"In the spring of 2011, Eric Hosmer showed up to major-league spring training as a 21-year-old non-roster invitee. It was his first opportunity to go through a major-league camp, and Hosmer used those weeks as a springboard to a rookie season that began with a call-up in early May and finished with glittering numbers and numerous accolades.

On Wednesday, the Royals announced their non-roster invitees for this year's big-league camp, offering the same spring-training audition to a group of 16 minor leaguers, including top prospects Wil Myers and Mike Montgomery. And the story of Hosmer's path to Kansas City isn't lost on Myers, a 21-year-old outfielder recently ranked as the club's third-best prospect by Baseball America.

"To see those guys up in the big-league camp last year, now they're already in the big leagues," Myers said. "It's cool to be able to go to big-league camp this year and know what's ahead of me, and know what those guys did last year, and now that opportunity is there for me, too.""