Royals Rundown: A Kansas City Royals Podcast · Kansas City Royals Baseball

Royals Pitching Coach Brian Sweeney Joins the Show + FINAL RP Ranking

·1 hr 19 min·5 clips

How Brian Sweeney earned Michael Walker's trust to add a slider, transforming his pitching repertoire.

Jacob is moving fast. The cold open has that scattered Royals Rundown feel, with Jacob Milham excited enough to lose track of his own intro. Jeremy Greco rolls with it. Brian Sweeney, the Royals pitching coach, is the guest, and the interview gives the hosts a runway into the takeaways and final relief-corps ranking that follows. Then the bullpen talk takes over. The sharpest part is Lucas Erceg, because they keep returning to him as the fireman. He has to be the guy. The point is not only that Erceg was the Royals' best relief pitcher in 2024, but that Kansas City needs something close to that again in 2026. They leave some room for 2025, too, saying he may still have been the club's best reliever even if the swing-and-miss has to tick up. Sweeney matters there. The conversation with the pitching coach gives them some confidence that this Royals pitching group can help Erceg get back to that version. The role shapes the ranking. Erceg is the call when things get messy, so merely fine does not buy him much room. Carlos Estevez is harder to sort. Jacob has him second because the 2025 results make him the likely closer again, but the ride did not always feel steady. The nickname bit gives the segment some air, with jokes about the old heart-attack closer feeling. Underneath, the baseball point is simple: Estevez has the ninth-inning claim, even with shaky patches. Team control matters, too. Erceg is treated as more than a short-term answer because his late-bloomer path through the Athletics leaves him around longer than expected. The episode closes with the community in view, as Jacob and Jeremy mention Royals Review comments, admit they have not watched them closely enough, and say they will do better before signing off.

As heard by us

A short Brian Sweeney sitdown leads into practical takeaways and a grounded relief-core ranking.

The episode opens with a short Brian Sweeney interview and then shifts into a clear, orderly look at the Royals' relief core. It stays close to pitching questions that matter: command, swing-and-miss, and the effort required to keep a bullpen dependable.

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Why you'd press play

Brian Sweeney drops in for a Royals pitching-coach interview before the bullpen rankings get sorted out loud.

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