KC Royals: Big names highlight Alternate Site roster

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(Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) /

The KC Royals assigned some familiar players to their Alternate Training Site.

A certain, but limited, sense of normalcy has returned to the KC Royals and the rest of major league baseball. A complete, uninterrupted spring training is in the books, a scheduled full regular season is underway, and at least some fans are in the stands.

But not all of last year’s pandemic-related alterations are gone. Health and safety protocols still abound, positive tests have hit at least two teams, and the delayed minor league season means clubs again have Alternate Training Sites.

The Royals’ Northwest Arkansas Double-A affiliate is hosting their ATS; over two dozen players are there playing intrasquad games and, occasionally, other ATS clubs. And there are some big, familiar names in KC’s camp.

Not surprisingly, players who’ll probably populate Triple-A Omaha’s roster dominate the Royals’ ATS, which is scheduled to close when minor league action resumes next month. Included in the group are two once-promising prospects who simply won’t give up, and the organization just won’t let go.

Yes, Bubba Starling and Eric Skoglund endure. Kansas City’s first round draft pick in 2011, Starling finally made it to the majors in 2019 and, with a .215 average, almost immediately disproved the notion he’d hit big league pitching, then erased almost all remaining doubt by hitting .169 last season. Despite batting .223 this spring, and the club’s talented group of younger outfielders, he’s mysteriously getting another chance.

Skoglund’s case is similar. He’s 2-11 with a 6.67 ERA in parts of three Kansas City seasons. Perhaps the Royals saw something in the 1.2 scoreless innings he threw in two spring games.

What other familiar names appear on the ATS roster?

The KC Royals are making sure five players remain close to Kauffman Stadium.

Springdale, Arkansas, site of the Royals’ ATS, isn’t that much farther from Kansas City than is Omaha, so it’s not surprising the club assigned five players it might need to the home of the Northwest Arkansas Naturals.

Kris Bubic is there. So are former KC regular Ryan O’Hearn, veteran big league starter Ervin Santana, and pitchers Tyler Zuber and Richard Lovelady.

Bubic started 10 games for KC as a rookie last season and, despite pitching well at times, finished 1-6; the eight runs and 14 hits he gave up in 7.1 innings this spring forced the club to send him down to solve the problems presently keeping him out of the rotation. If he’s progressing, Bubic will be on the short list when the Royals need a fifth starter, which should be late this week.

That Santana remains in the fold means Kansas City has some kind of plan for him, as does the team’s inclusion of him on the taxi squad for last week’s road trip. He’s done something to keep the Royals interested. He might get a shot at the fifth rotation spot when the time comes or could be a swing man.

O’Hearn’s struggles with major league pitching necessitated a trip back to the minors. The .195 he’s averaged for two straight seasons overshadows his strong 12-homer, .262/.353/.597 2018 rookie campaign, and .209 in 21 games this spring didn’t help. Some power is there; getting on base isn’t. But the KC Royals like O’Hearn, so he could receive a call if Carlos Santana gets hurt.

Lovelady knows the road between Omaha and Kansas City well and, as one of the club’s only lefthanders, may find his way back to The K sooner rather than later. His excellent 1-0, 2.08 spring didn’t convince the Royals to keep him (an 0-3, 7.71 big league record is troubling), but he’s a probable pick if someone in the KC bullpen falters.

Zuber spent all of last season with the Royals and was 1-2 with a 4.09 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 22 innings. Control issues (8.2 BB9) were troubling and continued this spring, which probably account for his presence in the minors. Like Lovelady, he’ll be one of the first called if the relief corps struggles.

A trio of promising KC Royals find themselves stuck in the minor leagues.

Talented Nick Heath, Edward Olivares and Kelvin Gutierrez are working at the Alternate Training Site and will find themselves in Omaha next month for one simple reason—there’s no room for them in Kansas City.

Until the Royals signed Michael A. Taylor, traded for Andrew Benintendi, and brought back Jarrod Dyson, and Kyle Isbel developed so rapidly, Heath’s name regularly popped up in discussions about the Kansas City outfield. And with good reason—he’s fast, has a serviceable glove, knows how to get on base and steal them (.348 OBP and 160 stolen bases in four minor league seasons), and can handle the bat. But the acquisitions of Taylor, Benintendi and Dyson, and Isbel’s promotion to the majors, mean the Royals have all the outfielders they need.

Will Heath remain blocked? Maybe not. Isbel started fast, but went 0-for-4 in Monday’s loss to the Angels and is hitless in five of his last six games; major league pitchers tend to catch up to rookies, and Isbel is trying to make the improbable jump from High-A to the big leagues. And Dyson isn’t likely to stay on the roster for the entire season. Time will tell.

The outfield logjam also traps Edward Olivares, who came to the Royals in last August’s trade that sent Trevor Rosenthal to San Diego. Olivares was a hit in KC, batting .274 with two homers in 18 games, and drove in four runs in nine spring contests. But he fell victim to the narrow outfield numbers game.

Gutierrez is also blocked by an offseason signing. His prospects to start this season as Kansas City’s backup infielder were exceptional until the Royals inked major league veteran (and more versatile) Hanser Alberto, who immediately became the favorite for the job. The club selected Alberto’s contract the day spring training ended. KC is high on Gutierrez, though, and expect him to be recalled if Alberto is injured or has to take over a position full time.

(Other notables at the ATS include pitching prospects Daniel Lynch and Jackson Kowar, catcher Sebastian Rivero and infielder-outfielder Erick Mejia).

Next. Royals are doing what they need to. dark

The KC Royals have some big names playing at their Alternate Training Site. They’ll be there until the minor league season begins.

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The KC Royals assigned some familiar players to their Alternate Training Site.

The KC Royals are making sure five players remain close to Kauffman Stadium.

A trio of promising KC Royals find themselves stuck in the minor leagues.

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