We’re a bit more than halfway through Spring Training.
For the second Wednesday in a row, the Kansas City Royals will do battle with the Seattle Mariners in an exhibition that will live in the hearts and minds of the people of Grass Creek. The Royals prevailed in the first round and will look to do the same this afternoon in Peoria.
Ross Stripling will be Kansas City’s first pitcher as he looks to earn a roster spot after joining the squad on a minor league deal a few weeks ago. He’ll need to turn things around quickly as he has been shelled in his Spring Training action thus far, surrendering three homers and striking out just one batter in four innings of work.
Moving over to the lineup, Nick Pratto will be hitting cleanup as the DH. This is an important spring for Pratto — he’s out of options this year and doesn’t have an obvious place on Kansas City’s roster. A big spring could help him out but, unfortunately, he has looked thus far much the same as he has in his time in the majors. Nelson Velázquez, batting fifth today in right field, is also out of options. He doesn’t have a clean fit on the roster as Hunter Renfroe already occupies the role of a right-handed hitting, low-OBP, heavy-footed, corner outfield slugger.
Cavan Biggio and Nick Loftin will hit back-to-back as they compete for a utility infield role. Both have had very strong springs so far, but Loftin has the advantage of already being on the 40-man roster and having options remaining. John Rave rounds out the order, looking to force his way into the outfield mix. He has the advantages of hitting lefty and being able to play center field, but he’s not on the 40-man and there are at least three center field options ahead of him on the depth chart (Kyle Isbel, Drew Waters, Joey Wiemer).
First pitch: 3:10 pm CDT
Royals lineup
Peoria-bound for the afternoon.