Checking in on Royals' top camp battles

This story was excerpted from Anne Rogers’ Royals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Decisions, decisions, decisions.

We’re less than three weeks away from Opening Day, and rosters are starting to be trimmed down as workloads increase and roles begin to be established. Spring Training stats always come with a caveat because it’s, well, spring. The games and results don’t matter as much as getting ready for the season.

“We’re not going to rely solely on what they do in Spring Training games,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “That’s not fair to anybody on the positive or negative side. You use your whole body of work, your stuff and your projectability. Performance is part of that puzzle, but it’s definitely not the whole thing.”

But at every turn, the Royals have pointed out all the competition in camp. Some roster battles must be won. So here are three players at least forcing their way into the roster conversation this spring:

RHP Alec Marsh

Marsh’s composure, confidence and stuff all look like they belong in the Major Leagues. Entering Sunday’s outing, when he’s slated for three innings, Marsh had allowed one run on four hits in seven innings (three games) this spring.

He’s hitting upper-90s consistently, his breaking balls look as sharp as they’ve been and his delivery looks much smoother and more repeatable than it has in the past.

Most important, he’s throwing strikes and being efficient. On Tuesday, he needed only approximately 30 pitches in three innings, so he then threw some extra pitches in the bullpen.

There is a noticeable difference in Marsh’s mentality on the mound when it comes to filling up the zone. His experience as a rookie in 2023 has something to do with that, when he posted a 5.69 ERA in 17 games (eight starts).

“The mentality change for me was just, last year, I was really ‘place-y’ with balls,” Marsh said. “I thought I had to be perfect with things. I have better command when I’m ahead in counts. Let’s go down the guy’s throat on the first pitch, get ahead and then go from there. Take it one pitch at a time and control what I can control. It’s freed a lot of stuff up, mentally, for me to have that simple mindset.”

How does Marsh fit on the 2024 Royals? He’s building up as a starter, but he could be in a variety of roles if he’s on the outside looking in at the five-man rotation. He could be used in long relief. The Royals could use an opener for him, like they did last year.

As 610 Sports Radio’s Josh Vernier put it on his most recent “All Things Vern” show from Surprise, Marsh’s “name is coming out of the mouths of a lot of decision-makers.”

1B Nick Pratto

Finally healthy after two years of fighting through hip and groin injuries, Pratto feels like himself again – and he’s hitting like it. He has a 1.032 OPS in seven games (19 at-bats) with just three strikeouts this spring, and he’s looked much more aggressive in the zone than last year, when he had a 22% called strike rate. That was the 10th-highest mark among 293 players with at least 300 plate appearances.

“I felt like I was hitting without a backside for a long time,” Pratto said. “Swinging at pitches I don’t normally swing at, having to sell out to certain areas. Taking balls I don’t normally take because I wasn’t able to control my body.

“I was playing very careful and I didn’t like playing that way. … It’s tough to look in the mirror and be like, ‘That’s what I have today,’ but you’ve got to get out there.”

Pratto brings elite defense to first base, but the Royals already have a lefty first baseman in Vinnie Pasquantino. It remains to be seen if and where Pratto fits, but the way he’s looked in the box has brought up some interesting debates in camp.

“I’m trying not to set expectations,” Pratto said. “I’m enjoying playing at the speed I’m used to playing. It was tough last year. It was like trying to ride a bike with a flat tire. You’re not getting very far.”

LHP Angel Zerpa

If the Royals are emphasizing strike-throwers on their pitching staff this year, Zerpa has done that his whole career. Where things might be different this year is with his swing-and-miss. Last year, Zerpa registered an 8.8% swinging strike rate, and while missing bats isn’t everything, Zerpa does need to be effective in the zone.

In three innings against Seattle this past Wednesday, Zerpa threw 30 of his 40 pitches for strikes, with five strikeouts.

“I know they’ve been working on getting some tilt on the breaking ball and working both sides of the plate,” Quatraro said. “He’s always liked to throw in to righties, but getting the changeup to fade away. So he is continuing to grow.”

Zerpa has a calm presence on the mound and can be extremely versatile for the Royals, especially because he’s shown the propensity to appear in long relief, then be available a short time later.