The Royals' current reality and, by extension, their future, is full of problems.
The good news _ some are good problems.
The bad news _ many are bad problems.
Good problem: Brady Singer has been, probably, the Royals' best pitcher in summer camp. The Royals used the No. 18 overall draft pick on him two years ago hoping they'd see exactly what they've seen. His fastball and slider are strong, his changeup improving, his control superb, his demeanor advanced.
He's pitched so well the Royals announced he will start their second game of the season, Saturday at Cleveland.
Bad problem: He should've been competing for the fifth spot in their rotation, but two of the team's top three starters could be out a few more weeks recovering from COVID-19 and Mike Montgomery has struggled.
Also, Jesse Hahn _ who had been pitching pretty well, and figured to be helpful as an opener _ is out for an undetermined period of time after the unexpected death of his mother.
Good problem: Bobby Witt Jr. has performed fabulously. He's been even better than the scouting reports that convinced the Royals to take him No. 2 overall last summer. His plate appearances are smart and controlled. Last spring, he was hitting against high schoolers. Now, he's taking good swings and minding the strike zone against successful big-leaguers.
Bad problem: A kid who just turned 20 last month and whose only professional experience is in rookie ball and two forms of spring training (one super-weird) shouldn't stand out as your top performer, even across small sample sizes.
Good problem: Witt Jr. is slowly pushing his way closer to the big-league team. The Royals had wanted him to have a full year in the minor leagues before even considering the question, but nobody will have that luxury in 2020. Bill Fischer, a longtime coach and advisor for the Royals, used to say Believe what you see, not what you think.
Well, what we see so far is a big-leaguer. We'll get to the bad part of this problem later.
Bad problem: Hunter Dozier tested positive for COVID-19, the Royals' seventh confirmed case, which is believed to be among the most known cases for one team in baseball. The players testing positive have so far reported no or mild symptoms, but the club is essentially trying to navigate two tightropes simultaneously without a safety net.
The Royals must protect against an outbreak that would force them to shut down temporarily, or worse, and they must attempt to field a competitive team.
Sometimes it's easy to lose track of how weird what's now normal is.
Good problem: The current CBA allows teams to control homegrown players for nearly seven years if they maximize service-time rules. The Royals, assuming he's not demoted for performance reasons, now stand to have Singer for the normal equivalent of less than 5 { seasons before he hits free agency.
They can't do anything about a shortened season, obviously, but they would need to keep him off the active roster for just six days to control him for an extra year on the back end. The strategy is ethically ambiguous, you could say, but teams have done worse.
Putting Singer on the opening day roster fits how the Royals have always operated, though. They do what's best for the player, even if there are potentially negative financial impacts for the team.
They did this with Alex Gordon, putting him on the 2007 opening day roster when a few more weeks in the minors would've guaranteed an extra season of club control. They also did it with Eric Hosmer, promoting him to the big leagues in May 2011 when a few more weeks in the minors would've prevented him from attaining so-called Super 2 status, saving the team millions in arbitration.
This has been central to what the Royals have been since Moore was hired 14 years ago. They do not cut corners, and they do not game the system. When a top prospect is ready, he plays, and not a day later.
That's part of what will insulate them from any questions about whether they are manipulating Witt Jr.'s service time. In a different organization _ the Cubs, for instance, if we're naming names _ those questions would be asked.
But here, we know the Royals don't make those decisions, even if a clear case can be made that they should.
Absolutes don't exist, especially this year, but Witt Jr. will almost certainly spend the entire season in what is essentially extended spring training. The Royals could put him in a to-be-determined developmental league this fall, and then invite him to big-league camp in 2021.
From there, he would probably begin in Class A but do so with the talent and track record of a fast mover. A big-league debut next season _ sometime near his 21st birthday, perhaps _ is possible.
And that's when the Royals hope more of these good problems will come, and some of the bad problems will phase out.
By then, Singer will have hopefully established the beginning of a major-league career. Kris Bubic will likely debut this summer, too. Perhaps Jackson Kowar, and others.
The Royals have help on the way. That help is starting to force its way into their big-league decisions, which is a good thing. But at least for now, they're going to deal with more bad problems before they benefit from the good ones.
