Lyles exits with back tightness; Singer's command in control

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Starter Jordan Lyles left Tuesday’s non-Cactus League exhibition game against the Rangers with mild lower back tightness, and now the Royals are hoping they don’t have to dip into their depth this early in Spring Training.

Manager Matt Quatraro said the Royals will reevaluate Lyles on Wednesday morning after a full night of rest. Hours after Lyles’ exit, Quatraro said the 33-year-old was feeling better as he left the complex for the day. There won’t be any imaging taken at this point.

Lyles was slated for three innings in the “B” game, but he only faced four batters and got one out while allowing a run with two walks. After fielding a soft grounder back to him, Lyles grimaced in pain. He walked off on his own and headed back to the Royals’ complex.

“He was walking around better, and he felt better when he left,” Quatraro said, adding that the tightness didn’t occur on the fielding play; Lyles’ back got “stiffer” as he continued to pitch.

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The Royals don’t seem too concerned yet about Lyles’ mild injury, but situations like this are why they have 10 pitchers building up as starters this spring. Daniel Lynch IV is Lyles’ toughest competitor for the fifth rotation spot, but three vying for a roster spot pitched Tuesday, including Jonathan Bowlan and Anthony Veneziano in the “B” game.

Bowlan allowed two earned runs on five hits with five strikeouts in three innings. Veneziano tossed three innings of one-run ball with five strikeouts.

“They threw the ball exceptionally well,” Quatraro said. “They looked sharp. Their velo looked like it was up. It was exciting.”

Alec Marsh followed suit in the Royals’ 4-0 win over the Cubs at Surprise Stadium on Tuesday night, throwing three scoreless innings with one hit and four strikeouts. He flashed 97 mph and made hitters look silly with his offspeed stuff. A strong spring from the 25-year-old could earn him a spot on the pitching staff -- as a reliever, in a hybrid role or even as a starter depending on how the rest of spring shakes out.

All Marsh is focused on, though? Strikes. A lot of them.

On Tuesday, he was so efficient in three innings that Marsh needed to finish throwing in the bullpen to reach his allotted pitch count for the day.

“I don’t think I did that once last year,” Marsh said. “That’s a positive. That’s been a huge goal this offseason. Seeing it this early and seeing the success is awesome, knowing that I can do it. The things that I’m doing now are going to allow me to go deeper in games and help us out a lot more.”

Singer’s movement in the right place

The storyline around Brady Singer this spring is the addition of a four-seam fastball and sweeper to his repertoire. The goal in each start, beyond building up his pitch count, will be centered around mixing those pitches in.

Tuesday’s three scoreless innings against the Cubs were a step in the right direction.

“I tried to use the four-seam a little bit more tonight,” Singer said. “And felt like I had better command of it than I did last time. Sweeper was really good. Got some swing-and-miss on that. Was able to locate the regular slider as well.”

Singer struck out three and allowed one hit but otherwise kept the Cubs quiet. In his first start of the spring, he wasn’t thrilled with his four-seam command, but he was able to lower the pitch in the strike zone Tuesday for better results.

“It was more of a sight thing,” Singer said. “The pitch is metrically where I want it, still trying to gain as much vert as I can. But aiming a little bit lower with the sight was a big thing, and I was able to use it better tonight.”

Organization awards

The Royals held their annual Minor League awards ceremony on Tuesday afternoon, honoring players throughout their farm system for the 2023 season. Along with honoring their English Language program graduates, the Royals recognized the following recipients:

Matt Minker Award (Minor League affiliate employee): Surprise Stadium assistant director of sports and tourism Travis Ashby

Dick Howser Award (player development employee): Arizona Complex League hitting coach Ramón Castro

Carlos Fortuna Award (player dedicated to improving his English on and off the field): Cruz Noriega

They also recognized a player and pitcher of the year for each affiliate:

Triple-A Omaha: UTIL Nick Loftin, LHP Anthony Veneziano

Double-A Northwest Arkansas: SS/OF Tyler Tolbert, RHP Chandler Champlain

High-A Quad Cities: 3B Cayden Wallace, RHP Mason Barnett

Single-A Columbia: 1B Brett Squires, LHP Frank Mozzicato

ACL: OF Erick Torres, RHP Felix Arronde

DSL: C Ramón Ramirez, LHP Victor Pena