Spring Training is now more than a week old. Are we sick of it yet? Probably not, but we’re getting there. Fortunately, we’ve got the WBC starting up next week, so that should be fun. In the meantime, we do have a little bit of bonus excitement for Royals fans in Scottsdale, Arizona. Presumptive number two starter Seth Lugo will get the start today and he will be followed by ace Cole Ragans, who is making his spring debut. And for even more excitement, it is the first game that will be aired on Royals TV,
for free! Out-of-market viewers can also watch on MLB Network or MLB.TV.
Here is the lineup:
Bobby Witt Jr. leads off again. During yesterday’s broadcast they mentioned this was primarily because he is expected to do it during the WBC. So don’t get your hopes up too high that he’ll do it during the regular season, but hey, if he does it in the WBC and it goes well…
We also get more Jac Caglianone, after he mashed a 120.2 MPH exit velocity double yesterday. Kevin Newman continues to get a ton of playing time as he starts at third. And Brandon Drury will look to overcome a slow start to his spring and show off some positional diversity by playing at first today.
Here are the pitchers being rostered for today after Lugo and Ragans:
- Eli Morgan
- Mason Black
- Christian Chamberlain
- Andrew Pérez
- Frank Mozzicato
- Caden Monke
- Helcris Olivárez
Monke, Pérez, and Chamberlain will probably only pitch in an “emergency’. I’m excited to see if Olivárez and Black can continue their strong springs; Mozzicato has a chance to make an impression on the coaching staff after doing anything but that in the minors so far.
Regardless, let’s watch our first Royals baseball of the spring!
*Why on earth do we have a photo from photo day where we can’t see the player’s face, but we can see the sponsor patch on his arm? WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE?
