Miguel Tejada and Christian Colon are among Royals' invitees to Major League Spring Training

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Royals have invited 21 non-roster players to Major League Spring Training in Surprise, Ariz. They include nine pitchers, four catchers, four infielders and four outfielders.

One of the top young pitchers is Yordano Ventura. He tossed a scoreless inning as the starting pitcher for the World Squad in the MLB Futures All-Star Game this past summer at Kauffman Stadium. The 21-year-old Ventura was the 2012 Wilmington Pitcher of the Year.

Other pitchers headed to big league camp with the Royals are Blaine Boyer, Sugar Ray Marimon, Michael Mariot, Brian Sanches, Atahualpa Severino, George Sherrill, Ryan Verdugo and Dan Wheeler.

The four catchers are Adam Moore, Manuel Pina, Max Ramirez and Julio Rodriguez.

Christian Colon and Miguel Tejada each received non-roster invites to the Royals big league camp. Colon is 23 years old and was named the Northwest Arkansas Player of the Year. Tejada is a former AL MVP and six-time All-Star. He’s 38 years old now. The other two infielders are Anthony Seratelli and Brandon Wood.

Endy Chavez is one of the four outfielders. The 34-year-old is an 11-year MLB veteran. Another 34-year-old is also headed to big league camp. He’s Xavier Nady, who played 11 seasons in the Major Leagues. Willy Traveras, a seven-year MLB veteran, and Luis Durango are the other outfielders.

Pitchers and catchers report to Surprise, Ariz. on Monday, Feb. 11. Workouts for pitchers start the following day. The remainder of the squad will report on Valentine’s Day and begin workouts for the season on Friday, Feb. 15.