10 big KC Royals questions after first 10 games

Does Michael Massey still own the second base job?

Absolutely. Massey started the season on the Injured List and is on a rehab assignment at Double-A Northwest Arkansas, where he's played once and gone 0-for-4. The Royals aren't about to take Massey's job away and give it to Adam Frazier or Nick Loftin this soon — Massey will be back at second when the club deems him ready, which could be as early as Tuesday when KC opens a three-game home series with the Astros.

Who will be first up from the minor leagues?

This is a tough one. Picking Michael Massey doesn't count — he's in the minors only to rehab the back injury he suffered in spring training. It won't be a starting pitcher unless injury befalls one of the current rotation members. And although Vinnie Pasquantino (.121) and Hunter Renfroe (.138) are struggling, it's a bit early to replace an everyday position player, and Nick Pratto, a minor leaguer who could step in for either, has cooled to .250 after a fast start at Triple-A Omaha.

That leaves the still-shaky bullpen. A leading candidate to lend it some help could be Walter Pennington who, after striking out 16 and surrendering only one run in 7.1 Cactus League innings, was the winning pitcher for Triple-A Omaha Sunday and boasts 10 strikeouts in seven scoreless innings.

Who's the Royals' biggest disappointment?

Will Smith is a strong candidate. Adam Frazier would have been a front-runner had he not started hitting a bit — he was batting just .200 when the Royals left Baltimore Wednesday but raised that average 50 points by going 2-for-5 in the just-completed four-game series with the White Sox.

So who is the most disappointing Royal so far? Hunter Renfroe, to be sure. After homering for the first time and collecting his first two Royal RBI Sunday, he's still slashing only .138/.167/.241 and has fanned 10 times in 29 at-bats.

And the final questions...