Kansas City Royals: Taking a look at Burch Smith as a starter

Burch Smith made his first start Wednesday since 2013. Though the Kansas City Royals lost, there were some positives in Smith’s outing.

Burch Smith used to be a starting pitcher. When injuries sidelined him, he transitioned into a bullpen role. Those injuries caused him to need Tommy John surgery. The Kansas City Royals Wednesday game against the Minnesota Twins was his first start since 2013.

He hit his pitch count early on Wednesday; only making it through 3.1 innings before he needed relief. In his first year with the Kansas City Royals, he has appeared in 24 games coming from the bullpen.

The 28 year old right-hander was a former Rule 5 draft pick, picked by the New York Mets before being traded to the Royals. He began with the San Diego Padres, and he also spent time with the Tampa Bay Rays. His only other time in the Major Leagues came in 2013 with the Padres, where he pitched 36.1 innings for an ERA of 6.44.

Reliever vs. Starter

In his 38.1 innings of relief, he earned a K/9 of 9.16 and yielded an ERA of 5.4. The numbers don’t look great, that’s for sure. He also had a BB/9 rate of 4.93, which explains why throwing strikes was a big focus for his first start.

Ned Yost was quoted in an article written by Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com saying this:

“He did a really good job with the balls to strikes ratio, was ahead in the count. He was throwing strikes, which you wanted to see.”

Of his 71 pitches in Wednesday’s game, 52 of them were strikes. He did give up two runs, but he also notched four strikeouts.

How could he fit into the rebuild?

He is still young, and if he can continue to throw strikes, he just may earn a spot in the starting rotation. He will likely be given more opportunities in the starting rotation this season, but that is unclear.

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Because he is taking on Jason Hammel‘s spot in the rotation, there is plenty more to come. That is, if he proves worthy of keeping the spot. He likely will need to find a way to keep his pitch count down, so as to preserve bullpen arms.