Who can avoid the bats?

This is an interesting camp for the Royals when it comes to their starting rotation. The word "depth" is a descriptor I've seen often and it's an accurate one. Based on ability and track records, it's easy to think that the Royals rotation is set, even less than a week into the Cactus League.

Cole Ragans
Seth Lugo
Michael Wacha
Kris Bubic
Noah Cameron

Behind Ragans at the one, feel free to mix and match the order.

Except I'm not sold on Cameron in this rotation. While today it may seem the most likely outcome, I do believe there's a bit of a competition for the final spot. It's one of the spring storylines to follow, especially once Lugo and Wacha depart for their respective teams in the World Baseball Classic.

An early trend I saw from Arizona was a distinct lack of whiffs from Royals starting pitchers who could be in the hunt for the rotation.

Steven Kolek - 14 swings, 1 whiff
Ryan Bergert - 4 swings, 0 whiffs
Bailey Falter - 11 swings, 1 whiff

Bergert recorded only four swings because he pitched just a single inning. All three offered pretty much their entire arsenal over their brief outings. And all three averaged more velocity on their four-seam than they did during the regular season last year. They looked good...just lacked the misses on the swings.

The trend shifted a bit on Monday as Seth Lugo took the mound against what amounted to a Chicago Cubs “B” squad.

Seth Lugo - 14 swings, 4 whiffs

Lugo, like the others, was throwing faster than he did on average last summer. All four of his whiffs were recorded on his slider.

Inside, outside, up and down. The Lugo pitch chart on his slider reads like a Dr. Seuss book. In a small sample of just five pitches, he kept that slider on the edges of the zone. In fact, he kept everything on the edges.

I like how Lugo attacked on Monday. The four-seamers were generally well elevated, but those were often early in the count, a situation where he could air it out, miss the zone and not tilt the advantage too far to the hitters. There’s just nothing in the meaty part of the zone. Indeed, not much was squared up against Lugo. Of the five balls put in play against him, only one was hard-hit.

I don’t want to read too much into one Cactus League start—and the first start of the year at that—but this looked like a vintage Lugo start. Very encouraging indeed.

On Tuesday, Michael Wacha took the ball for the first time this spring.

Michael Wacha - 19 swings, 6 whiffs

Among the starters, Wacha is the early leader with whiffs generated, garnering six of them in his start on Tuesday. He has Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz to thank for that.

The two elevated four-seamers and the two changeups down and out of the zone were all misses from De La Cruz in two different at bats. He swings and misses at a high rate—he finished last year with a 32 percent whiff rate, a ninth percentile ranking—and Wacha clearly knew how to deal with him.

I'm inspired! How about an early season GIF?

Overall, it was an interesting and eventful outing for Wacha. He allowed singles to the first two batters, but retired the next three on just eight pitches. The eight pitches was even more impressive when you learn two of those hitters went down on strikes, including the aforementioned De La Cruz.

Things got wobbly in the second as Wacha worked around two walks and a double. He needed 32 pitches to get out of the frame. The walks came on borderline pitches that really could've been challenged under the ABS system. The double came on a changeup well down and out of the zone. Sometimes, as they say, you have to tip your cap.

While I'm not going to call any inning in spring training "high stress," I'm a bit surprised manager Matt Quatraro left Wacha out there for the entire frame. I wrote that Wacha generated more swings and more misses than any starter to this point. That's because, aside from his dominance over De La Cruz, he threw 43 pitches total in his spring debut. Maybe Wacha is a little bit ahead of where he would normally be due to his upcoming participation in the World Baseball Classic. Still...kind of unnecessary.

Speaking of the automated ball/strike system, I wonder how teams will sort out who can challenge and if there will be a specific time in the game when challenges take place. This sequence in the third inning made me chuckle.

In fairness, both pitches Tyler Tolbert and Isaac Collins were punched out on were right on the edge, with the ball more off the plate than on. Yet the seams just kissed the zone and...poof...both challenges afforded the team were gone.

I think the Royals should tell their players that they get something like three free challenges to start the season. If you make three bad ABS appeals, then that's it. You're cut off like the guy at the end of the bar who has had a few too many shots of tequila.

I do know the Royals have told their pitchers that they are not to challenge a call. That will be left to their catcher. And apparently, they are using their own challenge system in camp appeals are being made on the sly. Kind of a testing ground inside a testing ground so to speak. At any rate, this ABS system presents a very intriguing wrinkle in games this season. I really cannot wait to see it in action in a game that counts.

Rarely do home runs in the Cactus League impress. It's spring training and the ball just tends to fly out of through the thin air of the desert. But this...this was impressive.

I encourage you to play that video and just listen to the sound. Listen! The raw fury that is unleashed with Jac Caglianone makes near perfect contact is something to behold. Even in February in Arizona.

For the record, the ball left the bat at 115.2 mph and traveled 460 feet.

I leave you today with another video. On Tuesday, it was announced that Bobby Witt Jr. was the 2026 recipient of the Lou Gehrig Award. The award is given annually to the player who "best exemplifies the giving character of Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig." Listening to Mike Sweeney, George Brett and Salvador Perez, you can tell what this award means.

I'm going to pull a bit from the press release because I think it's worth your time.

Witt Jr. is a dedicated advocate for organizations raising awareness and helping the ALS fight. For the past three seasons, he has hosted clinics for more than 400 local youth, supporting philanthropic groups such as Susanna Smiles, Sarah’s Soldiers and the Team Hilliard Foundation. In 2024, the three-hour baseball clinic raised over $45,000 to financially support Sarah Nauser and others battling ALS. In addition, he has taken his talents from the diamond to the links in support of the Team Hilliard Foundation Golf Tournament to help raise awareness and funds for ALS research. Each year on Lou Gehrig Day, Bobby helps to organize a suite to honor all those impacted by ALS through these two organizations. 

“I tell people I hope Bobby is our next captain,” said current Royals Captain Salvador Perez. “He is the best player I’ve ever played with, but captains lead the way off the field, too. He is a great teammate, and I am so proud to see everything he’s involved with, especially the fight against ALS.”

Last June, Witt Jr. hosted a youth camp in partnership with ProCamps and CommunityAmerica. With the collaborating support of Bobby and CommunityAmerica, the camp proceeds totaled a $50,000 donation to the Edward Dulle Family in collaboration with Susanna Smiles. Susanna Smiles supports families with children facing hardship caused by critical illness or loss of a parent to help lessen the burden and aid prosperity for families.

Last year, Witt Jr. became the first-ever PLAY BALL Ambassador. As part of his ambassadorship, Bobby will continue to be featured in regular content pieces across the PLAY BALL and MLB media channels providing tips and answering questions to help aid in MLB’s efforts to encourage youth participation in baseball and softball inspiring the next generation of players and fans. 

Witt Jr. is not only inspiring youth on the field but also in the classroom. He has worked with local children to help increase literacy rates in the Kansas City Metro as a Royals Literacy League Classroom Champion. He was one of the first to step forward and is entering his third year championing the program launched by the Kansas City Royals Foundation and local partners to build excitement around reading and literacy in elementary-aged students in public schools in Kansas City. Bobby inspires both students and faculty to strive to be their best. He regularly visits his classroom and is on a first-name basis with many of the students, all while building excitement for and sharing the importance of reading.

In addition to Perez, past recipients of the Lou Gehrig Award include Stan Musial, Ernie Banks, Hank Aaron, Harmon Killebrew, Willie Stargell, Lou Brock,Ozzie Smith, Cal Ripken Jr., Tony Gwynn, Albert Pujols, Derek Jeter and many more.

We are lucky to have had Salvador Perez in this city and on this team for going on 15 years. And now we're lucky to have Bobby Witt Jr.. Long may he be a Royal.