Kevin O'Brien

Colleran was assigned to the Minor League camp on Saturday. He posted a 0.00 ERA, 0.25 WHIP, and 1.60 FIP. He didn't face incredible competition in Spring Training, as his Opponent Quality was 6.4, according to Baseball Reference. Based on Baseball-Reference's scale, that would equate to competition slightly better than High-A. The move brings the Royals roster to 58. Despite the transaction, the Northeastern product may be one to watch for a mid-season call-up after a solid performance in Spring Training. Colleran may be one of the best reliever prospects in the Royals system. Here is what he did this spring in terms of Spring Pitching Percentiles via TJ Stats. When do you think Colleran makes his MLB debut? Who do you think is next on the Cactus League roster chopping block? Let us know your thoughts below.

Image courtesy of Sam Navarro-Imagn Images In a big upset on Saturday night, Team Venezuela beat Team Japan 8-5 in the quarter-finals of the World Baseball Classic. Venezuela will join the USA, the Dominican Republic, and Italy, all of which won their quarter-final matches over the weekend. The Red Sox's Wilyer Abreu had one of the biggest hits in the contest, smashing a three-run home run off Hiromi Itoh in the sixth that gave Venezuela the lead, which they would not relinquish for the remainder of the game. However, it was the Royals' Maikel Garcia who got Team Venezuela back into this game after Venezuela spotted Japan a 5-0 lead in the first three innings. In the fifth inning, after hitting a double earlier in the game, Garcia launched a two-run home run off Japanese lefty Chihiro Sumida that got Venezuela to within one run of the defending WBC champions. As stated before, it wasn't the go-ahead home run for Venezuela. However, it set things up for the Venezuela comeback in the fifth inning. For the game, Garcia went 2-for-5 with one run scored, two RBI, and three hard hits. Garcia Has Been Key for Team Venezuela The 26-year-old Royals infielder has been a key contributor to a Venezuelan lineup loaded with MLB talent. The semi-final-bound squad is loaded with MLB stars like Ronald Acuna Jr., Luis Arraez, Eugenio Suarez, Jackson Chourio, Gleyber Torres, and captain (and fellow Royal) Salvador Perez. And yet, Garcia has been the number-two hitter in Venezuela's lineup and one of their top hitters in the WBC. In 19 at-bats, Garcia is hitting .421 with a .450 OBP, .684 slugging, and 1.134 OPS. His eight hits lead all Venezuelan hitters, and he also leads the squad with three stolen bases as well. Another impressive aspect of Garcia's performance is that he's producing against some of the game's top pitchers. His double against Japan came against Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who won the World Series MVP for the Dodgers last season. Garcia was an All-Star last year, so he certainly had a reputation among a loaded Venezuelan squad. Still, it was easy to overlook Garcia's importance going into the World Baseball Classic, especially since last year was his breakout season. Before 2025, he had never made an All-Star team and was seen more as a utility infielder than an everyday one who could hit at the top of the lineup. However, Garcia has outperformed other arguably bigger Venezuelan stars on this team. That includes players like Willson Contreras (.558 OPS), Torres (.581 OPS), Suarez (.648 OPS), Chourio (.555 OPS), and even Salvy (.334 OPS). Even though he may not have the MLB track record of other Venezuelan players, the La Sabana native has demonstrated the skills and swagger to lead this team to a possible WBC championship. Is Garcia Ready for a Bigger Role in Kansas City in 2026? Garcia was a breakout star for the Royals a season ago, making good on the faith manager Matt Quatraro and GM JJ Picollo gave him after an underwhelming 2024 campaign. In 666 plate appearances last season, Garcia hit .286 with a .800 OPS. He scored 81 runs, hit 16 home runs, collected 74 RBI, and stole 23 bases. He didn't barrel balls or pull the ball in the air all that consistently. However, he showed excellent contact and plate discipline, as well as a knack for hitting the ball hard frequently, as illustrated in his TJ Stats Statcast profile. Garcia ranked in the 90th percentile in Z-Contact%, 93rd percentile in K%, and 92nd percentile in whiff rate. Furthermore, he also ranked in the 77th percentile in wOBA. That said, he ranked only in the 36th percentile for Max EV, the 25th percentile for barrel rate, and the 22nd percentile for Pull Air%. Thus, his xwOBA (.336) was lower than his actual wOBA (.345) and ranked in the 56th percentile, 19 spots worse than his wOBA ranking. Thus, Royals fans have to wonder if Garcia may be due for regression in 2026. So far, his Spring Training and WBC metrics don't suggest that he is due for a decline anytime soon. There is a lot to like about Garcia's numbers this spring, which don't include his performance tonight. His hard-hit rate and LA Sweet-Spot% are stellar, ranking in the 90th and 86th percentiles, respectively. His Whiff and Z-Contact this spring are nearly identical to what he did last year. Lastly, while his .383 wOBA is better than his .363 xwOBA this spring, his xwOBA actually has a higher percentile ranking (64th) than his wOBA (62nd). It will be interesting to see whether that trend carries over into the 2026 regular season. Of course, Spring Training numbers should always be taken with a grain of salt. That also includes the World Baseball Classic, which is fun, but just a small sample. After all, Arraez is a power hitter in the WBC, a far cry from what he has actually done at the MLB level. Still, there's a lot to be optimistic about with Garcia, who has thrived in the No. 2 spot of the Venezuelan batting order. With Bobby Witt Jr. thriving with Team USA at the top of the order (.294 average and .867 OPS in 17 at-bats), could Quatraro put Witt at leadoff, Garcia in the No. 2 hole, and Vinnie Pasquantino at No. 3, and Salvy at cleanup? Royals fans won't know until Opening Day, of course. That said, with how this WBC has gone for Witt and Garcia, it wouldn't be a bad idea, especially with the need to get more production from the offense in 2026. View full article

Image courtesy of Troy Taormina-Imagn Images Team Italy has been one of the many fantastic stories of the World Baseball Classic. Despite being seen as an underdog by most outlets and baseball experts, Italy went 4-0 in pool play, with impressive victories over the USA and Mexico on consecutive nights. While the odds are still long for them when it comes to winning the WBC, they may be one of the hottest teams remaining in the field. One of the biggest forces for Italy has been Vinnie Pasquantino, the Royals' first baseman and Italian team captain. This is Pasquantino's second appearance in the WBC, as he played on the team eliminated in pool play in 2023. It made sense that Italy made Pasquantino the team captain for this edition of the WBC. The "Pasquatch" had a huge season in 2025, hitting .264 with a .798 OPS in 682 plate appearances. In addition to posting a career high in plate appearances with the Royals, he also hit 32 home runs and collected 113 RBI, also career-bests. He only produced a 1.5 fWAR in 2025 due to lackluster baserunning and fielding metrics. However, that didn't stop the Royals from awarding Pasquantino a modest two-year extension this offseason. While he hasn't produced much on the fWAR end, Pasquantino is a slugger who provides incredible leadership in the clubhouse. Thus, Italy made him the captain because of those two factors, and their decision has paid off tremendously, as demonstrated by Italy's strong performance in pool play. With Italy moving on to the knockout stage of the WBC, let's examine the impact Pasquantino has had for Team Italy on the field and in the clubhouse, especially on Wednesday night, as he made WBC history. Pasquantino's Historic Night Against Mexico Coming into Wednesday's "elimination" game against Mexico, Pasquantino had not collected a single hit for Italy. He also had a slow start in Spring Training in Arizona. In six games and 17 plate appearances in Cactus League play, he was slashing .200/.294/.267 with one double, an RBI, two walks, and four strikeouts. His combined Cactus League/WBC stats have been rough. Entering Wednesday night's game, he had a .121 average and .491 OPS in 38 plate appearances. Furthermore, his Statcast percentiles this spring weren't all that impressive, as shown below by TJ Stats. However, on Wednesday, the Italian captain broke out in a big way. Pasquantino went 3-for-4 with three home runs and three RBI in the 9-1 victory. As Jeff Passan noted on Twitter, Pasquantino is the first player in WBC history to hit three home runs in a single game. Vinnie's home runs went a distance of 342, 349, and 337, respectively, and also had exit velocities of 101.8 MPH, 95.3 MPH, and 90.9 MPH. Here's a look at the spray chart of his three home runs in Houston, and notice how Vinnie not just pulled them, but took advantage of Daikin Park's lefty-friendly (and hitter-friendly in general) dimensions. Not only did Pasquantino hit three home runs, but he also downed three espresso shots during the game. The espresso shot has been a tradition for Italian players after a home run, and the Italian captain partook in the tradition and then some on Wednesday night after mostly distributing espresso shots to his teammates in the first three games in pool play. Pasquantino has traditionally been known to be a slow starter at the plate. Last season, he hit .177 with a 49 wRC+ in 124 plate appearances in March/April, according to Fangraphs splits. That said, he was fine for the remainder of the year, as evidenced by his 116 wRC+ in 2025. It was the same story in 2024 to a degree. His 96 wRC+ in March/April was the worst monthly wRC+ of the 2024 season (his overall wRC+ was 109). Perhaps the World Baseball Classic has allowed Pasquantino to knock off the rust earlier in the spring (he has more at-bats to go in the knockout round, as they play Puerto Rico in the first round). Hopefully, with this experience and historic surge at the plate, he will be more ready to produce in the first month of play for the Royals, which would be atypical of his career norms. Pasquantino's Impact in the Italian Clubhouse Vinnie has definitely made his presence known in the WBC thanks to his big three-homer performance on Wednesday. That said, before that game, he was still making a tremendous impact on the squad, even if he wasn't producing at the plate. Italian shortstop Sam Antonacci was interviewed after Italy's upset win over the USA, when a reporter asked who the "Team MVP" was. Here's the quote, as shared from MLB.com Royals beat writer Anne Rogers. Antonacci mentioned several characteristics that Royals fans have been quite accustomed to seeing with Pasquantino: "made us all feel comfortable," "he's the reason we're so tight," and "he's a great leader." It can be easy to overlook Pasquantino's impact in the Royals clubhouse sometimes. After all, Bobby Witt Jr. is the superstar of the franchise, and Salvador Perez is the captain and longest-tenured player. When it comes to the favorite player or "face of the franchise", those two are often selected for those honors. And yet, there's an ease Pasquantino brings to any clubhouse. Since Vinnie returned from injury in 2024, they have had a winning record each season, with a playoff berth in 2024. Now, we're seeing the same intangibles from Vinnie having an immediate impact with Team Italy. Not only did they win their pool, but they beat two of the best teams in the WBC in the process. It also seems like Pasquantino has had a strong impact on Royals teammate Jac Caglianone. The 2024 Royals first-round pick hit .375 with a 1.458 OPS in pool play and absolutely crushed a huge home run against Team USA pitcher Ryan Yarbrough, a huge momentum booster at the time for Team Italy in the fourth inning. Obviously, Pasquantino is not swinging the bat for Caglianone. However, he's been a familiar face who has hyped up the promising Royals slugger during these first four games. With renewed confidence and sensational tools, Caglianone could be due for a breakout season in Kansas City in 2026. What Does This Mean for the Royals? The Royals haven't exactly been all that sharp in Spring Training. After split-squad losses to the Cubs and Giants, Kansas City is 6-12, the second-worst record in Cactus League play (only the Mariners are worse at 5-13). That said, Royals fans have seen the team produce Cactus League championships, only for those results to fail to translate to the regular season. Granted, the poor record could be credited to so many of their key players participating in the WBC. Right now, the Royals' lineup has consisted of players like Brandon Drury, Kevin Newman, and Connor Kaiser at the top of the lineup, which isn't exactly "dangerous" by any means. Safe to say, none of those three will be major factors on the Kansas City roster in 2026. However, the experience the Royals have gotten in the WBC cannot be understated, especially for a player like Vinnie. Italy's run to the WBC has allowed Pasquantino not only to gain more competitive at-bats but also to develop his leadership ability and voice during this period of play. That will only help the Royals in 2026, especially as they look to return to the postseason after missing out a year ago. Pasquantino is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to positive WBC development stories. Cags showed great plate patience in the last two games after being too free-swinging in his WBC debut. Witt has demonstrated that he may be Kansas City's solution at leadoff this season. Maikel Garcia had a four-hit game against a loaded Dominican Republic team. The WBC has been a positive and formative experience for the Royals players. And this experience will only benefit the Royals once the regular season starts on March 27th. Michael Wacha, who returned from the WBC this week, seemed to confirm that thought as well, according to Rogers. Perhaps Vinnie can bring the "espresso" home run celebration to the Royals clubhouse when he returns to the squad, just to add to these vibes for the Boys in Blue in the upcoming season. View full article

On Tuesday morning, MLB.com Royals beat writer Anne Rogers reported that utility player Michael Massey suffered a low-grade calf strain and would be out for a little bit of time, according to Royals manager Matt Quatraro. The injury is an unfortunate one for Massey, who has had a strong Spring Training campaign thus far. In eight games and 24 plate appearances, the 28-year-old is slashing .364/.417/.545 with a home run, a double, three RBI, and a stolen base. Massey also has a .445 wOBA and is posting some impressive Statcast metrics in Cactus League play, as evidenced by his TJ Stats summary this spring. Massey is coming off a tough 2025 campaign, which is a shame after a promising 2024 campaign (.743 OPS) that saw him get some leadoff at-bats in the postseason. In 277 plate appearances, he slashed .244/.268/.313 with a .581 OPS. He only had three home runs, and his 3.1% barrel rate ranked in the 9th percentile last year. While he did a good job of making contact at the plate (85th percentile whiff rate and 86th percentile K rate), he also didn't walk much, as his 3.3% walk rate ranked in the second percentile. Thus, when balls weren't falling for base hits, he struggled to get on base or provide much value. While the injury doesn't seem "serious", Massey has a history of injuries in his short career. He's only had more than 400 plate appearances in a season once (2023, when it was 461). Thus, the Royals may take it slow with Massey's return, especially if he didn't respond positively to the calf injury on Friday. If that's the case, that could open up a spot for a non-roster invitee to make the Royals' Opening Day roster. Josh Rojas may be the ideal candidate to replace Massey in Atlanta on March 27th. Rojas Standing Out in Spring Training The Royals signed Rojas to a Minor League contract this offseason, giving him an invitation to Minor League camp. The 31-year-old veteran infielder is coming off a brutal 2025 campaign with the Chicago White Sox, which explains why he didn't receive a Major League deal this offseason. In 69 games and 211 plate appearances with the White Sox, Rojas hit .180 with a .232 wOBA and 44 wRC+. He only had 2 home runs, 14 runs scored, and generated a -1.3 fWAR. However, in Cactus League play, it's been a much different story at the plate for Rojas. In 10 games and 26 plate appearances, he is hitting .304 with a 1.081 OPS. He also has two home runs, three doubles, eight RBI, and three walks to five strikeouts. His Statcast percentiles have also been stellar this spring, per TJ Stats, though the sample size is small. Some of the metrics may be hard for Rojas to sustain. I don't think Rojas will carry his 22.2% barrel rate into the regular season, especially since he has a career barrel rate of 4.6%. Furthermore, his 50% hard-hit rate is 15.7% higher than his career hard-hit rate (34.4%). Still, it's been nice to see him flex some power, even in the hitter-friendly environment of the Cactus League. However, there are some encouraging trends at the plate from Rojas this spring that could be helpful to this Royals roster, especially off the bench. First off, Rojas has done an exceptional job this spring, limiting whiffs and making contact, especially at balls in the zone. His 19.4% whiff rate ranks in the 74th percentile, and his 91.7% Z-Contact% ranks in the 85th percentile. He had an 83% Z-Contact% and 23% whiff rate last year with the White Sox, so what he's doing this spring isn't out of the realm of possibility for the regular season. Another promising trend with Rojas this spring has been his discipline at the plate. The Royals hired assistant hitting coaches Connor Dawson and Marcus Thames because they had a reputation for improving hitters' swing decisions. Rojas has seemed to benefit from their limited tutelage this spring, as his 22.2% O-Swing% ranks in the 71st percentile and his BB% ranks in the 60th percentile. Even last year, the former Hawaii product had an 18.6% O-Swing% with the White Sox. That is vastly better than the 40.5% O-Swing% Massey put up with the Royals in 2025. Thus, the Royals could slow-play Massey's return because Rojas may be a better fit, initially, for what they want to do as a group of hitters in 2026 (which is to limit chasing). Lastly, Rojas can play multiple positions in the field, including second, third, and left field, much like Massey. That positional versatility is something Quatraro values from the bench, and Rojas would seamlessly fit in that multi-utility role if Massey is not ready to go by Opening Day. How Does Massey Fit on the Active Roster? With Massey out, Rojas would likely fit in that utility role off the bench. Roster Resource predicts that the bench would also include Nick Loftin, Tyler Tolbert, and Starling Marte. Rojas fits in Massey's role well because, like Massey, Rojas is a left-handed hitter. My guess is that Rojas would split a lot of time at second base with Jonathan India, depending on the matchups (which Massey would've done as well). India is having a solid spring campaign with a .267/.500/.533 slash and .460 wOBA in 22 plate appearances. India has not shown much power. However, he has six walks to two strikeouts and has posted strong Statcast percentiles in plate-discipline categories during Cactus League play. Yes, there are some concerns with India's profile this spring. The Hard-Hit% is low (20%), as is his average EV (79.9 MPH). However, he has a 100th-percentile O-Swing% and 98th-percentile Whiff and BB rates. If India can transition that to the regular season, the Royals will be happy, especially with less expected from India than a year ago. It should be common for Rojas to play 2-3 games a week, with India playing the other 2-3 games, depending on the matchup. Rojas can also fill in left field as necessary, though that may be tougher with Loftin and Marte on the roster. Speaking of Loftin, he was held out of Tuesday's game, so his health will be something to watch as the Royals prepare for Opening Day. Loftin seems like a sure thing for the Opening Day roster. However, if this "soreness" persists, Rojas could get his spot on the Opening Day roster, and Massey could keep his if the former 2019 MLB Draft pick is fully recovered by next week. Regardless, Rojas' chances to make the Royals Opening Day roster are looking much better than they did when players first reported to camp in Surprise. He may not be a long-term solution in Kansas City, especially if Massey can bounce back to 2024 form. That said, Rojas has done everything he can in Arizona to show that he deserves a spot on this Royals roster in 2026. 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Image courtesy of Troy Taormina-Imagn Images The World Baseball Classic is reaching the end of Pool Play, as many teams have already punched their tickets to the knockout rounds (including Japan and South Korea). The Royals are well-represented in the WBC, with 10 players participating, as highlighted on the Royals' social media (though they didn't have Luinder Avila, a late addition to the Venezuelan roster who may have missed the official WBC media day). I already talked about the performance of Royals starting pitchers in Pool Play (specifically focusing on Puerto Rico's Seth Lugo and USA's Michael Wacha). However, I have not talked yet about the hitters, who are even more well-represented in the WBC. Five of the Royals' core position players for 2026 (Bobby Witt Jr., Salvador Perez, Maikel Garcia, Vinnie Pasquantino, and Jac Caglianone) are participating in the WBC for their respective countries. Let's break down the performances thus far of those Royals position players and identify what fans can expect from the five, not just for the remainder of the World Baseball Classic but also for the upcoming MLB season. Witt Showing Plate Patience, Speed on Basepaths, and Incredible Defense Witt has played in two games so far in pool play: against Brazil in game one and on Monday night against Mexico in game four. Manager Mark DeRosa opted for Baltimore's Gunnar Henderson at shortstop in game two against Great Britain, and the move paid off for Team USA as Henderson went 4-for-5. DeRosa has primarily put Witt in the leadoff spot, and the results have been mostly positive for the Royals' franchise player. On one hand, he's hitting .333 with a .1.056 OPS in nine at-bats. He went 2-for-4 with two doubles in the Mexico game, and he just missed out on a homer in his second at-bat. Against Mexico's Manny Barreda, he hit an 85.2 MPH slider 385 feet with an exit velocity of 103.9 MPH. Here's a look at the spray chart of that particular flyball out. If Witt pulled that one just a little bit more, it's probably gone, especially in Daikin Park's hitter-friendly confines. Furthermore, Witt did what he was supposed to do on a hanging slider from Barreda, which was located in a meaty part of the zone, as illustrated in his zone chart below via Savant. Thankfully for Barreda and Mexico, he threw that pitch to Spring Training Witt. If he threw that to in-season Witt, it's probably gone and hit a lot further as well. In his third at-bat against Alex Carrillo, he didn't miss. He launched a double with a 105.8 MPH exit velocity on a hanging slider, similar to the one he saw from Barreda. Perhaps this double is the breakthrough Witt needed to get going on the hitting end of things in the World Baseball Classic. He seemed to confirm that thought with another double in the 8th inning. This one had an exit velocity of 100.8 MPH off Mexico reliever Robert Garcia. In a short time in the WBC, Witt has done what he's supposed to do as a leadoff hitter: get on base and steal bases. He has a .500 OBP with two walks and only one strikeout. He also has three stolen bases on three attempts. The Royals have been a little rusty on the basepaths in Spring Training, so to see Witt in base-thieving form is a nice development. After stealing 49 bases in 2023, Witt stole 31 in 2024 and 38 in 2025. It would be nice to see Witt get back to the 40-SB mark in 2026. His start in the WBC shows that he may be capable of doing so, especially if manager Matt Quatraro is open to putting Witt in the leadoff spot in the batting order. Lastly, Witt demonstrated against Mexico why he won the Platinum Glove for the Royals last year. He made not one, but two incredible plays that few, if any other MLB shortstops could make (though don't say that to Orioles fans). Here's the first play Witt made against catcher Alejandro Kirk. Unbelievable. And for those who said, "Well, Kirk is a slow runner", let's take a look at what he did on a similarly hit groundball by Nick Gonzales (who is much faster than Kirk, though that's not hard). Witt may have gotten off to a slow start in the WBC, but he seems to be getting settled at shortstop for Team USA. That would be a scary development for the rest of the WBC competition, especially in the knockout rounds. Big Hits From Salvy and Maikel Venezuela is 2-0 in pool play and may be on their way to 3-0, as they are up 4-0 on Nicaragua in the seventh inning on Monday. Garcia and Perez both played in Venezuela's first two games, but got the day off in game three (though Garcia entered on Monday for Luis Arraez). Perez is the captain of Team Venezuela, and as with the Royals, he's the heart and soul of the team. He's gotten off to a strong start with his home country, as he is hitting .333 with a .666 OPS in nine at-bats. He has three hits, all singles, and one RBI. His lone RBI was a big one against Israel, tying the game and sparking a rally. Even though Perez got the night off against Nicaragua, he will be a key part of this lineup for Venezuela in the knockout rounds. It's been a bit of a different story for Garcia, who is playing in his first WBC after his breakout season in 2025. The Royals' third baseman started the first two games of pool play but is hitting .200 with a .400 OPS in 10 at-bats. He also has three strikeouts and no walks, though all three of his strikeouts came in a rough game against Israel. In his first three plate appearances in his second WBC game, Garcia was having a brutal performance, striking out in each at-bat against an Israel team that was eventually eliminated from the knockout stage. However, he gathered himself to produce a big two-RBI single with the bases loaded that extended Venezuela's lead in the sixth inning. That ability to bounce back with a big hit after striking out three times is the kind of adjustment Garcia made from 2024 to 2025. The 2024 version of Garcia would've struck out again or gotten a lazy ground or fly out. The 2025 version can put those bad at-bats behind him and produce a solid base hit in a hitter's count. That shows Garcia's maturity over the past year. The 26-year-old Royals infielder also has a stolen base and has shown solid defense at the hot corner, albeit in a small sample. While Garcia's overall stat line isn't great, he was really hurt by one bad game (Israel), so I'll be curious to see how he does for the remainder of the tournament. Struggles at the Plate for Vinnie and Jac Italy has gotten off to a strong start, as they are currently 2-0 in pool play. Furthermore, they have been a darling of the WBC, especially with their espresso shot celebration after home runs (served by none other than Pasquantino). Unfortunately, the numbers haven't been all that great so far for either Vinnie or Cags through two games. The Italy captain hasn't gotten a hit in seven at-bats and has an OPS of .300. He has three walks to zero strikeouts, which is good, as he became a little free-swinging last year. His 30.4% O-Swing% ranked in the 34th percentile last year, according to TJ Stats. Thus, seeing Pasquantino show some patience and avoid strikeouts has been nice, even if he hasn't gotten a base hit yet in this WBC. Caglianone has played only one game in the WBC, sitting out game two against Great Britain. In his lone start, he went 1-for-4 with an RBI double. That said, his base hit may have been more due to lackluster defense from Dante Bichette Jr. from Team Brazil (even Cags initially thought it was going to be a groundout). One of the positive developments for Caglianone in Spring Training was his plate patience, something he struggled with in his rookie year. In 2025, he had a 38.5% O-Swing%, which ranked in the bottom fifth percentile, and a 51.3% Swing%, which ranked in the 75th percentile. Cags swung too much last year, especially on pitches outside of the strike zone. In Spring Training, those metrics reverse, as seen below via his Statcast summary from TJ Stats. In 30 Cactus League plate appearances, he had a 21.4% O-Swing% and 38.9% Swing%. Those numbers ranked in the 75th and 16th percentiles, respectively. As a result, he posted a .375 average and 1.125 OPS in Cactus League play prior to heading out of Arizona for the WBC. Against Brazil, Caglianone was way too overeager, and that can be seen in his pitch description chart from his only WBC appearance. In four at-bats, he's seen a total of seven pitches. Of those seven pitches, he's swung at five of them. Yes, he has that RBI double on his WBC resume. However, he also hit into three field outs, all coming on those pitches up and in and early in the count. It seems like Cags is a bit amped up from the WBC experience, which has made him a bit impatient in his approach. He has made a lot of progress this spring, so hopefully he can get back into that patient mindset he had in Arizona during the remainder of Italy's WBC tenure. View full article

On Sunday, after the Royals' 5-4 loss to the Chicago White Sox, Kansas City announced moves regarding three position-player prospects who were non-roster invitees. That included catchers Blake Mitchell and Ramon Ramirez, as well as outfielder Carson Roccaforte. Much like the pitching moves, these transactions do not come as a surprise. Mitchell, Ramirez, and Roccaforte were likely to begin the year in the Minor Leagues, and their experience this spring was more to get them experience with the big league club. With many of the Royals' stars in the World Baseball Classic, and Opening Day approaching, it made sense for the Royals to assign the three talented prospects to Minor League camp. All three had their share of struggles in Cactus League play, albeit in limited samples. In 10 plate appearances, Mitchell slashed .125/.300/.250 with a .550 OPS. While the Royals' No. 2 prospect had a 20% walk rate, he also had a 30% strikeout rate. The 2023 first-round pick still has potential, but he will need to cut down the strikeouts and improve in the power department in order to compete for playing time in Kansas City in 2027 or 2028. Mitchell could begin the year in High-A or Double-A, depending on the catching situation in Northwest Arkansas. Ramirez was an even bigger long shot to make the Royals squad, especially since he hasn't played beyond Low-A Columbia. In 9 at-bats, the 20-year-old slashed .111/.273/.111 with a .384 OPS. He did score two runs and had two hits in his short Cactus League stint. It is likely that Ramirez will begin the year in High-A Quad Cities. Lastly, Roccaforte had the best spring of the trio, slashing .200/.385/.300 with a .685 OPS in 10 at-bats. The 23-year-old showed strong plate discipline with three walks and two strikeouts. He also stole a base and hit a double. Roccaforte will likely make the move up to Triple-A Omaha, competing for playing time in the outfield with John Rave, Kameron Misner, Drew Waters, Tyler Gentry, and Gavin Cross, according to Roster Resource. View full rumor

Image courtesy of Frank Bowen IV/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Baseball fans saw the first full day of World Baseball Classic competition on Friday, and the Royals were well-represented. Salvador Perez and Maikel Garcia made starts for Team Venezuela, as did Bobby Witt Jr. for Team USA. Furthermore, Luinder Avila threw two innings of relief for Venezuela in their 6-2 win over the Netherlands (see below for a summary of his outing via TJ Stats). However, the two biggest Royals standouts in Friday's World Baseball Classic slate were Seth Lugo for Puerto Rico and Michael Wacha for the United States. Lugo made the start for Puerto Rico in their 5-0 win over Colombia and went four innings in the winning effort. As for Wacha, he pitched in relief but went three innings and collected five strikeouts for the United States. Let's review Lugo and Wacha's efforts individually, and what Royals fans can take away from their first outings in WBC pool play. Lugo Gives Vintage Performance The 36-year-old righty will be a key pitcher to the Royals' divisional and postseason chances in 2026. In his first season in Kansas City in 2024, Lugo pitched 206.2 innings and made 33 starts. In that sample, he posted a 3.00 ERA and 1.09 WHIP and finished second in the AL Cy Young race. With Cole Ragans at the top of the rotation, he helped the Royals win 86 games and make it to the ALDS against the Yankees. Unfortunately, things regressed for Lugo in 2025. In 26 starts and 145.1 IP, he posted an ERA of 4.15, a 1.29 WHIP, and a 5.20 xERA, the latter being his worst mark in that category since his 5.45 xERA in his rookie year in 2016. He was also shut down at the end of the year due to a lower back strain. However, despite those issues, the Royals opted to bring him back instead of trading him at the Trade Deadline, inking him to a two-year, $46 million extension on July 29th. My biggest concern with Lugo was his curveball, which was a weapon for him in 2024 but less effective in 2025. In his first year in Kansas City, he posted a whiff rate of 33.6%, a put-away rate of 28.6%, and an xwOBA of .240 on the curve. Last season? He posted a whiff rate of 25.9%, a put-away rate of 20.4%, and an xwOBA of .308. He also showed some differences in TJ Stuff+ and chase from 2024 to 2025, not just on his curveball, but other key pitches (especially of the breaking variety). Lugo has shown some strong progress in Spring Training. In two outings and 5.0 IP in Cactus League play, he had a 3.60 ERA, 1.60 ERA with three runs allowed on eight hits. However, he has struck out five while not allowing a single walk. While that's encouraging, Cactus League competition isn't always the best indicator of a pitcher's progress, especially for veterans who are more concerned with process than results at this time of the year. That said, the WBC is a different animal, especially with players more invested in the wins and losses in this competition. Lugo was not only named to Puerto Rico's team, but was also named the starter for Game 1 of pool play. That's the equivalent of being named the Opening Day starter in this context, which shows both the trust and the pressure on Lugo, especially with Puerto Rico hosting Pool A (which includes Puerto Rico, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, and Panama). The Royals righty stepped up and delivered a vintage performance: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, on 62 pitches. Here's what his summary looked like from his WBC outing via TJ Stats. Lugo didn't generate a ton of whiffs (24% whiff rate) or chase (15.6% chase rate). He also struggled with strike-zone consistency, as evidenced by his two walks and 48.4% zone rate. However, his overall TJ Stuff+ metrics were solid. He had a 99 TJ Stuff+ overall and sported four pitches with TJ Stuff+ marks over 100 (slurve, curveball, slider, and sweeper). Colombian hitters also struggled with making hard contact, as they produced an xwOBACON of .228. It was the kind of pitch-diverse and effective outing that Royals fans have grown to appreciate from Lugo in his two years in Kansas City. I was curious to see how his breaking stuff fared in his outing against Colombia. Based on the pitch description chart of his breaking pitches via Savant, he did an excellent job of not just generating strikes but keeping hitters off balance. H Based on his pitch chart from Savant, he produced five called strikes and five swinging strikes on breaking offerings. He also gave up just one hit, which was a swinging-bunt by Harold Ramirez with an exit velocity of 49.8 MPH. Honestly, based on the location of Lugo's offering, it's incredible that Ramirez even made contact on the pitch. It wasn't a dominant performance, and Colombia didn't exactly have a "stellar" lineup (the light-hitting Donovan Solano was their cleanup hitter). That said, Lugo showed the kind of pitch diversity and crafty approach that has made him an effective starting pitcher over the past three years (two with Kansas City and one with San Diego). If Lugo can continue to pitch like this in the regular season, Royals fans will certainly be satisfied, as he likely would produce a stat line closer to his 2024 self than his 2025 version. Wacha Shows Strikeout Stuff Against Brazil Logan Webb set the tone for Team USA in their opener in pool play. The Giants ace went 4.0 IP and allowed one run on one hit while walking zero and striking out six. His lone run came on a Lucas Ramirez home run in the first inning. Ramirez is the son of the legendary Manny Ramirez. Wacha came in relief for Webb and got off to a blazing start. He struck out the side in the bottom of the fifth, and struck out two of three in the bottom of the sixth (he did give up a leadoff single). Unfortunately, Wacha got into some trouble in the seventh. He gave up two singles and a wild pitch (with the wild pitch setting up an RBI single by Brazil's Lucas Rojo). He then gave up a two-run home run to outfielder Victor Mascai to make it 7-4 at the time. Thus, it was a bit of a whimper of a finish for Wacha in his 2026 WBC debut. However, that shouldn't downplay his overall performance, especially in terms of its impact on his outlook for the Royals in 2026. The stuff from Wacha seemed pretty typical based on his TJ Stat summary. However, what particularly stood out from Wacha was the high chase and whiff rates in his Friday outing. Wacha posted an overall TJ Stuff+ of 99 with three pitches sporting a TJ Stuff+ of 100 or over (four-seamer, slider, and cutter). He relied heavily on his four-seamer and changeup, throwing those pitches 46.2% and 30.8% of the time, respectively. He was effective in generating chase with both pitches, as he produced a 50% chase rate with the four-seamer and 71.4% chase with the changeup. Here's a look, via Savant's pitch chart data, at how his four-seamer fared in terms of results. Wacha flooded the zone with his four-seamer. That is evidenced not only by his pitch chart above but also by his 66.7% zone rate. He probably threw it too much in the middle, which had mixed results. He generated two called strikes and two whiffs with the four-seamer. However, he also gave up four base hits, including two that resulted in runs. Here's a look at the four-seamer that Mascai went yard on in the seventh inning, which was thrown in the bottom of the strike zone. It's likely that Wacha was hoping to blow the fastball by Mascai in that area, especially after throwing a changeup on the first pitch in that same part of the strike zone. Unfortunately, Mascai seemed to be sitting on it, though it wasn't particularly hit THAT hard, as illustrated by the exit velocity data (he benefitted from the Crawford Boxes in right field). Thus, the four-seamer had mixed results, especially as he got into the seventh. That said, his changeup was highly effective throughout his outing. The changeup sported a 71.4% chase rate, 57.1% whiff rate, and .160 xwOBACON. He also located it effectively, keeping it low in the zone so that hitters couldn't do much with it, even if they made contact on the offspeed offering. That pitch chart is what Royals fans want to see from Wacha's changeup, which is his best pitch. Not only did he generate two called strikes in the zone with the pitch, but he also got them to chase five times on the offspeed pitch. Four of those five swings were whiffs, with the other being a foul ball. To be fair, this Brazilian lineup isn't anything special. After all, Dante Bichette Jr. is in the lineup, and he hasn't played organized ball since 2019. Nonetheless, Wacha did what one would want to see in a preseason warmup, especially in a more pressure-packed WBC environment. He attacked hitters, showed good stuff, and produced above-average results. Wacha has arguably been the Royals' most dependable starter over the past two years. He pitched 166.2 IP in 2024 and 172.2 IP in 2025. He posted ERA marks of 3.35 and 3.86 in 2024 and 2025, respectively. Last night demonstrated that the 34-year-old veteran righty could produce another sub-4.00 ERA and 150+ IP season in 2026. View full article

On Saturday morning, the Royals announced via social media that they would be optioning Ben Kudrna to Triple-A Omaha, Steven Zobac to Double-A Northwest Arkansas, and Chazz Martinez to Minor League camp. That means that all three pitchers will be primarily working out of Minor League camp for the remainder of Spring Training. The move is not surprising, as all three were longshots to make the Opening Day roster at the start of camp. Kudrna and Zobac had just been added to the 40-man roster this offseason. As for Martinez, he was a Minor League non-roster invitee. Kudrna got the most work in Spring Training and struggled in his small Cactus League sample. In 3.1 IP, he posted a 21.60 ERA and 3.60 WHIP. His FIP was better at 3.45, but he also only generated a 19% K% and 4.8% K-BB% in his limited Spring Training stint. Below is a look at his summary from Cactus League play via TJ Stats. Kudrna did a good job of finding the strike zone, as evidenced by his 52.6% zone rate. He also had a 99 overall TJ Stuff+, and his slider had a 103 TJ Stuff+. That said, he only generated a 24.3% chase and 21.2% whiff as well as a .522 xwOBACON. Those three factors explain why his WHIP and ERA were so inflated. Hopefully, the 23-year-old can work on his command and four-seamer a bit in Minor League camp. He still has some upside, and he has made some progress in the Royals system over the past couple of seasons. Kudrna likely will be the anchor of the Storm Chasers staff in 2026. Zobac was also optioned to Double-A Northwest Arkansas, which makes sense after Zobac missed so much of 2025 due to injury. He posted a 7.68 ERA and 5.68 FIP in 36.1 IP with the Naturals last year. However, he's long showcased solid stuff when healthy, and he had a 21.1 K% and 13.1% K-BB% in Northwest Arkansas. That control was encouraging to see and explains why the Royals added him to the 40-man roster this offseason. Like Kudrna, the 25-year-old had a small sample, only pitching 2.2 innings. He didn't allow a run, but he sported a 1.88 WHIP and 7.7 K-BB%. The walks were a bit high at 15.4%. A contributor to that was his inability to generate chase, as illustrated in his TJ Stats summary below. Zobac sported a chase rate of 16% and an xwOBACON of .430, both blemishes on his limited Cactus League sample. However, he had a strong zone rate (54.5%), whiff rate (26.9), and decent TJ Stuff+ (100 overall). His four-seamer and slider were his best pitches, stuff-wise, with 102 TJ Stuff+ marks. Martinez was also sent to Minor League camp, but he didn't make an appearance in Cactus League play prior to his demotion. He still could pitch in Cactus League play, but he just won't be a candidate to make the roster. The 26-year-old lefty primarily pitched in Omaha, posting a 5.64 ERA and 1.52 WHIP in 30.1 IP last season. Martinez's stuff isn't dominant, but he did a good job of limiting hard contact last year, as illustrated in his TJ Stats summary. Martinez likely will return to Omaha in 2026, where he will provide left-handed bullpen depth. The Royals' Spring Training roster is now at 63 after these moves and the optioning of reliever Eric Cerantola earlier in the week. Cerantola is currently pitching for Canada in the World Baseball Classic. View full rumor

Image courtesy of Dennis Lee-Imagn Images The Kansas City Royals' top prospects will be on display on March 20th in the third-annual Spring Breakout. They will play in Surprise against the Texas Rangers' top prospects (Kansas City and Texas share the same facility). This is an exciting event for Royals fans, especially those who crave seeing budding young stars in the Kansas City farm system. Many top Royals prospects have built on strong Spring Breakout performances to successful Minor League campaigns in the regular season. Rosters were announced on Thursday, March 5th, with a preliminary pool of players for each team. A final gameday roster will be due on March 18th and will consist of 23 to 27 players from the initial 40-man list. This is a change from previous years due to the World Baseball Classic, which runs until March 17th. All 30 prospects on the Royals' MLB Pipeline top prospects list were selected to the preliminary pool. An additional 10 prospects outside that list were also added. It will be interesting to see which of the 40 will be on that final Kansas City Spring Breakout roster in 13 days. The Royals' top prospect, Carter Jensen, headlines the 40-man group. The local Park Hill High School product hit .300 with a .403 wOBA and three home runs in 69 plate appearances at the MLB level last September. He likely will make the Opening Day active roster, so the Royals may opt for another prospect in his place so Jensen can focus on preparing with the MLB club. Other notable position player prospects include Blake Mitchell, the Royals' No. 2 prospect and 75th overall prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline. Mitchell had a down year due to a broken hamate bone in his hand, which he suffered at the start of Spring Training. However, he had a strong Arizona Fall League campaign and has been turning heads in Royals camp in Surprise this spring. Also, 2025 draft picks Sean Gamble and Josh Hammond are on the 40-man player pool and will likely play in the game, barring injury. Gamble and Hammond are the 5th and 6th-best prospects in the Royals system, according to Pipeline. Catcher Ramon Ramirez is another Top-10 prospect who will likely play in the game and has been getting some experience this spring behind the plate in Big League camp as a non-roster invitee. Ramirez was the Royals' 2025 Columbia Player of the Year. On the pitching side, righty Kendry Chourio and lefty David Shields highlight the list. Chourio made a meteoric rise from the Dominican Summer League to Low-A Columbia ball last year. He posted a 3.51 ERA, 2.68 FIP, and 29.9% K% in 51.1 IP across the DSL, ACL, and Low-A levels in 2025. Shields was a 2024 MLB Draft pick by the Royals and dominated as a 19-year-old in the Carolina League. In 75.2 IP, he posted a 2.38 ERA, 2.75 FIP, and 28.5% K%. That performance earned him Carolina League Pitcher of the Year honors. The rest of the Royals Spring Breakout pool can be found below, courtesy of MLB.com Royals beat writer, Anne Rogers. PITCHERS (20) Felix Arronde, RHP, No. 14 Luinder Avila, RHP, No. 9 Drew Beam, RHP, No. 12 Chourio, RHP, No. 3 Dennis Colleran, RHP, No. 25 Josh Hansell, RHP, No. 28 Ben Kudrna, RHP, No. 10 Justin Lamkin, LHP, No. 15 L.P. Langevin, RHP, NR Michael Lombardi, RHP, No. 16 Cameron Millar, RHP, No. 23 Frank Mozzicato, LHP, No. 29 Hunter Owen, LHP, NR Shane Panzini, RHP, No. 21 Hunter Patteson, LHP, NR Yeri Perez, RHP, NR David Shields, LHP, No. 4 Blake Wolters, RHP, No. 24 Hiro Wyatt, RHP, NR Steven Zobac, RHP, No. 13 CATCHERS (5) Jensen, C, No. 1/MLB No. 18 Moises Marchan, C, NR Mitchell, C, No. 2/MLB No. 75 Ramon Ramirez, C, No. 8 Hyungchan Um, C, NR INFIELDERS (9) Austin Charles, INF, NR Jose Cerice, INF, NR Darison Garcia, INF, NR Hammond, SS, No. 6 Sam Kulasingam, UTIL, NR Ramcell Medina, SS, No. 19 Yandel Ricardo, SS, No. 11 Brett Squires, INF, NR Daniel Vazquez, SS, No. 26 OUTFIELDERS (6) Gavin Cross, OF, No. 27 Gamble, OF/2B, No. 5 Asbel Gonzalez, OF, No. 17 Spencer Nivens, OF, NR Carson Roccaforte, OF, No. 18 Nolan Sailors, OF, NR View full article

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Image courtesy of BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK Safe to say, expectations weren't high for Brett Squires entering Royals Spring Training in Arizona. Squires wasn't an official non-roster invitee, meaning that his starting outlook in 2026 would be in the Minor Leagues. A couple of seasons ago, the former University of Oklahoma product seemed to be making the case as a dark horse for a 40-man roster spot. In High-A Quad Cities in 2024, the undrafted prospect posted a .309/.390/.481 slash with a .401 wOBA and 151 wRC+ in 270 plate appearances. He only had nine home runs, but he likely would've surpassed his 15-HR mark in 2023 in Columbia in 122 games had he not gotten injured. Despite the shortened sample, he stole 16 bases and collected 42 RBI. There was some hope that Squires would make a run for a roster spot in 2025 despite not being added to the 40-man roster in the offseason. He went unselected in the Rule 5 Draft that December, but that didn't mean he didn't hold potential as a dark horse prospect in Double-A Northwest Arkansas. Unfortunately, the power didn't develop as hoped last season, and the overall metrics plateaued a bit as well over a larger sample of games. In 116 games and 496 plate appearances, Squires slashed .248/.327/.411 with a .341 wOBA and 105 wRC+. While those latter numbers are encouraging, he only hit 10 home runs and posted an ISO of .163. That latter mark was nine points lower than his 2024 mark in Quad Cities and his 2023 mark in Columbia. He also struck out 27% of the time, had a 0.36 BB/K ratio, and a contact rate of 67.4%, according to Fangraphs. The Texas-born corner infielder showed flashes, with this bomb hit against Wichita in May being a prime example. That said, while Squires had those flashes of mammoth power, he just didn't do it enough consistently. As a result, he went undrafted again in the Rule 5 Draft this past December and wasn't listed as a non-roster invitee to Spring Training. And yet, despite his long odds and lack of at-bats, Squires is doing all he can to turn heads in Arizona. Squires Putting Up Solid Statcast Metrics This Spring When it comes to Squires' Statcast profile from a year ago via TJ Stats, there isn't much because Double-A data isn't publicly available. However, the limited profile of his campaign in Northwest Arkansas last year is nonetheless interesting to see. Squires' wOBA was decent, ranking in the 65th percentile. He also swung a LOT last year, as his 53.8% swing rate ranked in the 90th percentile. However, his whiff rate ranked in the 14th percentile, and his K% ranked in the 22nd percentile. Those two numbers aren't encouraging, especially for a hitter who swings as much as Squires. On the flip side, his walk rate wasn't terrible at 9.7%, which ranked in the 43rd percentile. Add that with a strong ability to pull the ball in the air (14.8%, 60th percentile), and one can see why Squires could be an intriguing fringe prospect to the more analytically inclined Royals fan. Still, the profile last year wasn't enough to garner Squire much love in most prospect lists, including ours at Royals Keep. That said, here's a look at what Squires is doing so far in Spring Training. Some things haven't changed for Squires. He still whiffs a lot, as his 35.3% whiff rate ranks in the 17th percentile and his 66.7% Z-Contact% ranks in the 8th percentile. However, everything else has been quite impressive. His 90th EV, Max EV, Barrel%, and Pull Air% rank in the 100th percentile. His wOBA, xwOBA, Average EV, and LA Sweet-Spot% rank in the 99th percentile. Lastly, his O-Swing% ranks in the 98th percentile, and his hard-hit rate ranks in the 78th percentile. While it's not a whole lot of plate appearances or batted ball events (just 5), he is locked in, and it's been fun to see in Spring Training, as illustrated in the video of his homer below. Squires saw a 100.3 MPH four-seamer from Colorado's Seth Halvorsen and absolutely launched it. Here's what the exit velocity and distance on Squires' home run looked like via Savant. Furthermore, here's a look at the pitch chart matchup between Squires and Halvorsen. Notice the location of Halvorsen's pitch below. That's not an easy pitch to go yard on, especially at 100+ MPH. And yet, Squires got his hands around the pitch and launched it 393 feet with an exit velocity of 103 MPH. And it's not just that particular home run where Squires has succeeded. According to TJ Stats' Statcast leaderboard for Royals players, Squires ranks third in average EV (100.8 MPH), third in 90th EV (115.8 MPH), and second in Max EV (115.8 MPH). Again, it's a small sample, but it shows the kind of impact Squires has made at the plate in Spring Training. What Does This Mean for Squires? Squires likely will begin the year in Triple-A Omaha, probably splitting time at first base with Abraham Toro, who is a non-roster invitee. However, while Squires will begin the year with the Storm Chasers, he will still be one to watch in Spring Training, especially with players like Vinnie Pasquantino, Jac Caglianone, and Salvador Perez, all of whom play first base, participating in the World Baseball Classic. Thus, Squires will get at-bats for the next week or two, simply due to so many Royals playing in the WBC. If Squires can continue this exit velocity and barrel trend over the next two weeks, he could not just earn a starting spot in Omaha, but also put him on the radar of some other teams looking to acquire cheap power at first base. With Pasquantion locked in at first base for the foreseeable future, Squires may be more of a trade asset than one who can matriculate to the Major Leagues and have an impact with the Royals. His situation feels similar to CJ Alexander in 2024. Alexander was launching balls as a fringe prospect, especially in Triple-A Omaha (as seen below in his Statcast profile), but he showed in a short call-up that he wasn't ready for MLB competition. The former Braves draft pick was designated for assignment later in the season by Kansas City, but he could've been a player that the Royals could've utilized in a trade with a team desperate for offensive help. However, because Kansas City exposed him to MLB competition, his trade value plummeted. The Royals learned their lesson with Cam Devanney: not exposing him to MLB pitching, but instead utilizing him in a midseason trade for Adam Frazier. Maybe Squires is a Four-A player like Alexander, or he finds success in the NPB (Japan) like Devanney. That said, I think there's a player in Squires who can generate some serious buzz in Omaha, especially in their hitter-friendly environment. If he can build on this spring and continue to mash in Triple-A, he could build himself up to be a throw-in piece to a trade later in the season, which isn't a bad asset for the Royals to have. View full article

Here's my latest Royals TJ Stats Spring Training Pitching recap, which I did on Bluesky. Interesting game today, as they had an exhibition against Team Cuba ahead of pool play in the WBC on March 5th. Please make sure to subscribe to TJ Stats and follow my accounts on Bluesky (@royalreportkev.bsky.social) and Twitter (@CrownTalk_KC), as I will try to do these recaps daily during the Cactus League campaign.

Thanks for that perspective. I haven't seen him this spring, but the data stands out. He really has seemed to get better since the end of the year, and as you said, there's a lot of high-leverage reliever potential in his profile. I think he starts in the Minor League but moves quickly in the system and is called up at some point.

Image courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images The Royals are 10 games into Spring Training and have a 5-5 record after their loss today to the Angels. Granted, Spring Training results always have to be taken with a grain of salt. After all, Kansas City has plenty of Cactus League success in the past, only for those accolades not to carry over into the regular season. Thus, while more wins in Arizona would be nice, the more important aspect of Spring Training for this team is staying healthy and getting warmed up for Opening Day against Atlanta on March 26th. One interesting thing to watch in Spring Training is how players perform and if there's any underlying data that can hint at a solid upcoming season. With Statcast now fully functional and public in every Spring Training facility, baseball fans, including Royals fans, have access to a range of metrics on hitters and pitchers that weren't available publicly before. Thus, in this post, I am going to look at five Royals players who are standing out in Cactus League play due to a particular metric. I will focus on three hitters and two pitches, explain what those metrics mean, and what those metrics could hint at for the upcoming season for that particular player. All metrics are courtesy of TJ Stats' MLB Batter Leaderboard, available on his site. Jac Caglianone: 18.5% Chase% Much has been made about Caglianone's power this Spring. After all, his Statcast metrics are pretty ridiculous right now, especially in terms of batted-ball quality. Over 12 BBE (batted-ball events), he is producing a .522 xwOBA, a 25% barrel rate, a 66.7% hard-hit rate, a 116.5 MPH 90th EV, and 120.2 MPH Max EV. Safe to say, he looks a lot more comfortable at the plate this spring than he did in his call-up last season. Past the Eye Test highlighted Caglianone's spring with his app tool, and everything seems aligned for the former Royals first-round pick to break out in 2026. While the hard-hit and exit velocity metrics are impressive, as well as the lack of whiff, the plate discipline Caglianone has demonstrated this spring has been the most eye-popping. In 20 plate appearances, he has only had an 18.5% chase rate. For context, he had a 38.5% chase rate in 232 plate appearances last year. Thus, a 20% positive difference is a good sign that Caglianone is not only coming to the plate with a better plan, but that the hitting coach team, with new assistant hitting coaches Connor Dawson and Marcus Thames, is having an impact. Granted, it's only 20 plate appearances, and it's Spring Training. Thus, Royals fans shouldn't be putting down their "Caglianone for MVP" bets just yet. Pitchers are often rusty at this point in Spring Training, and so the lack of chase may be more due to pitchers' shoddy control than Caglianone's plate discipline. Nonetheless, he's looking confident at the plate, and his ability to lay off waste pitches that he swung at a year ago is a promising sign for him as a hitter, even if it's just Spring Training. If this approach carries over to the World Baseball Classic (he will be playing for Italy), then the Royals have to feel really good about his outlook this season. Josh Rojas: 63.6% Hard-Hit Rate The addition of Starling Marte makes it a little more challenging for Rojas to make the Royals' Opening Day roster as a non-roster invitee. However, the 31-year-old infielder is doing all he can to prove that he deserves a chance to show Kansas City what he can do after a down season with the White Sox in 2025 (.180 average and .511 OPS in 189 PA). In 14 PA and over 11 BBEs, Rojas has a .555 xwOBACON, a 36.4% barrel rate, and 106.6 MPH 90th EV. Furthermore, the most impressive Statcast metric? His 63.6% hard-hit rate. That has helped him hit two home runs and generate a .615 ISO in his small Spring Training sample. Over the past two seasons, Rojas has hovered around a league-average hard-hit rate, which is around 38%. In 2024, his hard-hit rate with the 38.2%. His hard-hit rate last year? 36.8%, which is 1.4% lower than what he did in 2024 with the Mariners. Thus, he's obviously not going to sustain a 60+% hard-hit rate into the regular season. That said, could he hit that 38% hard-hit rate or slightly above? If so, he could be a .670-.700 OPS hitter with stellar defense in the infield, which would be a nice asset to have off the bench. Michael Massey: 70% Sweet Spot% Massey is entering a crucial season in 2026. He showed promise in 2024, hitting .259 with 14 home runs and a .743 OPS in 332 plate appearances. Unfortunately, he took a step back in 2025, hitting .244 with only three home runs and a .581 OPS in 262 plate appearances. MJ Melendez was entering a crucial season last year and couldn't produce. The Royals are hoping that Massey can avoid Melendez's fate. So far, the 27-year-old is off to a great start this spring. In 15 PA, he's hitting .538 with a .606 wOBA and one home run. What's interesting about Massey's profile is that he isn't hitting the ball all that hard. He doesn't have a barrel, and his xwOBA is only .379, a significant gap from his actual wOBA. That said, what has made Massey successful this spring has been his ability to launch the ball. Not only does he have an average launch angle of 14.5 degrees, but he also has a Sweet Spot% of 70%. That shows that Massey can launch the ball effectively, even if he's not producing consistent premium exit velocity. Launching the ball has always been a strength of Massey's. Even though he struggled to produce decent exit velocity, barrel, or hard-hit rates in 2025, he did rank in the 58th percentile in Sweet Spot%, according to his TJ Stats summary. I think there is still something left in the tank with Massey, and his 2025 may have been more injury-plagued than fans were led to believe. The fact that he's launching the ball effectively this spring and producing some hard hits occasionally with that consistent launch angle could be a sign that he's ready to bounce back to his 2024 numbers. Ryan Bergert: 104 TJ Stuff+ overall Much has been said about the Royals' starting pitching depth this spring. However, things got off to a rough start this spring, with Stephen Kolek initially shut down due to a grade 1+ oblique strain (which should put him out for around five weeks). Thankfully, the depth the Royals have built has come in handy, especially with Bergert, also acquired with Kolek from the Padres at the Trade Deadline last year, off to a stellar start in Cactus League play. In two outings and three innings pitched, he has a 0.00 ERA and 0.67 with two strikeouts and a walk allowed. The results haven't been eye-popping on a strikeout (18.2% K%) or whiff (26.3%) end, but he's demonstrated excellent stuff so far through two starts. His 104 overall TJ Stuff+ leads all Royals pitchers, and five of his six pitches have a TJ Stuff+ mark of 100 or higher. Below is a breakdown of his TJ Stuff+ profile via TJ Stats. Granted, Bergert has struggled a bit finding the strike zone (42.1%) in his first two outings, but his ability to generate chase (40.9% chase rate) and limit hard contact (.194 xwOBACON) has helped him succeed this spring. He may still be on the outside looking in when it comes to a rotation spot (Noah Cameron holds a slight edge for the 5th spot). However, if he keeps showing this stuff in Cactus League play, he'll make it tough for the Royals to keep him off the Opening Day roster. Dennis Colleran: 39.4% CSW% (Called-Strike-Plus-Whiff) CSW can be a good stat for evaluating how effectively a pitcher generates strikes overall (read this piece from Alex Fast on Pitcher List on the creation and breakdown of this relatively new statistic). The better the CSW, the more dependable a pitch can be when it comes to getting strikeouts and putting hitters at a disadvantage. When it comes to the Top 5 Royals pitchers this spring in terms of CSW, Andrew Perez, who pitched in the Independent League last year, leads with a 56.3% CSW (though he has only seen five batters). Cole Ragans is second with a 44.4% CSW, and Kris Bubic is third with a 41.9% CSW. The fourth? Colleran, who has a CSW of 39.4%. Colleran may be one of the most underrated pitching prospects in the Royals system, mostly because he's a reliever. However, he posted a 2.85 ERA, 3.52 FIP, and 27.1% K% across three levels and 66.1 IP last year. In Cactus League play, he's been dominant, not only sporting a near 40% CSW, but a 0.00 ERA, 33.3% K%, and 1.10 FIP in three innings of work. While the sample size is small, his Statcast percentiles have been impressive, as seen below. There's a lot of red in his profile, which is an encouraging trend. He ranks in the 84th percentile in whiff rate, 85th percentile in hard-hit rate allowed, and 89th percentile in CSW. Lastly, he also ranks in the 97th percentile in fastball velocity, and three of his four pitches have TJ Stuff+ marks of a 100 or higher (his four-seamer is just below that threshold at 99). It's still early in Cactus League play. However, Colleran has a Major League reliever profile and is pitching well enough to earn a midseason call-up at the latest (earlier if one believes in the TINSTAAPP principle). View full article