Nick

Loftin

Even though Loftin has been great since day one this season, the Royals didn’t give him a single at-bat during his three-day callup last week. He’s batting .297/.443/.485 with eight steals in eight attempts for Omaha. Royals second basemen are at .203/.234/.266 for the year.

Loftin was called up with Tyler Tolbert landing on the bereavement list, but with Tolbert back, Loftin will return to Triple-A.

Loftin heads to the big leagues prior to Sunday’s series finale against the Astros with Tyler Tolbert landing on the bereavement list. The 26-year-old has gotten off to an excellent start at the Triple-A level and might be able to stick around past the next few days.

Loftin should have made the Royals as a bench guy over Cavan Biggio, and it’s really hard to understand why he’s not up now, given that he’s batting .328/.511/.493 with six steals in six attempts through 20 games for Omaha. The Royals should give him a look at third base and move Maikel Garcia to second.

The 26-year-old had a solid spring, going 13-for-34 (.382) with five RBI in 44 plate appearances. Loftin was good for the Royals at Triple-A last season, but he doesn’t have the power or speed to move the needle much for fantasy managers. He also doesn’t provide as much defensive versatility as Cavan Biggio, who made the team.

Loftin has greatly improved his chances of claiming a spot on the Royals bench by hitting .444/.589/.600 in 34 plate appearances. The biggest danger he might face would probably be an outside addition; the Royals recently tried to add Adam Duvall and could keep looking for another bat.

Loftin will take a seat as a precaution for Sunday’s tilt. The 26-year-old is battling for a roster spot with the Royals, but assuming this is just precautionary, there’ll be plenty of time for him to be ready for the regular season.

Loftin opened the scoring in the ballgame with a two-out, two-run single off of Nathan Eovaldi in the second inning. He also led off the fifth inning with a single but wound up stranded at second base. Loftin is in big league camp fighting for a bench spot on the club’s Opening Day roster, so making a strong first impression on Friday seems like a good first step in achieving that goal.

If Gurriel is forced to the IL, the Royals presumably would recall Nick Loftin, who probably ought to be with the team anyway. The team would likely often use Freddy Fermin at catcher and Salvador Perez at first base.

The Royals are bringing up a host of new players, so Loftin is getting the boot from the active roster. The 25-year-old could be back before the end of the season, but he hasn’t played well enough to justify consideration even if it takes place.