Pitchers are often ahead of the hitters in spring training. That looked to be the case on Friday as Royals pitchers combined for no walks in a 5-2 win over the Rangers in the spring training opener.
It is hard to say if performance in spring training means much, but it is better to perform well than not. Daniel Lynch IV can certainly feel good about his spring debut, pitching well right from the start by striking out Marcus Semien and Corey Seager in a 1-2-3 first inning. He would give up a pair of singles in the second but worked around it, retiring six of the eight batters he faced.
The Royals got on the board in the second off Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi thanks to some free baserunners. Eovaldi plunked Michael Massey and walked Nelson Velázquez, and both runners came home on a Nick Loftin ground ball to make it 2-0 Royals.
Lynch and Noah Cameron are long-shots for the starting rotation, but they made a strong opening claim to be considered today. Cameron is ranked among the top pitching prospects in the farm system and he showed why, pitching two shutout innings with just one hit allowed and one strikeout. Even more exciting, he showed some solid velocity that could make him an interesting X-factor this year if he can sustain it.
Noah Cameron sat around 92 mph last year and touched 96. Has pitched two innings today, averaging 95 and hitting 95.7 this man deserves a rotation spot in KC! pic.twitter.com/TmtuR8cndI
— Chris Clegg (@ChrisCleggMiLB) February 21, 2025
Royals 2024 first-round pick Jac Caglianone entered the game in the sixth inning, immediately applying the tag on Alan Trejo for a pickoff. He came up in the seventh against Rangers lefty Robby Ahlstrom and struck out on five pitches, then popped out in the eighth.
The Rangers tied it up on back-to-back-to-back hits off Austin Cox. But Tyler Gentry put the Royals back on top with a long three-run home run to make it 5-2.
Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino each went 0-for-3 while Nick Loftin went 2-for-2. Angel Zerpa, Taylor Clarke, Steven Cruz, and Anthony Simonelli each pitched a shutout inning of relief. We also saw our first ABS challenge calls, with the Rangers overturning a few balls for strikes.
The Royals are 1-0 in their pursuit of a Cactus League title. They’ll take on the high-spending Los Angeles Dodgers tomorrow afternoon in Glendale at 2:05 CT, which you can follow on 96.5 The Fan in Kansas City.
