\tJac Caglianone<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tCaglianone has started hot this spring with a .400 average and a 1.283 OPS. He is starting to show signs of increased plate discipline with three walks in his four plate appearances on Saturday against the Rockies. With below average walk and chase rates last season, already having five walks is a good sign for Caglianone\u2019s plate discipline heading into the 2026 season.\n<\/p>\n \n\tHe is also seeing the ball well and hitting it hard when he makes contact. Caglianone has five hard-hit balls in his last two games, including a 120.2 mph double on Friday against the Diamondbacks. For perspective, only two balls were hit harder in all of MLB last season. If Caglianone can sustain his excellent batted ball skills with an improvement in plate discipline, then he is showing the traits of a true middle-of-the-order bat.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \tMichael Massey<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tMassey is also off to a hot start with a Spring batting average so far of .538 and an OPS of 1.446. He has successfully reached base five times in his last two appearances while only striking out once. His average exit velocity in those two games was 92.26 mph, which is up from his average exit velocity of 87.5 mph last season.\n<\/p>\n \n\tMassey is positioning himself for a larger share of playing time at second base over Jonathan India<\/a>, who is so far not off to a great start this spring<\/a>. If he can return to his 2024 form, which was cut short by injury<\/a>, he will make manager Matt Quatraro<\/a> face a tough decision about who to give the majority of the innings at second base.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \tCole Ragans<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tRagans made his first appearance of spring on Saturday against the Rockies, pitching two innings with three strikeouts while only allowing one hit and one hit batter. The Rockies hitters also struggled to make contact with Ragans, inducing 11 whiffs in his two innings. He allowed some hard hits when the batters were able to make contact with three hard hits in his four batted balls.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tHis fastball averaged 97.0 mph and topped off at 98 mph, which is definitely a positive sign following his injuries last season. His pitch mix appeared balanced, with both his slider and changeup also grading well with Stuff+ over 100. His only pitch that did not grade well was his knuckle curve, which he only threw twice and allowed his lone single on. With this level of performance, Ragans showed that he should be the ace of this rotation if he can stay healthy.\n<\/p>\n \n\t \tWho\u2019s Not?\u00a0\ud83e\uddca\u00a0<\/p>\n \tCarlos Estevez<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tEstevez showed worrying signs in his second appearance this spring. He allowed two hits, one of which was a home run, and two earned runs in one inning against the Athletics on Friday. Including his first appearance on Tuesday, he has allowed four earned runs on four hits (three home runs) and eight hard-hit balls. Opposing batters are squaring up the ball at an alarming rate against Estevez.\n<\/p>\n \n\tEstevez has also yet to throw a pitch faster than 89 mph, which is a very worrying sign from the player whom everyone had locked in as the closer at the end of the Royals\u2019 bullpen. Statcast data shows that Estevez has not yet thrown a fastball this spring, but reports indicate that his fastball is registering as a changeup due to its lower velocity so far. In previous seasons, his fastball has needed time to ramp up, but these are still worrying measurements. The Royals will certainly hope that this is a case of ramping up rather than regression. If his fastball velocity does not increase, then the Royals will have reason to worry<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \n\t \tIsaac Collins<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tCollins got his first hit, a double, on Sunday against the Brewers, ending an 0-8 spell with four strikeouts. His batted balls have also not been particularly hard-hit, with an average exit velocity of 87.26 mph, a slight drop-off from his 88.8 mph average in 2025.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThere is still plenty of time for Collins to hit his stride this spring. Being slated to be the starting left fielder after being traded this offseason, there will be pressure to produce, since the position was a major weakness for the Royals last season.\n<\/p>\n \n\tCollins\u2019 start this spring was delayed since he received injections in both knees this offseason to address patella tendinitis that he was dealing with at the end of last year<\/a>. While there is plenty of time this spring for Collins to hit his stride, his fitness will be something to keep an eye on moving forward.\n<\/p>\n![\"ragans.png\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ragans.png.b89733cd1bc2f86cb66f22d5a2013224.png\"\/)
\n<\/p>\n![\"estevez.png\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/estevez.png.1f96c1fbdb46686674468a80707f1f8c.png\"\/)
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