Field, Stanford break camp with Royals, Indians
Two former Barton County Community College baseball players will be on the opening day rosters of Major League Baseball teams when the season starts next week. Nate Field and Jason Stanford have successfully earned spots on the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Indians Rosters. The pair become the 1st-ever former Cougars to start the season in the Major Leagues. Both players spent some time last year with their respective teams – ending the season in the Majors.

This will be the 3rd straight season Field, who was inducted into the Barton County Sports Hall of Fame this past winter, has been with Royals big-league club. He will be a reliever for the Royals. Last season with Kansas City, Field was 1-1 with a 4.15 ERA in 19 games with the Royals. This spring his ERA was 3.09. "He's a guy that has quality stuff and he has no fear of anybody out there," Kansas City GM Allard Baird said in a press release by MLB.com.

Stanford also spent time in the big leagues with the Indians last year but did not know until the final day whether he would be the 5th starter for the Indians this spring or start the season out in AAA. But Cleveland manager Eric Wedge informed Stanford Tuesday that he would be starting the season out as the No. 5 starter for the Indians. "I think it's just him continuing to evolve as a Major League pitcher. I mean, he went through some things last year that helped him even more prepare for this year," Wedge said in a new release by MLB.com.

The Royals will start their season Monday afternoon, hosting the Chicago White Sox in a 3:10 start time. The Indians will open in Minnesota Monday night. Another former Cougar – David Sanders – is expected to start the season at the Chicago White Sox's AAA team Charlotte.

-30-