Springtraining Gamethread VI: Royals at Giants

Returned old friend Mike Minor takes the mound against old friend Johnny Cueto

The first week of Spring Training baseball comes to a close this week as the Royals take on the Giants in Scottsdale, Arizona. Two guys who used to pitch for the Royals will take the mound. One, Johnny Cueto, will pitch for the other team. The other, Mike Minor, has rejoined the boys in blue and will debut his Kansas City Royals uniform for the second time. Royals manager Mike Matheny indicated that Kris Bubic will also pitch but we’re sure to see some relievers mixed in as well.

Ryan O’Hearn will see his fourth game of the Cactus League. He’s currently leading the team with a pair of dingers. This marks the third year in a row that the lefty slugger has had success in the dry air of Spring Training. Perhaps, if things don’t work out in KC, the Royals could consider trading him to the Diamondbacks.

Hanser Alberto will also see action in his fourth game, playing shortstop while Adalberto Mondesi continues to recover from a foot injury from earlier in camp. Alberto is trying to make the roster as a utility player though many have wondered if he could end up being the starting second baseman. So far Nicky Lopez has outplayed him, but four-game and Spring Training sample sizes should always come with a metric ton of salt on their own. Put them together and they should probably be ignored entirely.

Today’s game will not be televised but can be heard both on mlb.com and 610 AM in Kansas City.

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