Kansas City Royals: Jorge Lopez to make team debut

When the Kansas City Royals traded Mike Moustakas to the Milwaukee Brewers, they received prospects Brett Phillips and Jorge Lopez in return. Phillips has already been given chances in the big leagues with the Royals. Today, Jorge Lopez will be given his first opportunity.

Right handed pitcher Jorge Lopez was drafted in the second round of the 2011 MLB Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers. He began his minor league career as a starter. In 2017, he made the transition to a relief role. His two MLB career starts came in 2015 with the Brewers, where he yielded a 5.40 ERA through ten innings of work. Today, he is slated to make his first start for the Kansas City Royals.

This year, he appeared in 10 games for the Milwaukee Brewers, all in a relief role. He yielded an ERA of 2.75 through his 19.2 innings of work. Lopez was a part of the revolving door of players being shuttled back and forth from the majors to the minors.

Ned Yost has yet to announce what the corresponding move will be. The news should break later today.

How has he been faring in Omaha?

Lopez was assigned to Omaha when the trade was made. So far with Omaha, he has made two starts, pitching for a total of nine innings and yielding an ERA of 4.00. Those two starts were his lone two starts in the minors this season.

And today will be his first MLB start since 2015. Because Lopez has taken on both the role of starter and reliever, there is a possibility he will be shifted back to the bullpen. But for now, he will continue in a starting role.

With the season in shambles as it is, it makes sense to try out some of the younger arms. Plus, Jorge Lopez has is already using the 2018 season as an option year, so the Royals are smart to be taking advantage of that.