Late Tuesday afternoon, Eric Skoglund pulled up a chair and hunched down at a table in the middle of the Royals’ clubhouse. His 6-foot, 7-inch frame sat alone, thumbing at a scouting report, peering down at a piece of paper that featured the detailed game plan for the offense of the Detroit Tigers.
Skoglund, 24, had already met manager Ned Yost for the customary greeting — welcome; congrats, kid; good luck — and he had already sauntered toward his locker. As he stood, he had contemplated the journey, the one that saw a skinny kid from Sarasota, Fla.