Royals Spring Training Begins, Competition At Pitcher Heats Up

Royals spring training is officially underway! The team has made several key offseason moves in hopes for contending for the playoffs, and several position battles are taking place that could have a big impact on the upcoming season.

Currently, all eyes are on the pitching rotation, as a battle for the fifth starter’s spot has developed. It appears that Luke Hochevar is an early favorite to land the position, but he will have stiff competition from Bruce Chen and Luis Mendoza. Hochevar has the most upside of the group, and manager Ned Yost is still high on the former top overall pick. However, Chen and Mendoza both had solid seasons in 2012, and while Hochevar occasionally flashes brilliance, he had an ERA north of five last year.

Kansas City has high hopes for its rotation, as the additions of James Shields, Wade Davis and Ervin Santana should provide a much-needed improvement. Royals starting pitchers went 47-69 last season with a 5.01 ERA – good for 26th in the majors. The three new additions will be paired with Jeremy Guthrie, who pitched incredibly well for Kansas City at the end of last season.

If Hochevar wins the fifth starter spot, Chen and Mendoza could be added to the bullpen, which already has several talented pitchers. Mendoza was recently named the MVP of the Caribbean Series while he pitched for Mexico, and Chen has been steady for the entirety of his career in Kansas City. If the Royals ever needed a spot-starter, or if a starter suffered an injury, Mendoza and Chen would both be worthy candidates.

Danny Duffy and Felipe Paulino are both recovering from elbow injuries, but the pair could be back sometime around the All-Star break. Duffy and Paulino were starters before getting hurt, and both have pitched well in that role for the Royals.

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Royals Offense Stalls, Team Drops Series To Rays

After sweeping the white sox over the weekend, the Royals came back down to earth a bit, dropping two out of three to the Tampa Bay Rays. Kansas City’s lone win came in an epic, extra-innings pitching duel between Like Hochevar and David Price.

David Price is one of the best pitchers in baseball, but on Tuesday, Kansas City’s Luke Hochevar went toe-to-toe with the All Star. Hochevar only allowed one hit while striking out ten, absolutely dominating the Rays and looking like the player the Royals thought they were getting when they selected him first overall in the 2006 MLB draft. Price was nearly as effective, striking out eight while only allowing three hits. The game was scoreless until the 10th inning, when Eric Hosmer hit a two-out single to score Jeff Francoeur. From there, Kansas City’s Kelvin Herrera held the lead, giving him his first victory in the major leagues.

Unfortunately for the Royals, their bats never quite woke up in this series, as they scored only five times over the three game span against the Rays. On Monday, the team only mustered one run off of Jeremy Hellickson, and today, the team got only three on the scoreboard against James Shields. The Rays are the best pitching team in the American League, boasting a 3.27 team ERA, and Kansas City may just have to be thankful they picked up one win thanks to Hochevar’s dominating performance. The team didn’t have many highlights from the plate, but Alcides Escobar did hit an RBI triple in the eighth inning.

The team’s upcoming schedule should provide the Royals with an opportunity to pick up a few more wins, as the team heads to Boston for a four game series with the struggling Red Sox. Game one in the series will be Friday night at 6:10 p.m. Bruce Chen (9-10) will start for Kansas City, and Jon Lester (7-10) will start for Boston.

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Royals Fall To Rays

A dominant pitching performance by Luke Hochevar wasn't enough, as the Royals' offense couldn't get anything going all night against Rays starter Jeremy Hellickson. Kansas City ended up on the wrong end of a pitchers' dual, losing 2-1.

Hochevar, who had won his previous three starts, certainly pitched well enough to earn another victory last night. He pitched seven strong innings, only giving up one run and five hits while striking out seven. After falling to 4-8 earlier in the year, Hochevar has been downright dominant for the Royals lately. It appears the light may have finally come on for the former top overall pick.

Early in the game, it appeared that Kansas City's offense was poised to put up some big numbers against Hellickson. Alex Gordon lead off the game with a double, and scored on Eric Hosmer's bloop single. The Royals would have plenty of chances to add to their lead later in the game, but failed to drive in several runners in scoring position.

Kansas City faces Tampa Bay again tonight at 6:10 p.m. Jeff Francis (4-11) will get the start for Kansas City, while James Shields (10-9) gets the start for the Rays.