Royals' twist on PFPs ¡ ranks pitchers by athleticism?
Anne Rogers
@anne__rogersSURPRISE, Ariz. -- Spring Training is long and the days can get repetitive, especially with the tediousness of pitchers' fielding practice.
But on the Royals¡¯ backfields, the competition is fierce as they go through PFPs, all in an attempt to crown the best athlete on the pitching staff.
For the second consecutive spring, Royals pitching coaches put together fielding competitions to power rank the best athletes on the staff. Bullpen coach Mitch Stetter created a preseason athlete power ranking list with plenty of background research and stats, and as the competitions played out, the rankings changed.
Debates are frequent. Friendly trash talking is encouraged.
But at the end of the day, it¡¯s what you do on the field that matters.
¡°Guys like to compete,¡± Stetter said. ¡°Nobody wants to be last. And nobody really wants to be second. It gives the guys something to shoot for when they¡¯re doing PFPs.¡±
Before Cactus League games started, every PFP drill the Royals had during their morning workouts usually featured a competition. One included a net set up at first base with nine pockets in it, and pitchers were instructed to hit their target on pickoff throws. If a ball landed in the top middle box, that was three points. The other boxes were worth two points. Missing the net entirely meant zero points and some light-hearted jeers.
Covering first, fielding bunts on the first-base side and third-base side, and even setting up at shortstop or second base to turn double plays and get used to different arm angles were all turned into competitions.
Some weren¡¯t really related to fielding, just keeping the pitchers athletic, like when they had to field a ball and then shoot it into a bucket behind the mound. Bonus points were added if they did a hook shot. Another was using a fungo bat and seeing who could hit a ball closest to a cone set up in the shortstop area.
The winner of each event would get the most points. Points could be added or deducted based on what coaches saw, if a player made a particularly good play or a dreaded error.
¡°I enjoyed it,¡± reliever Lucas Erceg said. ¡°I think it added an extra level of competitive nature to the drills. Made it more game-like. The coaching staff seems to involve that competition aspect into everything, including some bullpens. That added ¡®oomph¡¯ is what allows us to really bear down and have that focus.¡±
Some competitions are still ongoing, but as of late last week, the Royals had crowned reliever Taylor Clarke as the best athlete by winning six competitions. He upset Seth Lugo, who just so happened to win a Gold Glove for the first time in his career after winning the Royals¡¯ inaugural PFP competition last season (and who¡¯s to say that doesn¡¯t directly correlate?).
¡°It¡¯s pretty cool, especially with Lugo coming off a Gold Glove year,¡± Clarke said. ¡°They do a good job of making all the monotonous stuff fun and a competition.¡±
Lugo added with a grin: ¡°Credit to him. ¡ As pitchers, we¡¯re strictly defenders, right? We put a lot of emphasis on it last year in Spring Training, but all throughout the season, they had competitions going for fielding. As a whole, we¡¯ve really focused on it.¡±
Erceg came in third place, followed by Michael Lorenzen in fourth and Chris Stratton rounding out the top five.
¡°For an old man, I¡¯m not too upset about it,¡± Stratton, 34, said.
It¡¯s a fun thing to get players to laugh and break up the day, but it does serve a purpose: Royals pitchers know that fielding their position well -- making the routine plays at first, fielding bunts, holding runners -- does matter throughout the season.
In 2024, the Royals as a team ranked first in pitcher defensive runs saved with 21, seven more than Baltimore¡¯s 14.
¡°We¡¯re taking pride in that, showing guys what the expectations are going into this year as well,¡± Stetter said.
With help from their catchers, the 58 stolen bases Kansas City allowed last year were the fewest in the Majors, and it wasn¡¯t particularly close: Detroit ranked second with 96. Pittsburgh allowed the most with 154. And Royals pitchers were also first with 34 net bases prevented, according to Baseball Savant. The Padres were second at 21.
¡°It¡¯s something we talk about a lot,¡± Stratton said. ¡°We got in [the postseason] by one game last year. Those runs mean a ton. Our infield and outfield and our catchers are great. We have trust in those guys, and we¡¯ve got to do our part.¡±