Royals Notes: Soria, Francoeur, Montgomery, Lamb, Dutton

Joakim Soria is approaching his Spring Training regimen a bit differently than he might have had pitching coach Bob McClure still been with the team. Bob Dutton is reporting that McClure was going to have him build up to pitching 4-5 innings, but new pitching coach Dave Eiland is letting him take his own pace. Regardless, manager Ned Yost is saying he plans on using Soria for 4-5 outs as needed throughout the season.

If you're into closers, you might watch this development closely -- 2011 was Soria's worst season (and even then it was decent throughout), and the Royals signed Jonathan Broxton over the off-season. If Dayton Moore's idea of not pursuing additional starters proves to be ill-advised (*ahem*), we might see something shake loose around the deadline.

• Twitter / @rustindodd: Five #Royals in Baseball A ...
  Five #Royals in Baseball America's list of Top 100 prospects: 23. Montgomery; 24. Starling; 28. Myers; 68; Odorizzi; 84. Cuthbert
• Soria says he figured out problems late last season - Bob Dutton
  Royals pitching coach is letting Soria dictate his own regimen (McClure was going to have him build up to pitching 4-5 innings this spring), but manager Ned Yost insists Soria will be occasionally used for 4-5 outs when the situation calls for it.

• Let Us Calmly Discuss Jeff Francoeur's Performance in 2012 - Royals Review
  "So has Francoeur hit a new level as a hitter? Could he hit even better in 2012? He'll be 28 next season, so we can't rule it out. Perhaps it's merely something I've talked myself into, but I can't help but feeling Francoeur has more room to backslide than he has room to grow. A career year would feature the almost by necessity and axiomatic high/lucky BABIP and the additional power. So that gets us up to something like .300/.340/.500? Maybe a bit more. After last season, even a Francoeur agnostic would have to admit that could happen."
• All pitchers, catchers now in camp - KansasCity.com
  "Lamb, 21, underwent the procedure last June. His tentative timetable calls for him to return to the mound in July in extended spring training with the hope that he can pitch competitively over the final month of the minor-league season."
• Talking Royals with Bob Dutton - KansasCity.com
  The Star's Bob Dutton is in Arizona as pitchers and catchers report. He answered reader questions in a live chat Monday.