Happy Opening Day
The Royals play today. Therefore, I declare that today is the true Opening Day for the baseball season.
It actually wasn’t so bad the Royals weren’t playing on Thursday. That way we were able to watch all the games as somewhat detached observers. It was fine to be able to hop around from game to game to game. From Paul Skenes not making it out of the first inning thanks to the center field follies of Oneil Cruz to Kevin McGonigle collecting four hits in his big league debut to pitcher’s duels in Cincinnati and Houston, baseball is very much back.
Today marks the beginning of my 22nd season of Royals coverage on the interwebs. Twenty-two years!
I wouldn’t still be doing this without your support. I am forever grateful for the views, the comments, the clicks and the shares. Getting to interact with Royals fans on the regular is a true highlight, one I find extremely rewarding.
Here’s a small favor I ask: If you enjoy this newsletter, will you share it with a friend? I don’t do a ton of radio spots anymore. I don’t have a podcast. (Although if you have a podcast and need a guest, hit me up!) I don’t flood the zone on social media. Basically, I’m relying on word of mouth, links from my pals at sites like Royals Review, and probably a stray internet search or two to mine new subscribers. Any way you can help share the newsletter is extremely appreciated.
Also, as you probably know, I shifted newsletter providers earlier this year, moving off of Substack and on to Ghost. So far, so good. One of the things I’ve been able to do since the move is accept paid subscriptions and tips. While a few stops along my writing journey has come with a modest stipend at times (underscore modest), I’ve never directly appealed for contributions for my work. I’m just happy to write and put it out there to the broadest possible audience. But! (And you knew that was coming.) If I have, in some small way, enhanced your Royals-watching experience, and you feel as though you’d like to support this endeavor, I would appreciate if you tossed a few coins in the tip jar or purchased a true subscription. I hate to ring this bell too often, but the start of the season feels like a decent time to do so.
Either way, I'm just happy that you are here and reading. Thank you for your support. I look forward to connecting with you during the season. It should be a good one.
It's been a busy few days at Into the Fountains as we prepare for the 2026 season. If you're not a subscriber, here is what you missed getting delivered to your inbox.
Last Friday, I made my final roster projection of the spring. I give myself a 25.5 out of 26. Half point off for thinking Michael Massey would be healthy enough for Opening Day
Craig Brown
I've made a commitment to myself to Ramble more during the regular season. Although I'm probably going to miss this week. It happens.
Craig Brown
On Monday, I did a month by month breakdown of how general manager JJ Picollo went about assembling the roster for the upcoming season.
Craig Brown
Tuesday was bold prediction time where I drank plenty of Kool-Aid for Jac Caglianone and Carter Jensen among others. Bobby Witt Jr. is a special case because he's already great.
Craig Brown
Finally, I laid out my predictions for the divisional races and the regular season awards.
Central Issues
It's back for another season! The Royals were the only AL Central team not in action on Thursday.
White Sox 2
Brewers 14
Chicago’s Chase Meidroth hit a home run leading off the game. I find there’s poetry in the first batter of the season hitting a home run. What followed was more Poe than Wordsworth. The Brewer’s second inning went walk, catcher interference and walk to set the table for a Joey Ortiz single and a bases-clearing William Contreras double. Quoth the White Sox: Nevermore.
Twins 1
Orioles 2
With aces going across the day, you would expect the first day of the season to be littered with pitcher’s duels. That didn’t exactly happen on Thursday, this game being the exception. Twins starter Joe Ryan went 5.1 allowing a single hit while striking out seven. His Orioles counterpart, Trevor Rogers twirled seven shutout frames, allowing three hits and four walks. Baltimore broke through in the seventh against reliever Justin Topa with three singles and a sacrifice fly. Minnesota got one back on a Byron Buxton triple followed by a Luke Keaschall sac fly. Ryan Helsey struck out three in the ninth to lock down the save.
Tigers 8
Padres 2
Detroit’s first five batters on the afternoon collected a single and three walks. Rookie Kevin McGonigle doubled in two and the Tigers were off to the races. McGonigle’s debut? How about a 4-5 day with a pair of doubles, two RBIs and two runs scored. He’s good.
Guardians
Mariners
If you are of a certain age, you will remember getting the morning newspaper, checking for a score of a west coast ballgame and seeing "late" where the score should be. Deadlines were a thing. For logistical reasons, I'm scheduling Friday's post at 10 pm Central on Thursday night. Therefore, the west coast games are well past my self-imposed deadline.
Up Next
This is how the probables line up for the first series of the season in Atlanta:
Fri, March 27 - LHP Cole Ragans vs. LHP Chris Sale at 6:15 p.m.
Sat, March 28 - RHP Michael Wacha vs. RHP Reynaldo López at 6:15 p.m.
Sun, March 29 - RHP Seth Lugo vs. RHP Grant Holmes at 12:35 p.m.
Baseball is back!
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