Royals Roster Projection 2.0: Depth Rising in Cactus League

The Kansas City Royals are undefeated in Arizona! Although they’re only four games in, the boys in blue are 3-0-1 in Cactus League play. The schedule continues Tuesday behind Seth Lugo against the Texas Rangers. With so little time under our belt, Spring Training reactions are almost all overreactions. Still, data is data and we can start to make some observations that do have an impact on the big league roster. Here’s a look at some early spring standouts and an updated roster projection for the 2025 Kansas City Royals.

Early Spring Training Standouts: Cavan Biggio, Tyler Gentry, Nick Loftin, Thomas Hatch

Gentry and Biggio have led the offense thus far in Surprise. Biggio leads the team with three hits (tied with Nick Loftin and Tyler Gentry) so far in five at-bats. Of his three hits, he’s notched one double and one home run and looks to have an inside shot early on to claim one of the team’s important bench roles for the upcoming season. Gentry leads the offense with three RBI, slashing .600/.600/1.200 in five at-bats early on. Utilityman Nick Loftin isn’t far off that pace with three hits of his own. In three games thus far, Loftin has three hits and three walks. His three walks are tied with catcher Carter Jensen for the most on the roster.

Hatch seems like a longer shot to make the roster. The team’s pitching depth is impressive and as a non-roster invite, he has a larger hill to climb than most others. Still, he looked fantastic on Sunday. Hatch’s three strikeouts are tied for the lead so far this spring. He struck out all three batters in his lone outing on Sunday across two innings of work. Hatch showcased three different fastballs and a solid changeup on Sunday, earning a 29% whiff rate with his arsenal. Hatch’s cutter averaged 2470 rpm and 86.8 mph. His four-seamer offered a bit more “oomph” at 94.7mph with a still great 2468 rpm. He’s a name to watch as spring moves along.

Names moving in: Cavan Biggio, Daniel Lynch IV

Names moving out: Carlos Hernández

Four spring games aren’t going to shake up a roster projection a ton, especially considering that the Royals only have a handful of competitive roster spots to begin with. Biggio offers big-league experience (and success) and looks like he will force his way onto the roster the way he’s played early on. It would take a 40-man move, but Biggo could easily supplant someone like Nick Pratto. Daniel Lynch IV didn’t show much improvement in spin or velocity, but his changeup remains stellar and he’s used a full six-pitch mix in the Cactus League thus far.

Lynch has two strikeouts and no walks in two scoreless spring innings so far. On the way out is Carlos Hernández who hasn’t looked great early on. His velocity is down — there’s still time for that to ramp up, of course — but his command has been more alarming. In his lone spring outing thus far, Hernández allows three hits and a walk, ultimately letting four runs score. He gave up a huge home run but did strike out two batters in the process. In a bullpen competition that’s going to come down to the razor-thin details, Hernández needs to bounce back quickly to keep pace.

Infielders:

Cavan Biggio, Maikel Garcia, Bobby Witt Jr., Michael Massey, Jonathan India, Vinnie Pasquantino, Nick Loftin

Outfielders:

MJ Melendez, Tyler Gentry, Kyle Isbel, Hunter Renfroe

Catchers:

Salvador Perez, Freddy Fermin

Starters:

Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Michael Lorenzen, Kris Bubic, Alec Marsh, Daniel Lynch IV

Bullpen:

Carlos Estévez, Lucas Erceg, Hunter Harvey, Angel Zerpa, John Schreiber, Sam Long

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