Game thread: Royals vs. Rockies

Brandon Barnes will be hitting lead-off and Drew Stubbs second in today's fake game of testing for things. The lineup will be light on Rockie veterans as Wilin Rosario has by far the most service time in purple for anyone starting today.

On the hill, Juan Nicasio hopes to pick up where he left off with a strong outing. Nicasio hopes to further cement his place into the rotation so it will be most interesting to keep an eye on his control, pitch counts, and effectiveness of the change up.

Highly touted pitching prospect Eddie Butler is slated to see action today. Any time he or Jon Gray see action against MLB level (or even AAAA level) competition should be exciting for Rockies fans as it can give a much better indication of how close they actually are to the big leagues than their performances against A and AA guys.

Gray showed yesterday that having great stuff can't do everything for you if your control isn't there. He also proved that having great stuff can get you out of a jam and limit damage in a hurry. Still, with the slight hiccup, Butler could seize this opportunity to show real dominance and make a case that he is should be the first prospect pitcher called up if needed.

Ultimately everything that happens today will only mean a little bit in the grand scheme of things. But it's baseball! Hooray baseball!