Kansas City Royals: The Bright Future of the Royals Bullpen

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When going through a rebuild, the important thing to do is look for bright spots. One area the Kansas City Royals seem to have a bright spot in is their bullpen.

Now, before names like Blaine Boyer, Brandon Maurer, and company come up, I am referring to the future of the bullpen. I think it is safe to say that Boyer and potentially Maurer are not part of the Kansas City Royals bullpen future.

Who I am referring to are the young arms the Royals have. The Royals have three bullpen arms that have shown extreme amounts of promise this year. Those individuals are Brad Keller, Tim Hill, and recent call-up Kevin McCarthy.

The exciting thing to keep in mind is the Royals have other bullpen arms within the organization that have high ceilings as well. Guys like Richard Lovelady and Eric Stout are both sitting in Triple-A Omaha waiting to have a chance.

When you look at what the Royals have currently, it is easy to see that the bullpen could be a strong spot for the team again.

Current Guys

As of right now, three of the five mentioned players are on the 25-man roster. All three have shown so far that they can be great additions to the bullpen.

Brad Keller

When you look at Keller, he has been extremely impressive. I did a write up on him early this month and things have not changed yet. During his time in the big leagues, he has now thrown 6.0 innings, allowing just one run. His ERA is 1.50 and he seems very composed every time he touches the mound. He does not strike out many batters, only striking out three.

However, coming from a guy who is 22-years-old and originally had only pitched as high as Double-A, what more could you ask right now?

The only question about Keller is whether or not he will continue to be a bullpen arm in the future, or if he will be moved to the rotation. Keller has always been a rotation arm, so being a bullpen arm is something new for him. Depending on what the Royals do at the trade deadline, Keller could find himself in the rotation at some point.

Tim Hill

Hill is a great story. Hill was drafted in the 32nd round in 2014 by the Royals from Bacone College. Similar story to Keller, Hill had never pitched above Double-A in his career before getting the nod to join the big league team. Maria Torres of the Kansas City Star wrote a great story for how Hill found out.

During Spring Training, Hill threw 7.0 innings, allowed two runs (2.57 ERA) and struck out seven while walking two. He also only allowed four hits. Hill thought he was going to be optioned down, but obviously, that did not happen. He seems to be using that excitement and motivation to good use.

So far with the Royals, the 28-year-old submarine thrower has been nothing more than impressive. His 5.0 innings, posting a 1.80 ERA over six games is a great start for the rookie.

Kevin McCarthy

We all know who McCarthy is already. As anticipated, Maurer was optioned to Omaha, meaning someone had to fill his spot. Therefore, McCarthy who was thought to start the year with the Royals originally is getting his chance.

He made his MLB debut in 2016 but contributed more in 2017. Over his career, he has a 3.71 ERA over 53.1 innings and 42 games. In 2017 he pitched in 33 games, throwing 45.0 innings and posting a 3.20 ERA.

He has struggled so far this year, but the hope is that he can pick up where he was in 2017 and continue to improve. The 26-year-old has a chance of being a big part of the Royals bullpen, and with Maurer struggling this is the perfect opportunity for him to show he should stay up.

Future Guys

With Keller, Hill, and McCarthy being guys who have a future with the Royals pitching staff, they also have guys who could make the jump this year. The odds of some of the current bullpen arms being moved in July or released by the end of the year is high. For now, we are going to stick with two guys that have a high chance of making their MLB debut this year.

Eric Stout

Stout is trending in the right direction. He seems like a guy that will make the jump sooner rather than later.

Over 130 games and 230.0 innings, Stout has posted a 3.33 ERA. Over the last three years, Stout has 139 strikeouts compared to 62 walks. That is nearly nine strikeouts per nine innings and 3.5 walks per nine innings. That is also a little over 2:1 strikeouts to walks ratio.

The 25-year-old has a lot of upside. This year might be the perfect time to see what he can do against big league talent.

Richard Lovelady

Besides having one of the greatest names in baseball, Lovelady has also been dominate since being drafted in the 10th Round in the 2016 draft.

Over his short time in the minors, he has posted an eye-popping 1.61 ERA over 66 games and 95.0 innings. Every level he has been on he has had success, which is why he elevated to Triple-A in just two years.

During this time in the minors, he has also struck out 109 batters verse 27 walks. That comes out to being 10.3 strikeouts per nine innings and 2.5 walks per nine innings. That also comes out to being nearly a 4:1 strikeout to walk ratio.

The 22-year-old lefty stands a great chance of being called up this year. If he goes into Omaha and has a lot of success then the Royals might be forced to call him up to see what he can do against big league hitters.

Final Thoughts

It is going to be hard finding bright spots. It is also going to be hard seeing guys who most likely won’t be on the team next year, much less the end of the year, continue being used while the Royals have promising arms in the system.

At the same time, those pitchers are worth keeping an eye on until they get called up. The thing we as fans have to keep in mind is that the Royals have strong arms in the system to fill the team’s holes within the next year.

Do not get comfortable seeing guys like Boyer, potentially Maurer, and even Kelvin Herrera coming from the bullpen. The odds of those three being on the team by the end of the year or even next season are not very high. Therefore, some of the “green” pitchers might be making their presence felt here soon.

So what do you think Royals fans? Do you think the bullpen has a chance of turning out better than we originally thought? Are you looking forward to another pitcher potentially making his debut? Let us know below!

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