With lower than a month till the primary spring coaching sport, the clock is ticking for the Kansas Metropolis Royals to finalize their roster down in Shock, Arizona. The present roster contains 63 gamers heading to big-league camp, with lots of them well-known to followers. Bobby Witt Jr., Cole Ragans, and Salvador Perez are among the many established names whose contributions are effectively understood.
But it surely’s the much less acquainted gamers that make spring coaching thrilling—an opportunity to catch prospects like Jac Caglianone and Blake Mitchell in motion, or to see how new 40-man additions corresponding to Noah Cameron and Luinder Avila carry out. Then there are gamers in that grey space between prospect standing and organizational depth, like shortstop Cam Devanney.
In case you are an avid watcher of the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers, you noticed loads of Devanney this previous season. It’s unimaginable to place collectively a spotlight reel of their unbelievable season with out Devanney popping in. Whether or not it was within the discipline or on the plate, the Elon College product had a number of moments that outlined the 2024 marketing campaign.
You check out his observe document, and you’d suppose it is a participant Kansas Metropolis would have seen within the majors final yr. A .254/.336/.445 slash line, with 19 house runs, at a premium place? Devanney may have been a lift to many organizations, and Kansas Metropolis acquired him for the low value of Taylor Clarke.
Devanney was a mainstay of Omaha’s lineup, enjoying in a career-high 136 video games for the Storm Chasers. He made 122 begins at shortstop in that span, splitting the remaining time at both second or third base. His glove performs effectively in any respect three positions, with available highlights all through his minor-league profession.
Devanney has been an above-average hitter in every of his three Triple-A seasons, posting a 102 wRC+ with the Storm Chasers final yr. There are some regarding metrics, corresponding to his strikeout price spiking to 26.0% or his 16.2% swinging strike price. That price was the fifth worst within the Worldwide League, main all certified Storm Chasers by a large margin. And that isn’t contemplating his team-leading 32.5% whiff price on the plate. His house run whole and comparatively good slash line present there are some promising outcomes, however the course of is missing. He took a number of steps again in his plate method in comparison with his 2023 season with the Nashville Sounds.
Equally, there are some positives to glean about Devanney’s time on the plate. He had career-bests in common exit velocity, hard-hit price, and barrels per plate look. Once more, the outcomes the place there however the course of was missing.
However, there may be legitimate motive to marvel why followers didn’t see Devanney within the present final season or hear about him knocking on the door. The actual fact stays that Kansas Metropolis’s most useful participant and iron man – Bobby Witt Jr. – performs the identical place as Devanney. Witt not often took an inning off this previous season, for good motive and good well being. There was no position ready for Devanney in Kansas Metropolis, not one which an Adam Frazier or Garrett Hampson couldn’t fill in a pinch.
However neither a type of males is ready for the Royals in Shock. Have a look at the Royals organizational depth chart; who’s the subsequent man up at shortstop that exists on the 40-man roster? It might’t be Maikel Garcia, who seems to be the Royals Opening Day third baseman as soon as once more. Nick Loftin hasn’t performed that place in additional than two years. That leaves Braden Shewmake, a participant Kansas Metropolis picked up on waivers from the Chicago White Sox.
Shewmake, a former first-round choose in his personal proper, simply hasn’t caught on the MLB degree. He has 31 video games in The Present for 2 totally different organizations in two seasons, being value -0.9 fWAR and carrying a -20 wRC+ in that restricted motion. Is that the form of participant Kansas Metropolis ought to retain after a middling spring coaching, or ought to it flip to Devanney? That assumes Devanney has a spring coaching efficiency worthy of consideration for that 40-man roster spot, pushing Shewmake out of the image and putting himself subsequent in line behind Witt.
At 27 years previous, Devanney is the third-oldest non-roster invitee in Royals camp, however age shouldn’t issue into the choice. His competitors—Shewmake, Tyler Tolbert, and Loftin—are all of comparable age, and the selection ought to come all the way down to efficiency. Devanney has already confirmed his potential to excel at Triple-A. Now, he has a possibility to reveal that he deserves to be subsequent in line behind Witt.
The arid Arizona air will set the stage for Devanney to point out whether or not he has what it takes to interrupt by way of and declare a task with the Royals. Spring coaching isn’t nearly getting ready for the season—it’s about proving who’s prepared for the subsequent step. For Devanney, the time to show his mettle is now.
