Hochevar heading to Burlington
He's not forecasting when he might reach the Major Leagues with the Royals.
"I'm just in the mindset of my day-in and day-out grind and getting myself better every day," Hochevar said Saturday. "That's the club's decision, and I'll just do what's best for the club -- whatever I can do to help out -- so I'm going to bust my tail and really work hard."
Hochevar was at Kauffman Stadium to sign his contract as the overall No. 1 choice in June's First-Year Player Draft. It was a big occasion for the Royals. He's the first overall No. 1 pick in franchise history.
The Royals have laid out his itinerary pretty well. He'll throw here Sunday, report to Arizona for training on Monday, then pitch for Class A Burlington and the Royals' teams in the Instructional League and the Arizona Fall League.
Next spring, he'll be in camp, and it's likely that he'll start the season at the Double-A level. After that, who knows? The Major Leagues beckon.
But general manager Dayton Moore wasn't putting a timetable on Hochevar's arrival either.
"We're not going to put unrealistic expectations on Luke or any of our players," Moore said. "The important thing to understand is he's going to go out and pitch and do what he's been gifted to do. He'll meet the challenge at each level and, once he does, he'll progress at a pace that's natural to him and his abilities."
Hochevar's abilities are such that the Royals gave the former University of Tennessee star a four-year Major League contract that guarantees him $5.25 million with the chance of boosting that to about $7 million if he meets certain incentives.
The right-hander idled most of the summer while agent Scott Boras negotiated a deal with the Royals. Hochevar threw simulated games at Tennessee.
Senior scouting director Deric Ladnier called Hochevar after their deal had been set. The pitcher told Ladnier he'd been throwing 15 pitches, then sitting and throwing 15 more in the simulated games.
"Promise me," Ladnier said, "that you haven't given up a run."
"I've pitched 107 scoreless innings," Hochevar replied.
"If we can continue that tradition," Ladnier told reporters, "we'll be in good shape."
Dick Kaegel is a reporter for MLB.com.