Kansas

Keeping Michael Massey in Kansas City isn’t helping anyone

Published

1 year ago

May 27, 2025

Keeping Michael Massey in Kansas City isn’t helping anyone

Michael Massey is easy to root for. We’ve all seen athletes who are full of themselves, and frankly you want athletes to have a little swagger—it’s a mentally demanding profession where fans can switch from giving you love to sending you death threats.

But some players come across as good guys, and in Massey’s case, that’s true for the folks who work with him. There’s an award given by the Kansas City chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America called the Mike Swanson Good Guy Award, and Massey has won it in back-to-back years.

So when Massey struggled out of the gate this year, fans weren’t particularly phased. In part, this is because Massey was legitimately good at the plate last year. In part, it’s because other players—MJ Melendez, Hunter Renfroe, Cavan Biggio—drew the lion’s share of the ire, and a fanbase can’t get mad about everybody (most of the time).

Now, all three of those other players are no longer with the team. Massey, however, is, though he really shouldn’t be. Per Fangraphs’ version of Wins Above Replacement, there are 17 players this year with 100 or more plate appearances and less than -0.5 WAR. Of this 287-player set, Massey is fourth-worst at -0.9 WAR. The others worse than him? Andrew Vaughn, who the White Sox optioned to Triple-A. The aforementioned Renfroe, who the Royals cut recently. And LaMonte Wade Jr., whose recent track record is enough to keep him on the field for longer.

What has happened to Massey? Well, the answer might be what hasn’t happened to Massey? Just about everything is worse in his hitting portfolio: he’s walking at a career worst level, he’s barreling balls at a career worst level, his average and max exit velocity are at career lows, his hard hit rate is at a career low. It hasn’t been good.

This also does not feel good. To put this into, like, normal people terms, doing this poorly for such a long time is like playing Overwatch or Counter-Strike or League of Legends and getting into a big losing streak. This sucks, and when you’re in the middle of the losing streak, you’re more likely to be grumpy to teammates and see your performance go down, which begets more losing and bad play. Massey probably isn’t a Hanzo main or anything, but that doesn’t matter because we can see how he’s reacting to screwups like this popup on Sunday’s game: he’s mad at himself!

We have reached the point in the season where keeping Massey up in Kansas City isn’t helping anybody. It’s not helping Kansas City, where Massey is now functionally the second-worst hitter in the league and an offensive black hole. It is also not helping Massey, who looks just plain lost out there. If he’s going to get back on track, it is not going to be here in Kansas City, where he is making outs at a huge clip.

Frankly, I don’t think there’s a route forward for Massey to be a productive big leaguer regardless what he does. It all comes down to getting on base, which he does not do. In about 1,200 plate appearances, Massey’s on base percentage is .277. That’s just not going to cut it, especially when you look at his historical exit velocities and barrel rates, which aren’t high enough to yield the power that he needs to produce to overcome such a low OBP.

Who could take Massey’s place? There are two options. One is a like-for-like replacement, with infielder Cam Devanney getting the call. Devanney is a 28-year-old who is in his fourth year in Triple-A, but he’s crushing it this year to the tune of a .301/.382/.618 triple slash. The other option is a lefty-for-lefty callup with Jac Caglianone taking Massey’s spot. Realistically, that’s probably what’s likely to happen—in a few weeks at minimum.

So yeah, it might stink to send Massey down, as he’s been an exemplary teammate and ambassador for the team. But this is a results-based business, and the results have been so poor in such a way that nobody is really benefiting from the reunion right now. I wish it wasn’t the case. I, too, would like Massey to succeed. It’s just not happening.

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Kansas

Kansas Basketball Makes the Cut for 5-Star SF Demarcus Henry

Published

10 hours ago

July 8, 2026

Press Room

Kansas Basketball Makes the Cut for 5-Star SF Demarcus Henry

One of the top prospects in the 2027 boys’ high school basketball recruiting class recently trimmed his list of suitors, and the Kansas Jayhawks find themselves firmly in the mix.

KU is one of eight schools to make the cut for 2027 five-star small forward Demarcus Henry, according to On3 National Basketball Reporter Joe Tipton. His list of eight includes some of the best programs in the country: Kansas, Ohio State, Kentucky, North Carolina, BYU, Arkansas, UConn, and Louisville.

The 6-foot-7 Charlotte, North Carolina, native is one of the best players in the 2027 class. He’s currently ranked as the No. 5 player overall and the No. 1 player at his position, according to the most recent On3.com 2027 player rankings.

As a junior this past year at Compass Prep High School in Chandler, Arizona, Henry averaged 15.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game as he helped lead his team to a 25-3 record.

He followed that up with an impressive performance at the NBPA Top 100 camp this summer, leading all attendees in scoring (20.0 points per game) and rebounding (9.3 rebounds per game). He was also a member of the 2026 USA Men’s U18 National Team that earned a silver medal at the FIBA U18 AmeriCup earlier this summer in León, Mexico.

When speaking about his game, Henry mentions his versatility and how he’s developed over the past year.

“I’m just very versatile,” Henry told Rivals in a previous interview. “I can play one through four and just help my teammates and hit shots and play defense. I watch a lot of KD (Kevin Durant) and Paul George. How they score it, and how they could shoot off the dribble, shoot off the catch. I’ve gotten tougher and just more aggressive when I transferred AZ Compass and just being able to get downhill, I feel like that’s really developed for me.”

When asked about what he’s looking for in a potential home at the college level, Henry says he wants to be challenged and grow his game for the NBA.

“What I’m looking for in school is someone that just pushes me to be better,” Henry said. “Help me grow into the person I know I can be and someone who will help me reach my potential. I want to play for a coach that will hold me accountable and help me make me uncomfortable and keep growing and keep getting better and just help me reach the NBA, which is my ultimate goal.”

Early Contenders

Right now the early favorite to land Henry may be the basketball program with the least amount of notoriety of the final eight schools – and that is Ohio State.

Henry has a lot of familial ties to the university as his older brother Chris Henry Jr. is a five-star incoming freshman wide receiver for the Buckeyes football team this year, and his older sister Seini Henry is a talented women’s basketball player at Ohio State.

He’s already taken an unofficial visit to the school and has also taken an unofficial visit to BYU. Thus far, they are the only schools to have received a visit.

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Kansas

Kansas City Royals news: MLB draft still coming into focus

Published

20 hours ago

July 8, 2026

Press Room

Kansas City Royals news: MLB draft still coming into focus

The Royals have been linked to shortstop Jacob Lombard out of Gulliver Prep (Fla.) — if he makes it that far — left-hander Gio Rojas out of Stoneman Douglas (Fla.) HS, outfielder Eric Booth Jr. out of Oak Grove (Fla.) HS, UC Santa Barbara right-hander Jackson Flora and Georgia Tech outfielder Drew Burress, among others. Maybe they shake up the board and go with Huntington Beach (Calif.) HS left-hander/outfielder Jacob Grindlinger, who is just 17 years old after reclassifying for this year’s Draft and has legitimate upside as a two-way player. Grindlinger is No. 16 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 250 Draft prospects list and is rising on boards as Draft day nears.

Prep players usually mean a lot of upside but with more risk, while college players bring a higher floor and more experience — often with a chance to move quickly. Over the full Draft, the Royals are going to value both.

“There’s a good mix of high school and college,” Bridges said. “To tell you the truth, our range is pretty broad. There’s a clear-cut four players, five players in this Draft, and then believe it or not, where we’re picking, you can go a number of different directions. So we have a pretty good balance of what we’re looking at, both high school and college.”

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Kansas Lottery Mega Millions, Pick 3 winning numbers for July 7, 2026

Published

1 day ago

July 8, 2026

Press Room

The Kansas Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at July 7, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Mega Millions numbers from July 7 drawing

02-31-35-36-63, Mega Ball: 12

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from July 7 drawing

Midday: 4-2-9

Evening: 2-7-9

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning 2 By 2 numbers from July 7 drawing

Red Balls: 07-26, White Balls: 12-18

Check 2 By 2 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from July 7 drawing

27-43-48-49-50, Bonus: 02

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

All Kansas Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $599. For prizes over $599, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at select Kansas Lottery offices.

By mail, send a winner claim form and your signed lottery ticket to:

Kansas Lottery Headquarters

128 N Kansas Avenue

Topeka, KS 66603-3638

(785) 296-5700

To submit in person, sign the back of your ticket, fill out a claim form, and deliver the form along with your signed lottery ticket to Kansas Lottery headquarters. 128 N Kansas Avenue, Topeka, KS 66603-3638, (785) 296-5700. Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes of any amount.

Check previous winning numbers and payouts at Kansas Lottery.

When are the Kansas Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT Tuesday and Friday.
Pick 3 Midday/Evening: 1:10 p.m. and 9:10 p.m. CT daily.
2 By 2: 9:30 p.m. CT daily.
Lucky for Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
Lotto America: 9:15 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Super Kansas Cash: 9:10 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Kansas editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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