Bringing the spring heat

At the trade deadline last season, the Royals acquired three starting pitchers. Entering Spring Training 2026, all three—Ryan Bergert, Steven Kolek and Bailey Falter—seem to be on the outside of a very crowded rotation looking in.

It’s through this prism that have made the first three Cactus League games for the Royals so interesting as each of the aforementioned three pitchers have received starts. And, wouldn’t you know it, all three have done quite well.

It was Falter’s turn in the spring rotation on Sunday. It was another round of success. He threw 20 pitches over two scoreless innings of work in the Royals 7-3 win over the Brewers, allowing just one hit. Most encouraging in the outing was the fact he simply didn’t allow the Brewers to square up the ball. Only one of the seven balls put in play against him were hit with an exit velocity greater than 95 mph—and that one was hit at 95.5 mph. That came off the bat against Gary Sánchez and had a launch angle of 60 degrees. Otherwise, it was a brief parade of soft liners and grounders.

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Into the FountainsCraig Brown

According to Anne Rogers, Falter, in addition to becoming a new father over the winter, spent his time away from the grind of the regular season working to add velocity. It seemed to work as he averaged 92.8 mph on the 10 four-seamers he threw on Sunday. Last season, his four-seamer averaged a career-high 92.1 mph. Between him and Steven Kolek, both starters have seen an increase in fastball velocity over 2025 in their first spring outing.

From Falter via Rogers:

"Every offseason as I get stronger – and hopefully having my ‘dad strength’ now – we’ve been doing more drills and motions with my weighted ball program,” Falter said. “I think every year my velo has gone up .1 or something, so if I could be like 93-95, touching 96, that would be good.”

Touching 96 mph is a nice goal and everything, but I feel like it's important to note that Falter has topped 95 mph with his fastballs just twice in his major league career. He did it one time last season, on a sinker, right before he was traded to Kansas City. Of course, all these guys are looking to add velocity these days...and visiting different pitching labs and training facilities with their own coaches to find that edge that will get them a tick more. Especially guys who know they are fighting for a spot on the club and the rotation. This will be an interesting development to monitor going forward.

While the smart money is that Noah Cameron is the favorite to lock down the fifth starter spot in the rotation, competition for that role could be immense. As long as everyone stays healthy.

Other notes and thoughts from Sunday’s Cactus League tilt:

• Michael Massey got the start in left field. Quatraro said he looked “natural” in the outfield. He was busy with three putouts in his five innings.
• Jac Caglianone went 1-2 with a walk. His one hit was a single off left-hander Tate Kuehner in the third. That left the bat at 101 mph. Really good to see his quality at bats get rewarded.
• Aaron Sanchez followed Falter on the mound, throwing a pair of innings. In the third, he battled his command a bit, walking a batter and then allowing a two-out single, followed by a double. He threw 22 pitches in the third and 11 in the fourth.
• Steven Zobac allowed three baserunners in 1.2 innings where he threw 39 pitches. He walked the first batter he faced in the fifth, spraying his four-seamer all over the place. Quatraro said he was “amped up.” He settled down to strikeout Jackson Chourio on a low, 95 mph four-seamer.
• Dairon Blanco took a 90 mph cutter off the helmet in the seventh inning. Listening to it on the radio, it sounded awful. Blanco stayed down for sometime before getting up and walking off with the trainers. Post game, Quatraro reported that he was undergoing tests for a concussion.

We haven’t seen Isaac Collins make his spring training debut and that’s by design. From Anne Rogers:

Collins has been taking live at-bats against Royals pitchers and participating in all workouts, but the Royals have been intentionally taking his workload a little slower. Collins received platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections in his knees this offseason, which manager Matt Quatraro said the Royals knew about. Collins has been healthy otherwise and feels good, Quatraro said, but the club felt like there was no reason to rush him into games right when the Cactus League slate opened.

The outfielder is scheduled to see his first action on Tuesday and then will play again on Friday. It’s a bit curious I suppose, but Collins will have plenty of opportunity for playing time when players depart for the WBC.

The Royals are back at it this afternoon, hosting the Cubs in Surprise at 2:05 Central. Seth Lugo will make his spring debut. This will be the first time we’ve seen him since August. It will be very interesting to see how he does as he prepares to depart camp to pitch for Team Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic.