MLB has a preview of all Spring Breakout games<\/a>:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Friday Also at MLB, Anne Rogers gives us \u201cthree things to watch<\/a>\u201d the last week of Spring Training:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The final bench spot(s)<\/strong><\/p>\n The position player side of the roster is looking like this right now:<\/p>\n Catchers: Perez, Jensen That\u2019s 11 players with two spots still open. One of those will likely be Massey if he\u2019s healthy. There are still plenty of hitters competing for the final spot, including Nick Loftin, Tyler Tolbert, Drew Waters, Abraham Toro, Josh Rojas, Kevin Newman and Brandon Drury. Loftin, Tolbert and Waters have the advantage of being on the roster already, and Waters is out of options.<\/p>\n A lot will depend on how the Royals feel about the health of their roster overall. If they think they\u2019re going to have to manage at-bats for Collins or Massey early on, there\u2019s a bigger need for a player who could be used for offense more often.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n At The Star, Pete Grathoff quotes J.J. Picollo about Estevez\u2019s velocity<\/a>:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hard not to notice it but we also had the experience of last year, and we went through the same thing,\u201d Picollo said Thursday in a phone interview. \u201cAnd I think last year we were a little bit more nervous about it, because we hadn\u2019t been with him before.<\/p>\n \u201cBut not only did he tell us that this is how he always starts in spring training, but the other clubs he had been with, our coaches called their coaches and asked, \u2018Is this normal?\u2019 And they confirmed it for us.<\/p>\n \u201cSo while you would like to see him more in the 91-92 range right now, this is exactly where he was last year.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n He also writes about three Royals WBC items<\/a> heading to the Baseball Hall of Fame:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Garcia, the Royals\u2019 third baseman who was the WBC MVP, sent his batting helmet\u2026<\/p>\n Perez\u2019s shin guards, chest protector, helmet and mask are going to be on display\u2026<\/p>\n The bat used by Pasquantino during the WBC will be in the Hall, too. Pasquantino was the first player in WBC history to hit three home runs in a game.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Todd Palmer at KSHB 41 summarizes the stadium situation<\/a>:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n With another Royals season on the horizon next week, the publicly discussed options for a new baseball stadium have narrowed to the point that Washington Square Park remains the last one standing\u2026<\/p>\n Washington Square Park has been discussed as a possible stadium site for several years now, but it\u2019s emerged in recent months as the city\u2019s preferred destination, especially with Kansas and Clay County seemingly out of the running.<\/p>\n There has been talk that movement toward a deal was possible before the Royals\u2019 home opener, but a new priority \u2014 convincing voters to extend to 1% earnings tax on April 7 \u2014 is Kansas City\u2019s priority at the moment.<\/p>\n If the city and the Royals are going to reach a deal for a new stadium at Washington Square Park, it seems like mid-April would be the soonest it could happen.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n David Brandt at the AP previews the AL Central<\/a>:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n 2.) Kansas City Royals. The Royals were unable to follow their divisional playoff berth in 2024 with a return to the playoffs last year, but they still finished 82-80 after an abysmal start. They have one of the league\u2019s most exciting players in All-Star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., an emerging star in All-Star third baseman Maikel Garcia, a popular veteran catcher in Salvador Perez and plenty of starting pitchers capable of shutting teams down. The big problem for Kansas City for years has been outfield production, and other than signing Starling Marte to a $1 million deal and making a couple of smaller moves, Royals general manager JJ Picollo was unable to make any major improvement. Instead, the Royals will hope that power-hitting Jac Caglianone will improve against big league pitching in his sophomore season. If starter Cole Ragans can return to All-Star form after injuries last season, Kris Bubic can follow through on his breakout year, and the offense can tick up with some help from Caglianone and promising young catcher Carter Jensen, the Royals have a shot to win their first AL Central title since 2015, when they went on to beat the New York Mets in the World Series.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n At The Athletic ($), Keith Law lists breakout candidates<\/a>:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Jac Caglianone, OF, Kansas City Royals<\/strong><\/p>\n I feel like everyone and their brother is calling for a Caglianone breakout this year, and why not, given how incredibly hard he hits the ball and how well he hit everything up through Triple A. He\u2019s already off to a torrid start this spring between his time with the Royals and his caffeine-laden stint with Team Italy. (I love espresso, but there\u2019s no way my heart or stomach could survive drinking that much.)<\/p>\n He was awful in his big-league debut last year, and I think a big part of that is that he never stayed at any level long enough for opposing teams to adjust to him and force him to adjust back. He also became an extreme groundball hitter, with nearly a quarter of his balls hit in play pulled on the ground \u2014 a recipe for a low BABIP. He\u2019s never been that hitter before, and he doesn\u2019t look like that hitter this spring. It\u2019s not sustainable; if he\u2019s really that guy, we all missed on him in the MLB Draft.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Nick Stellini at CBS Sports bets on Rookie of the Year candidates<\/a>:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n AL best bet: Carter Jensen (+550)<\/strong><\/p>\n Catchers don\u2019t win this award often (Atlanta\u2019s Drake Baldwin last year notwithstanding), in part due to the rigors of the position and the challenges young players can face in managing a pitching staff. Focusing on the defensive side of a player\u2019s game can eat away at their offense.<\/p>\n That being said, Carter Jensen burst onto the scene in his brief cameo last year and has long had a pedigree for offensive dynamism. With franchise mainstay Salvador Perez entering his age 36 season, the Royals could benefit from moving Perez to more DH work and letting Jensen settle in behind the dish. A full season\u2019s worth of plate appearances could produce some eye-popping numbers from the young backstop and add yet another dynamic bat to an ascendant Royals lineup that already features Witt, Maikel Garcia and Vinnie Pasquantino.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Speaking of money: Team Italy\u2019s Espresso Machine<\/a> is up for auction. Winning bid is over $2000(!) and there are still 3 days left.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n At Inside the Crown ($), David Lesky gushes over the Royals at the WBC<\/a>:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n I know this might be a small market fan thing, but I can\u2019t consume enough of my favorite team being spoken of in a positive light. And almost from the very start of the World Baseball Classic, praise was being heaped on the Royals that simply didn\u2019t stop and still hasn\u2019t stopped. In some ways, I almost want it to stop. Let them be unassuming and sneak up on everyone. But in way more ways, I hope it never does. Witt didn\u2019t really need to get the attention. He\u2019s just littered with awards in the section on Baseball Reference. He was seventh for the MVP in 2023, second in 2024 and fourth in 2025. He\u2019s won back-to-back Gold Gloves and<\/em> Silver Sluggers. But the rest? Yeah, I like that the rest have become household names around baseball. In about a week, it\u2019s time to start proving to people that they should remain household names.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n At Into the Fountains, Craig Brown has \u201cRoster Projection 3.0<\/a>\u201d:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Michael Massey, who occupied a spot on my previous roster iteration, suffered what the Royals call a \u201clow-grade\u201d calf srain on March 6. He hasn\u2019t appeared in a Cactus League contest since March 8, when he left after two at bats after trying to play what, at the time, the Royals thought was just tightness. He played in a minor league game on a backfield on Tuesday but I wonder about his fitness this close to Opening Day. Unfortunately, he has quite an injury history.<\/p>\n Tolbert gets Massey\u2019s spot if he\u2019s unable to go on Opening Day. The Royals love their speed guy off the bench.<\/p>\n Speaking of injuries, I was waffling on Collins as he missed about a week of action with back tightness. Then, he took part in a full workout on Tuesday and was declared good to go. The Royals are progressing a bit slowly, holding Collins out of the field and instead having him as the DH in Wednesday\u2019s game where he went 0-3 with a strikeout as the leadoff hitter. While Collins may in fact be the guy at the top of the order for the Royals, his appearance there was more to maximize his plate appearances after missing the time.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Darin Watson is back! The 2026 version of \u201cThis Date in Royals History\u201d will feature 1976. Here\u2019s the first entry<\/a>:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The most-anticipated season in the Royals\u2019 short history finally began with spring training opening in Fort Myers, Florida. Camps had been delayed for roughly two weeks after arbitrator Peter Seitz, just days before Christmas in 1975, ruled that the reserve system that had been in place in organized baseball pretty much since the beginning was not legally valid. As you might expect, this ruling threw the sport into uncertainty. The owners eventually locked out the players as negotiations began with the players\u2019 union on a new collective bargaining agreement, as the old one had expired anyway. But in mid-March, with no agreement yet in place, commissioner Bowie Kuhn ordered teams to open camps.<\/p>\n This was none too soon for Royals fans, who were understandably excited to get the season underway. Kansas City baseball partisans were starved for a winner; remember, the A\u2019s did not post a winning record in their time in Kansas City (1955-1967), with a high-water mark of 74 wins in 1966. More annoyingly to KC residents, the A\u2019s became a juggernaut almost immediately after landing in Oakland, entering 1976 with five straight AL West titles under their belts and three straight World Series titles (1972-1974) on top of that\u2026<\/p>\n Over the next seven months, we will explore the Royals\u2019 pursuit of their first-ever division title, along with the upheaval in baseball following the Seitz decision, which echoes even in today\u2019s game. Of course, we will also check in with the news and culture of 1976, a year that featured Olympic games, a presidential election, and America\u2019s bicentennial.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n
4 p.m. ET — Royals @ Rangers<\/strong>
Kansas City had two picks before the second round of last year\u2019s Draft, and both selections are in position to get their first taste of pro competition at age 19 during Spring Breakout. OF\/2B Sean Gamble, the 2025 23rd overall pick and the organization\u2019s No. 5 prospect, brings a solid hit tool and above-average speed. SS\/3B Josh Hammond, the 28th pick and No. 6 prospect, has some raw power and is also speedy. The Rangers\u2019 roster boasts two-way player Josh Owens (TEX No. 6), who has promise in the box, at shortstop and on the mound.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n
First base: Pasquantino
Second base: Jonathan India
Shortstop: Witt
Third base: Garcia
Outfield: Collins, Caglianone, Kyle Isbel, Lane Thomas, Starling Marte<\/p>\n\n
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