Lynch, Royals Looking To Make Spring Statement vs. Mariners

The Kansas City Royals scored so many runs on Monday that they may have tapped into Tuesday's reserves.

In the Royals' 19-9 drubbing of the Cleveland Guardians, Kansas City had eight different players log at least one RBI. Six of them logged two or more. It was a rare offensive explosion in which just about everything was going right, and that was evident from the moment the club went up 7-0 after the first inning. As far as pitchers go, starter Zack Greinke ended up getting his first win of spring training by tossing 3-2/3 innings of six-hit, three-run ball. He struck out four in the process.

On Tuesday, the Royals are in Peoria, AZ, to square off against the Seattle Mariners. The hosts boast a 5-3-2 record this spring, while the visitors are 6-3-1 through 10 games. Heading into Tuesday's play, the Royals lead all spring training teams in batting average (.350), OBP (.410), SLG (.603) and OPS (1.013). They are also one of the top two teams in runs scored, and they'll look to keep that up against Seattle's pitching staff.

Here's how the Royals will line up in this afternoon's game:

Starting Pitchers

Kansas City: LHP Daniel Lynch (0-0, 6.75 ERA)
Seattle: RHP Logan Gilbert (0-0, 3.00 ERA)

Kansas City Royals Starting Lineup

Whit Merrifield (R) - RF
Bobby Witt Jr. (R) - 3B
Carlos Santana (S) - 1B
Ryan O'Hearn (L) - DH
Hunter Dozier (R) - LF
Adalberto Mondesi (S) - SS
Michael A. Taylor (R) - CF
Cam Gallagher (R) - C
Nicky Lopez (L) - 2B

Royals option Nick Pratto, MJ Melendez, others to Triple-A

With minor league camp breaking soon and rosters presumably being cut down across baseball, the Royals announced quite a few moves on Monday evening. Catcher Kale Emshoff, LHP Austin Cox, LHP Foster Griffin and RHP Jace Vines were reassigned to minor league camp. Infielder Maikel Garcia was sent to Double-A Northwest Arkansas. RHP Ronald Bolanos was optioned to Triple-A Omaha, but the most noteworthy moves of all were optioning first baseman Nick Pratto and catcher MJ Melendez to Omaha as well.

Both of the Royals' prized prospects experienced quite a bit of success in spring training before being optioned to Omaha. In 17 at-bats, Melendez posted a .412/.474/.647 line and recorded five RBIs. In 15 at-bats, Pratto hit .333 with a 1.212 OPS in 10 games. The Royals' farm system has had a very good start to the year and if Pratto or Melendez have anything to do or say about it, they won't be in the minor leagues for long once the MLB regular season begins.

I have a feeling that Melendez and Pratto's stays in Omaha will be temporary. /s

*How* temporary? That remains to be seen. Still perfectly in line for in-season debuts -- possibly early-season -- this doesn't really mean much, if anything at all. https://t.co/i1FrUNZK9i
— Jordan Foote (@footenoted) March 29, 2022

Arodys Vizcaíno aiming to get back on track?

Among the Royals' probable pitchers for Tuesday's game against Seattle, right-hander Arodys Vizcaíno is likely looking to improve upon his spring thus far. To this point, the 31-year-old veteran has lasted just two innings and has surrendered six hits and five runs to opposing hitters. In his last two outings, he's given up a home run in each of them. To call his start to spring training a rocky one may be an understatement.

Vizcaíno, whom the Royals signed back in January, hasn't pitched in the major leagues since 2019. Missing that level of competition for two seasons in a row can oftentimes derail a career, but offseason reports on him were positive. In order for him to make a lasting impact on the Royals and get his career back on track, he will need to first do the same with his spring. It's still plenty early for Vizcaíno to right the ship, and facing the Mariners' lineup presents a perfect opportunity to do so.

Follow Along

First Pitch: 3:10 p.m. CST
TV: N/A
Radio: Royals.com, MLB.com