SURPRISE Ariz. -- One Royals prospect quietly having a solid camp so far is right-hander Josh Staumont.

Maybe that's because expectations for Staumont, now 25, and his 100-mph fastball have lessened as he gets older.

But Staumont, the Royals' No. 21 prospect per MLB Pipeline, remains firmly on manager Ned Yost's radar.

"He looks good so far," Yost said recently of Staumont.

Staumont remains somewhat of a long shot to crack the 25-man roster, simply because the Royals have so many arms competing for the final two or three bullpen spots. And the Royals, of course, need to be convinced that Staumont's command is improving.

From that aspect, so far so good. Staumont has walked only one hitter over four outings, covering 5 1/3 innings.

The Royals obviously are aware of Staumont’s big arm and high ceiling. But he walked 52 hitters in 74 1/3 innings last season at Triple-A Omaha, and has walked 285 hitters over 362 1/3 innings in the Minors.

Because of those command issues, the Royals' organization, including pitching coach Cal Eldred, have been instilling small adjustments for Staumont for over a year now.

"These adjustments have just made it more comfortable for me," Staumont said.

The biggest adjustment has been Staumont's position on the rubber. For years, he has set up to third-base side. Now he sets up on the first-base side.

"It looks like it would be a huge [adjustment] on paper," Staumont said. "But we did it last year and it has worked. The ball doesn't go from a ball to a strike for me like it used to, but rather stays in the zone right away. It's a little bit easier for me and you get more swings on 2-0 and 2-1, I think, because the hitter sees it and doesn't just let it go."

Pitching more to contact, at times, isn't a bad approach for someone struggling with too many walks.

Even with his success so far in Spring Training, Staumont remains cautious not to get too optimistic.

"I think a lot of times you can turn a corner and then, a little bit later, go right back the other way," he said. "So you have to be careful with how you think about it. You just keep making the small adjustments and try to keep getting better. Sometimes you can make an adjustment and go in inverse, so you just stay in the process."

Oaks has surgery
Right-handed pitching prospect Trevor Oaks had hip surgery on Thursday morning after getting a second opinion. Oaks said the surgery wound up being a little more extensive after the second opinion.

Oaks will be on crutches for two months, and it will be four months before he'll be able to resume baseball activities. He is hoping to come back stronger than ever in 2020.

Up next
The Royals will have a split-squad day-night Friday. First, the Royals will play the Reds at 2:05 p.m. CT at Surprise Stadium with right-hander Ian Kennedy getting the start, followed by Jake Diekman, Wily Peralta, Chris Ellis, Tim Hill, and Jake Newberry.

Then the Royals' split-squad team will travel to Glendale for an 8:05 p.m. CT game against the Dodgers, with right-hander Arnaldo Hernandez starting, followed by Foster Griffin, Kyle Zimmer, Jason Adam, Sam McWilliams and Glenn Sparkman.