Royals Rundown: A Kansas City Royals Podcast · Kansas City Royals Baseball

Royals Rocking Cactus League, Start Road to Opening Day

·54 min·4 clips

The Royals have zero stolen bases but two caught stealings in spring training—what's going wrong?

Baseball returns, and so does the urge to read too much into everything. Jacob Milham opens the Royals Rundown welcome before Jeremy Greco gets pulled into a wintry batting-cage story about credits, pitches, and an arm that was not quite ready. The bit lands because it puts the show in the right spring-training mood: everyone wants real baseball back, but nobody should be building a case off the first few lineups. They keep tapping the brakes. The main question is whether a spring batting order means anything, especially when Kyle Isbell hits fifth or Jack Caglione appears higher than expected. Their answer is mostly common sense. Spring lineups are often about getting certain hitters certain looks, not leaking the Opening Day depth chart or announcing a secret power-bat promotion. Caglione batting second gets handled that way. The Royals want him seeing pitches and stacking at-bats before he leaves for the World Baseball Classic next week, so moving him up is not some mystery. It is just baseball math. Isbell gets the same treatment. Batting fifth yesterday does not suddenly turn him into a middle-order fixture; it means the club is spreading reps around before other players enter later. That is the lane for the episode: happy that Royals baseball is back, but allergic to turning every lineup card into a prophecy. Jacob gives the overreaction some grace, because of course fans are jumpy after the first real action. Jeremy keeps pulling the conversation back to process: get guys work, manage the schedule, and remember that spring games are partly about timing. The World Baseball Classic then becomes the next thing to watch, especially with Royals spring games not always easy to find. The close stays familiar, sending fans back to Royals Review, morning rumblings, and the comment-thread routine of following the team together.

As heard by us

Spring-training Royals talk that treats lineup choices as reps, not verdicts.

Spring training frames the episode, but the real draw is the reasoning behind the Royals' lineup choices. Jake Milham and Jeremy Greco move from batting-cage rust and snow into a plain question: why Jack Caglione is hitting higher and why Kyle Isbel is getting more chances.

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Want Royals spring-training chatter that stays smart without getting stiff?

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