pretty well is take good at-bats. I think earlier in the season I was just trying to do too much with pitches that I couldn\u2019t handle, such as pitches out of the zone.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n Pete Grathoff takes a look<\/a> at the decision to bunt in the ninth inning of the 12-10 loss to the Cardinals.<\/p>\n But O\u2019Brien got his first out when Kameron Misner<\/a>\u2019s sacrifice bunt put Massey and Thomas in scoring position. According to Baseball Reference, the Cardinals\u2019 win probability had dropped from 98% to 67% when Misner stepped to the plate. The bunt pushed St. Louis<\/a>\u2019 win probability 4% higher. O\u2019Brien then struck out pinch hitter John Rave<\/a>, who was batting for Nick Loftin, and induced a groundout from left fielder Isaac Collins<\/a> to end the game.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n Sam McDowell examines<\/a> two homers from Jac Caglianone<\/a>\u2019s recent outburst.<\/p>\n Royals second-year outfielder Jac Caglianone ripped a line drive 110.5 miles per hour and 404 feet into the back of the Cardinals\u2019 bullpen Friday \u2014 which is directly to the opposite field.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the kind of thing you rarely see: A left-hander hitting the ball the opposite way that hard and that far.<\/p>\n Except that Caglianone did the exact same thing the night before. On Thursday, he also blasted a home run 110.0 miles per hour, also the opposite way.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n Witt remains<\/a> the top AL SS vote-getter for the All-Star game.<\/p>\n SHORTSTOP<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. Bobby Witt Jr., Royals: 1,701,407 Witt is having another fantastic season as he is tops in the AL with 28 stolen bases and 4.4\u00a0FanGraphs WAR. However, a recent right knee sprain has\u00a0his status a little up in the air\u00a0right now. Barring a late surge from the rookie McGonigle or others, it looks like Witt will take on Gim\u00e9nez in Phase 2. Gim\u00e9nez was the AL\u2019s starting second baseman in the 2022 Midsummer Classic, representing the Guardians. Witt is looking for his first All-Star start.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n David Lesky takes a second<\/a> to note that the recent offensive outburst is taking place without the main players we thought it might before the season.<\/p>\n It\u2019s especially interesting because they\u2019re doing so much of this damage without a good chunk of the crew we expected them to do any damage with. Vinnie Pasquantino<\/a> is out for a bit. Maikel Garcia<\/a> has been in and out of the lineup and hasn\u2019t done much, at least power-wise, since April. Bobby Witt Jr. missed each of the last two games, and we have no idea how many more. Salvador Perez<\/a> has played and had some big moments, but the numbers overall remain putrid. No, they\u2019re doing a lot of this with some players we maybe didn\u2019t expect, or, if we did, not this much. From that perspective, it\u2019s been nice. Of course, it would be nicer if they were doing this with last year\u2019s pitching staff because they\u2019d sure have a lot more wins.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n John Schreiber<\/a> was apparently spitting fire last night. I totally missed that in the recap.<\/p>\n Jacob Milham writes<\/a> about a few minor league players who may be the next guys up.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Boston Red Sox<\/a> pitcher Sonny Gray<\/a> may be open<\/a> to a trade.<\/p>\n White Sox catcher Kyle Teel<\/a> returned<\/a> from the IL.<\/p>\n The Brewers<\/a> placed<\/a> Luis Rengifo<\/a> on waivers.<\/p>\n Possible trade scenarios<\/a> for Tarik Skubal<\/a>.<\/p>\n Lionel Messi now is the sole holder<\/a> of the World Cup goals scored record.<\/p>\n Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 scored two goals yesterday<\/a> as he tries to catch up to Messi\u2019s new record.<\/p>\n Norwegian Erling Haaland also scored two goals in yesterday\u2019s win<\/a> over Senegal. Not to brag, but my son picked his number 9 for soccer.<\/p>\n Kansas City doesn\u2019t<\/a> seem to be experiencing any sort of small business boon.<\/p>\n The Milwaukee Bucks have finally traded<\/a> star Giannis Antetokounmpo.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Trae Young is signing a 4\/$212M deal to stay with the Washington Wizards<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Timberwolves are trading<\/a> Julius Randle to the Brooklyn Nets.<\/p>\n Michigan basketball coach Dusty May is reportedly set to become the new Dallas Mavericks head coach<\/a>.<\/p>\n How the Chiefs can adjust<\/a> their run scheme to accommodate star RB Kenneth Walker.<\/p>\n Oklahoma won<\/a> the Men\u2019s College World Series with a 13-2 victory over North Carolina yesterday.<\/p>\n Linda Cohn is leaving<\/a> Sportscenter.<\/p>\n\n
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2. Andr\u00e9s Gim\u00e9nez<\/a>, Blue Jays: 894,926
3. Kevin McGonigle, Tigers: 460,075
4. Jeremy Pe\u00f1a<\/a>, Astros: 357,049
5. Colson Montgomery<\/a>, White Sox<\/a>: 352,828<\/p>\n\n