Free Agent Signings:
Carlos Santana
Mike Minor
Michael Taylor
Ervin Santana
Top 10 Prospects:
1 Bobby Witt Jr., SS
2 Asa Lacy, LHP
3 Daniel Lynch, LHP
4 Jackson Kowar, RHP
5 Erick Pena, OF
6 Nick Loftin, SS
7 Kyle Isbel, OF
8 Khali Lee, OF
9 Jonathan Bowlan, RHP
10 Carlos Hernedez, RHP [Reply]
Top prospect Bobby Witt Jr. has been competing as part of that alternate site team, so here’s a question: What’s the plan with him once the minor-league seasons begin?
Royals assistant general manager J.J. Picollo:
We’re still discussing it. There are arguments to be made on both sides, whether Triple-A Omaha is better for him or Double-A Northwest Arkansas. You could see both.
The thing about Double-A is, it gives him more of a chance to build the foundations he hasn’t had a chance to build, just being a rookie-ball player a couple of years ago. So that part of it makes us feel like Double-A makes sense. The other part of it is if he’s in line, is he better off being in Triple-A, facing veteran arms?
But if you go back in time, especially looking at the special guys, a lot of them have been called up from Double-A. And the fact he’s gotten so much experience in big-league camp, I don’t think it’d be a big deal to call him up if we thought he was ready. We’re still discussing it. There are people making good arguments for both. So we’ll end up making that call probably early next week.
This is along similar lines, but what’s the plan for left-handed pitching prospect Daniel Lynch and right-hander Jackson Kowar?
I’m almost certain they’ll be in Triple-A. I don’t know what would change that. We’ve felt really good about what they did at the alternate site last year. They were prepared. They improved pitches. They’ve continued on their path. So we feel good about them being in Triple-A. We’ll have a final discussion, but that’s where they belong. At 60 feet, 6 inches, when they make pitches with the stuff they have, it doesn’t matter who is hitting.
Left-handed pitching prospect Asa Lacy pitched in a pro game for the first time last week. How would you assess how he looked?
He was excellent. His first inning, it was 96-97 mph. In about 10 pitches, he threw a plus curveball for a strikeout. He threw a change-up for a swing and miss. A slider for a swing and miss. The rest were fastballs. He walked two in the second inning but was just off the plate.
I was really happy watching him. It was the first time he’s faced other hitters. We protected him through major-league spring training, and as we were building him up, we were playing intrasquad games. But I thought I saw a notable difference just that he was facing other teams. Just a little different level of excitement. [Reply]
It's pretty cool to see minor dealing like he did. When it warms up he's going to have to rely on getting some swings and misses out of the zone. His drop curve was super nice tonight. Great to see a Bennie dong and a knock. Slamtana had the walks. Staumont's last pitch was over a hundred and Matheny is listening to his staff and made a nice call bringing up o'hearn who had a.dong and I think a knock and a walk. Not too shabby. I want them to give salvy tomorrow off. He deserves it. [Reply]