PAPILLION, Neb. — One evening this past January, Nicky Lopez stood in the kitchen at his apartment in Surprise, Ariz., and prepared a meal. This night called for chicken, so Lopez lathered it up to go along with a nice side dish of rice.



“I’m not one who really enjoys eating,” Lopez says, laughing, “but I had to do it.”



The dinner was all part of a plan Lopez constructed with Royals nutritionist Erika Sharp earlier in the month. In 2018, the Royals’ 5-foot-11 infield prospect lost eight pounds over the course of the minor league season, finishing it at 162 pounds. He wanted to bulk up ahead of 2019 to compensate for the long season, one in which he hoped to achieve his dream of playing in the major leagues.



Lopez, a fifth-round pick in 2016, knows he’s close to achieving that dream. He knows because Royals general manager Dayton Moore said so at the end of last season.



“He’s got great...