Pitching comes into focus

Daniel Lynch IV has another strong spring outing. Plus updates on Alec Marsh and Carlos Estévez. And a Moose sighting in camp.

Daniel Lynch IV fired another salvo in the battle for the fifth starter with three shutout innings on Monday against the Texas Rangers. He allowed just one hit and struck out two in a tidy effort. Overall, Lynch has allowed just one run over seven Cactus League innings to this point.

Lynch featured all six of his pitches, including a cutter he threw only three times all of last year. He was around the zone with most of his offerings, with the exception being his change. That’s ok as the changeup has the right amount of fade to get some hacks while he’s missing the zone.

Foul balls on pitches on the edge…whiffs on pitches further off the plate…and a little bit of poor contact. That kind of location will play in spring training when the pitchers are definitely ahead of the hitters. It will also play in the regular season because it’s awesome.

After his outing, Lynch said he was trying to execute a certain plan when it came to his slider.

I kind of put an emphasis on trying to throw more sliders to the righties today. I was happy with the location. I think they could’ve been a little bit sharper as far as just getting it down a bit. I think I gave them a chance to put some balls in play leaving it up a few times. But in spring training you’re trying to work on that kind of stuff, but I’m happy with where it’s at.

Of the six sliders Lynch offered on Monday, five were thrown to right-handed batters. He’s not exactly shy about throwing that pitch to righties, but he does throw it more frequently against left-handers.

As Lynch said, most of these sliders were elevated. The lone swing and miss was a down and in offering to Jonah Heim, a right-handed batter.

As good as Lynch was, it would be premature to declare the lefty as a front-runner. It has been something of a battle of attrition as injuries have culled the field. At this point, it feels as though it’s between Lynch and Bubic. Noah Cameron has an outside shot, but looks as though he will be ticketed for Omaha.

Manager Matt Quatraro had an update on Alec Marsh, who reported to camp with shoulder tightness and has yet to throw an inning in the Cactus League.

He had a great bullpen yesterday. He feels really good today. The next step I think is probably one more bullpen…but everything is trending in the right direction.

At this point in spring training, the rotation is on it’s third turn. Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo and now Lynch have each faced over 22 batters. That’s my way of saying I don’t think Marsh has enough time now to make his case for a spot in the rotation to open the season. He’s a couple of weeks behind at this point, so it stands to reason he will open the year in Triple-A to continue to work on building up his stamina. Although the Royals could keep him in extended spring training for the same purpose.

Reliever Carlos Estévez has lower left back tightness and has also been sidelined all spring. Like Marsh, he threw a bullpen on Sunday.

(The bullpen) went really well. He’s back out again, playing catch today. He said he was a little stiff at the beginning but as he got going, he felt really good. The last several pitches were what we were looking for.

There’s obviously less of a concern about getting innings for Estévez. There are still three full weeks of games ahead.

The big news of the day was about a player the Royals will sign to a contract on May 31. World Series champion and main branch of Ned Yost’s third base tree, Mike Moustakas, will be honored in a ceremony that day and will retire as a Royal.

You probably already know what I think about this, but just in case: It’s really damn cool. It’s cool that Moustakas still feels the pull of the Royals. It’s cool that the Royals are continuing to honor the key players and great teams of their past. And it’s cool that there will be a moment where players and fans can come together to celebrate.

Moustakas wrapped a 13-year major league career in 2023 splitting time with

the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Angels. In eight years with the Royals, he hit .251/.306/.430 with an OPS+ of 98. He was a three-time All-Star, got some down-ballot MVP votes in 2015, and won two AL pennants and one World Series championship. Not too shabby.

Here’s Moustakas on returning to the fold with the Royals.

It’s pretty special. I always thought I would end my career as a royal.

It's the place I wanted to be. This city, this organization, means so much to me and my family. The people here from top to bottom, with Dayton, J.J., Sharpie, Ned, all the people I've met in my life. Over my playing career, it's been the main reason, one constant was always Kansas City. I've had so many phenomenal memories here. To be able to come back here, this role that I'm in right now, it means a lot. It’s very special.

As for the mention of the role that he’s in right now, Moustakas is in camp helping out. That in and of itself is special to the former third baseman:

To be asked to come back as a player means you did something right in your time with that organization. And you made an impact and I think that's a pretty special feeling. Selfishly for me because I love this organization. And for me to be able to come back here and you know just hang out with the boys and you know. Maybe shed a little bit of knowledge on something that one of these guys might have a question on. And maybe just be a little voice to help somebody out. I don't know, but the honor is real. It's a special feeling to be able to step back into that clubhouse and put this uniform on again and be considered a Kansas City Royal once again.

Winning helps, but it’s nice to see these former players wanting to be around. Credit to Picollo and his staff and Quatraro and his for being welcoming. Of course, Picollo was instrumental in the development of a lot of those key players of the championship years, but still…the effort has to be made. The Royals have a really strong history, even with a handful of 100-loss seasons thrown in between the titles. It’s all part of a concerted effort to connect to the recent history. James Shields, Joakim Soria and Edinson Volquez have all been in camp this spring.

As for the ceremony itself, we all know Moustakas is an emotional guy. If you’re planning on attending you should probably bring tissues.

I saw a LoCain do his and I was still playing and I was crying watching him do his so I can't imagine it's going to be much different than that…hopefully I don't cry too much but it's going to be amazing.

Congrats to Moose.