A Look at the Royals Spring Battles
A good chunk of the Royals roster is set, but there are a few spots up for grabs.
Every team has roster battles throughout spring training. I wrote about it on Friday last week that there’s a balance between believing what you see on a field that’s not quite a normal big league game and the information you have in the past. Some players excel because the pressure is lower or because the air is thinner or they hit a lot of hard choppers and the infield is exceptionally hard so the ball gets through faster. And others suffer because, well, the pressure is lower or because the air is thinner or because the conditions eat them up in whatever way. There are so many variables in spring training that are unlike what you see during the regular season that it can be a tough evaluation period.
Nevertheless, fights for precious roster spots exist. And the Royals are no different than every other team in that they have some. As I’ve written in the previous two roster projections, they do have quite a few set pieces. I think four of their five spots in the rotation are written in ink and 10 of the 13 spots on the pitching staff in general are. Offensively, we know unequivocally who 10 of the 13 players are that’ll head to Kansas City. All of this assumes health, but we can’t assume anything else, I suppose, until presented with different information. So let’s look at these roster spots that require a decision from JJ Picollo, Matt Quatraro and others throughout the Royals’ organization.
Fifth Starter - Kris Bubic vs. Daniel Lynch IV vs. Alec Marsh vs. Noah Cameron
Coming into camp, I thought the Royals would have a two-man competition for the fifth starter job because I didn’t believe they were serious about Lynch starting and Cameron was a huge longshot, so it would be Bubic or Marsh. Unfortunately for Marsh, he came to camp with a sore shoulder and hasn’t even pitched in a game yet. The Royals have already said he’d only be built up to two or three innings by the time the season starts, so he’s out. And while Cameron showed flashes in the spring, they’ve already optioned him to AAA. So that just leaves two men standing, and one of them is a bit of a surprise to me in Lynch.