KANSAS CITY -- Entering Friday night’s game at Minnesota, the Royals had won five of six and turned what was becoming a bleak 2020 shortened season into one with playoff intrigue.

The starting rotation is finally set, the bullpen continues to be solid and the offense is finally starting to produce.

Hang on for the final two-thirds of the season. And with that backdrop, let’s get to this week’s Royals Inbox. Thanks for the many great questions. I am keeping the answers relatively short in order to cover as many of them as possible.

Well, I guess when you say “sudden” approach to analytics, you’re referring to Royals manager Mike Matheny's reported resistance to it during his St. Louis days. Matheny has embraced the numbers here. But the truth is, the Royals have given much attention to such matters even under Ned Yost -- sometimes Yost looked at the numbers and just went with his gut instinct instead. Like most teams, Kansas City's analytical department (which is very good) pores through those traditional numbers regarding batting order, shifts, matchups, etc. But the Royals pay special attention to analytics on opposing hitter weaknesses/strengths to determine which zones to pitch them, and in terms of bullpen usage, which reliever is best fitted to pitch to a particular weak hitter zone. As for promotions of the prospects, that’s obviously an organizational decision, but Matheny has not resisted those, but embraced them as well. We’ll address the Alex Gordon situation later here in the Inbox.

I’d be surprised if any of them get called up this year. It won’t be easy to clear space on the 40-man roster -- the Royals are at 38 right now, but that’s with Jesse Hahn on the restricted list, and another spot may go to Matt Harvey soon. And it wouldn’t be easy to clear space on the 28-man roster. The Royals view Asa Lacy’s addition to the 60-man player pool as merely developmental, prepping him for a possible fall league and then for Spring Training 2021.

Matheny. Been very impressed with his energy, his communication skills, his sense of humor, his relentless competitiveness and drive to win, and most of all, his willingness to try innovative ideas. And he seemingly hasn’t grown tired of me yet.

Kyle Zimmer developed a “zinger” in his last outing: Matheny described it as a “bolt of electricity” going down Zimmer's arm, which sometimes happens to pitchers. Matheny said Zimmer is fine but that the team was just being cautious.

That’s really a good point. But the Royals' coaching staff does see movement, more on a downward plane rather than horizontal because of Josh Staumont’s over-the-top delivery. What the staff wants to see more than anything is location from that fastball, which is why you see Staumont lately reeling that heater in toward the 96-97-mph range just to gain better command.

This is really the No. 1 question that is concerning to the coaching staff and to the front office: How do they get Adalberto Mondesi going? He is such a weapon with his legs that they need him to show more patience at the plate and improve his on-base percentage. Matheny told me that right now, Mondesi simply is having trouble picking up the spin on pitches, and that there is a level of frustration setting in with Mondesi. It is Matheny and his staff’s job to keep Mondesi positive. If the Royals can get him going, this offense will really take off.

There are always conversations on the fifth floor at Kauffman Stadium about who to extend and when, and that includes dialogue about Mondesi. Brad Keller and Jorge Soler dominate those conversations, too. But I have heard nothing is imminent.

That was an edict from the coaching and medical staff after Mondesi twice blew out his shoulder while diving head-first defensively last season. That edict was implemented in Spring Training, and I don’t see it going away anytime soon. They need Mondesi for all 60 games.

It’s fun publicity.

There would have to be a string of injuries. Again, like many of their other prospects, it will be hard to bump guys off the 40-man roster right now. Bobby Witt Jr. hasn’t played above Rookie-level ball. He’s having a great learning experience at the Royals' alternate training site.

I believe so. I asked Matheny that, and he indicated that the team has had conversations with Gordon about that going back to Spring Training, and that Gordon understands the organizational need to play some younger players. But Matheny also values that Gold Glove Award-winning defense and still believes Gordon will come around offensively.

Most intriguing question of the Inbox. Winner! And that’s the question that has been circling my brain lately. They’ve got some key guys on expiring contracts like Ian Kennedy, Trevor Rosenthal and Greg Holland. The temptation for a rebuilding team would definitely be to move those guys at the Trade Deadline. But this season is obviously different. Most teams will still be “in it” by the end of this month. It will be a seller's market for sure. But knowing general manager Dayton Moore like I do, if the Royals have even a sniff of the postseason, he’s not going to sell.

Unlikely, unless there are injuries. They have plenty of depth in the outfield now with Brett Phillips, Bubba Starling and Soler.

Moore told me the Royals view Harvey as a possible versatile addition -- possibly a starter but also a potential long reliever and maybe even a contributor to the back end of the bullpen.

Pinch-hitting for Gordon the other night.

Keller, Brady Singer, Daniel Lynch, Carlos Hernandez and Kris Bubic.

Less than zero percent? Back in the early 1990s, David Cone allowed me, just for fun, to step in against him during Spring Training (it was a different time for covering baseball) for a few pitches. Just the sound of his heater -- the seams tearing through the air toward the plate -- was alarming, obviously compared to what I faced in high school/Legion ball. And Cone didn’t throw 101-102 mph -- the average person might soil themselves facing that heat.