PHOENIX -- Royals right-hander Luke Hochevar was disappointed but took his demotion to Triple-A Omaha in stride on Tuesday.

Hochevar was one of the prime candidates for the last two spots in the starting rotation and his departure leaves that battle to right-handers Sidney Ponson and Brian Bannister and left-hander Horacio Ramirez.

Manager Trey Hillman finally on Tuesday confirmed the long-held assumption that Kyle Davies would be the Royals' No. 3 starter behind Gil Meche and Zack Greinke.

Hochevar's elimination was something of a surprise because, as Hillman put it: "He pitched very, very well."

In five Cactus League games, Hochevar had a 3.86 ERA and a 1-0 record. In 16 1/3 innings, he gave up 17 hits and seven runs with four walks and seven strikeouts. Opponents hit .279 against him.

"It's tough to swallow, but it is what it is," Hochevar said. "You've got five other guys who throw the ball really well and that are very capable, so that's how it goes sometimes."

There are some areas that the Royals want Hochevar to work on with Omaha.

"There are things he needs to finish off to be more successful as a Major League starter," Hillman said. "Primarily, pitching to both sides of the plate with consistency to allow his great stuff to open up the zone to secondary stuff. And be more consistent in monitoring damage when he gets in a bind -- keep it a single-run inning instead of two or three or four on the board."

The first overall pick in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft, Hochevar was brought into the rotation last April 20 after opening the season with Omaha. He made 22 starts for the Royals, going 6-12 with a 5.51 ERA before his season ended on Aug. 20 because of a rib-cage injury which has healed and was not a factor this spring

In his last Cactus League start, against the Dodgers, he gave up three runs in the first inning -- all after two were out. That's the kind of damage that Hillman wants him to avoid.

As happened last year, Hochevar would be in line to be recalled early if something goes awry with one of the starters.

"You never know what can happen," Hochevar said. "But I've got to go down with a positive attitude to get better. I'm not going to go down and sulk and say, 'Ah, I shouldn't be here,' because then I'll go backwards."

Hochevar's departure still leaves 36 players in camp, including 18 pitchers, three catchers, 10 infielders and five outfielders. The Royals break camp on Thursday, and Hillman said he expected to take all those players to Texas where the final Cactus League games will be played Friday and Saturday against the Rangers.

But Hochevar would left behind.

"Yeah, I'm disappointed. I want to help the Kansas City Royals win games and I definitely want to be part of where it's going," he said. "But by going to Triple-A, I'm still helping them by giving them some depth and I'll just take it in stride."

After getting the word, Hochevar pitched in a Triple-A game at the Surprise complex, an outing that had been planned earlier. In five innings against Rangers farmhands, he gave up five runs, just two earned, on eight hits and two walks. He had four strikeouts.

Bannister is scheduled to work in a Triple-A game on Wednesday and Ramirez is to start in the Arizona finale on Thursday against the Rangers.

Hochevar's chances for the rotation undoubtedly took a hit when the veteran Ponson was signed out of the World Baseball Classic and received good early reviews in the Kansas City camp.

Against the A's on Tuesday, Ponson went five innings and gave up seven runs on seven hits and two walks. He wasn't pleased.

"It wasn't good at all," Ponson said. "I gave up seven runs today. It wasn't what I wanted to do. That fourth inning I was getting behind everybody, they started getting hits and everything went downhill."

A single and his two walks loaded the bases to open the fourth and the A's turned it into a five-run inning.

Even so, Hillman did not indicate the showing would hurt Ponson's chances to make the club.

"I'm not disappointed," Hillman said. "I'm disappointed in the results but not disappointed in what he brings to the table."

Catcher John Buck thought Ponson's only real drawback was falling behind in the count in the fourth.

"Other than that," Buck said, "he pitched a good game because he was getting his ground balls, getting ahead and throwing his pitches the way he normally does. But that one inning, we didn't execute as far as getting ahead."

Hillman noted that Ponson's usual quick-tempo pace slowed down during the five-run inning. Told about it, Ponson made a correction and finished his outing with a perfect fifth.

"I still see stuff, I still see pitchability," Hillman said. "We'll get him lined up for his next one and we'll see what it looks like it. He's still in mix for right now."

The Cactus League schedule ends at Texas on Saturday, before Ponson could rest up for another start, but there's the possibility he could stay in Arizona and pitch in an extended camp game on Sunday.

Ponson, despite his seven-run outing, maintained his sense of humor. It was pointed out that Travis Buck's three-run triple in the fourth wasn't much more than a line-hugging ground ball that, a couple feet over, might have been fielded.

"It didn't go that way," Ponson said. "I mean Orlando [Cabrera], too, hit a ground ball and it found a hole. You can't do nothing about it. The ball's round, it comes in a square box. Weird things will happen."