Kansas City third baseman Mike Moustakas came into camp in great shape this year after dropping some pounds and is looking for big things his second year with the Royals. Moustakas slimmed down to 210 pounds during the off season while training at agent Scot Boras' training facility.
"I tried to get myself in better shape to play, tried to cut down some pounds and cut down the fat and add some muscle. That's kind of what we did and I feel pretty good about it,"
Moustakas struggled with the bat upon being called to the majors but worked his way through the struggles and finished the season on a tear. That has him entrenched in the Royals lineup for this season where he will likely open the season hitting fifth or sixth in the order.
Hitting coach Kevin Seitzer talked about some of the adjustments that Moustakas worked his way through during his rookie campaign.
"He had some adjustments to make and once he got back in the middle of the field and quit trying to do too much and quit worrying about home runs and driving the ball, that's when all of a sudden he started driving the ball," Seitzer said. "And that's the way it works. You can't go up there and try to generate and do too much or you're going to wind up in a rough way to go. But he made great adjustments and I'm hoping the confidence he finished up with is going to carry on to the start of the season."