Royals Rumblings - News for March 20, 2017

Royals Rumblings - News for March 20, 2017

There doesn’t appear to be a favorite for the fifth starting job in the rotation.

A reporter had lobbed a question concerning the state of the competition for the Royals’ fifth starter role — a battle that, publicly at least, involves Nathan Karns, Travis Wood and Chris Young. Yost digested the question for a moment and sought to bat it away.

No, he said, there was no separation between the three pitchers.

It is easy, of course, to question the sincerity of this posture. Before spring training even begins, teams will meticulously map out roster plans and contingencies. When a competition is deemed open, there is often an internal favorite. But as the Royals prepare for the stretch run of camp, no pitcher has emerged as a clear-cut favorite to found out the rotation, at least based on spring performance.

And that’s fine with Yost.

“Even if I did (see separation),” Yost said. “I wouldn’t tell you two weeks out.”

Rustin Dodd writes that Alex Gordon could be an option for leadoff this year.

"We haven’t even begun to settle on a lineup yet," Yost said on Saturday morning.

The Royals will conduct internal meetings to discuss the lineup and other roster questions in the coming weeks, Yost said. But for now, he remains noncommittal about how the batting order might look when the club opens the season against the Minnesota Twins on April 3.

"We do it in a lot of different ways," Yost said. "We get input from our analytical people. We get input from our eyes. We get input from the coaches before we sit down and decide as a group what our best lineup is going to be."

Christian Colon has been showing his versatility

"Every spring I try to do the best I can and help the team win," Colon said before Saturday's 4-4 tie with the Indians. "But this one's a little different just because of the no options and you've got to make the team. I just want to be part of this group, part of the 25, and help the Kansas City Royals get back to the postseason.".

The Royals released veteran reliever Brandon League from camp on Sunday, and traded first baseman Brandon Dulin to the White Sox for cash considerations. Dulin, a Lee’s Summit native, was a 24-year old first baseman who suffered a collapsed lung last year, and had yet to play above low A ball.

Lee Judge writes about clutch hitting.

Kyle and Bradley Zimmer could soon be facing each other in the Central Division.

A lot of big deals signed last winter are already looking very bad.

The evolution of the MLB uniform.

Who are the top college baseball players by predictive stats?

Every fan behind Adam Jones was thrilled about his catch in the World Baseball Classic except this guy.

Why fantasy baseball remains a dad-friendly zone.

Where are the buzzer-beaters in March Madness?

Sporting Kansas City scores their first goal of the year, and wins their first match of the year.

Uber’s President quits after numerous controversies.

Meet the 22-year old Canadian who helped Russian hackers get into Yahoo!

A missing Oxford comma could cost a Maine trucking company millions.

Your song of the day is Chuck Berry with Johnny B. Goode.