Royals Report: 5 Things About Falling Short Against Seattle

Jul 8, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Brian Flynn (33) delivers a pitch against the Seattle Mariners in the seventh inning at Kauffman Stadium. Seattle won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

1) Brian Flynn Unlikely To Start On Sunday

Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost announced that Chris Young would move back to the bullpen earlier this week. That left the KC Royals starter for Sunday in limbo. Long men Dillon Gee and Brian Flynn seemed the most likely candidates, which Chien-Ming Wang and rookie Brooks Pounders as dark horse candidates.

At this point, I think we can scratch off Flynn as a possible starter after he pitched two scoreless innings on Friday, allowing only 1 hit and striking out 3.

In a way, that’s too bad. Flynn has been pretty good for the Kansas City Royals this season since getting called up from AAA Omaha last month. Flynn has a nifty 2.74 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 23.0 innings pitched, all in relief.

The 26-year-old lefty Flynn joined the KC Royals in 2015 from the Marlins organization in return for reliever Aaron Crow—who ended up tearing his Ulnar Collateral Ligament in spring training with Miami before the season. Crow has yet to pitch in a professional game since.

I’d like to see what Brooks Pounders can do. He’s stretched out to start after putting up a 2.80 ERA in AAA in 19 games and 7 starts with Omaha in the Pacific Coast League. Plus, he’s been surprisingly effective the last two seasons. It would be a good opportunity to see what he’s got as a starting pitcher.

Next: Royals Promoto Raul Mondesi To AAA

Who knows, maybe he can be a solid starter. The KC Royals really need to catch some luck around now, and unexpected help from another rookie would just fit the bill.

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