Taking a look at early favorites in Royals’ camp battles
By BOB DUTTON
The Kansas City Star
TUCSON, Ariz. | Early favorites are already emerging in camp battles as the Royals enter the second week of their Cactus League schedule.
John Bale is quickly proving to be a legitimate rotation candidate after turning in two strong starts. Luke Hochevar is raising eyebrows by showing the sort of stuff a No. 1 overall draft pick is supposed to possess.
And who will be that one guy — there always seems to be one — to emerge from the fringe and make the roster? Maybe an outfielder such as Damon Hollins, Mitch Maier or Justin Huber.
“Right now,” manager Trey Hillman said, “we’ve got the brewing of some good difficult decisions to make.”
Or maybe not. Bale is threatening to put a quick end to what projected as a fierce battle for the rotation’s final opening. He struck out four Monday while rolling through three hitless innings against the White Sox.
“All four strikeouts were on off-speed pitches,” Bale said. “Two were on change-ups, and two were on breaking balls. It’s fun getting strikeouts on fastballs, but when you can put your off-speed pitches where you want them, and get guys off-balance, that’s a good thing, too.”
Bale, 33, lost 20 pounds in the offseason after the Royals made it clear they viewed him as a possible starter. The club wanted to explore every possibility of including a lefty in its rotation and liked his power arm and versatile arsenal.
“I told him, ‘Let’s see what you can do,’ ” pitching coach Bob McClure said. “Let’s see if you can repeat your delivery and slow it down a little bit. And let’s see what happens.”
Bale hasn’t pitched as a starter since 2004 with Hiroshima in Japan’s Central League, but early returns are beyond encouraging.
“Coming out of the bullpen last year,” catcher John Buck said, “he just threw a lot of power stuff. He can still reach back and do that when he needs to, but he’s commanding the ball a little more. He’s showing some finesse stuff.
“With that combination, you can see what he can do.”
Bale rates a clear nod, at this point, over two other lefties in the mix. Jorge De La Rosa struggled Monday when he yielded five runs in 1 1/3 innings, and veteran Mike Maroth has been slowed by tightness in his shoulder.
“John has been great,” Hillman said. “It’s just going to be a matter whether we see him continue to build endurance and continue to pitch like he did (Monday).”
Hochevar has been just as dominant in retiring 12 of 13 batters in a pair of two-inning relief appearances, which just might put him on pace to meet Hillman’s earlier criterion for making the club — that his performance “would have to be above and beyond” that of more experienced candidates.
“Obviously, you like the package with the stuff,” Hillman said. “But on top of that, I like the way he’s concentrated pitch to pitch, focused and carried himself. I’ve seen more than I anticipated with his experience at the major-league level.”
Hillman also spiked a growing belief that Hochevar isn’t a candidate for the rotation.
“We’ve always had him in consideration as a starter,” Hillman said. “We did say that if he didn’t fit into a starting role that it’s entirely possible that he could fit as a reliever.”
The roster surprise, if there is one, figures to be an outfielder. The Royals need a short-term replacement for Jose Guillen, who faces a 15-day suspension at the season’s outset for violating baseball’s drug policy.
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To reach Bob Dutton, Royals reporter for The Star, call 816-234-4352 or send e-mail to bdutton@kcstar.com
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