Kansas City Royals: What does Kyle Zimmer bring to the table?

On Friday, the Kansas City Royals chose to designate Cheslor Cuthbert for assignment in order to sign right handed pitcher Kyle Zimmer to a one year major league contract.

Kyle Zimmer was chosen in the first round of the 2012 amateur draft by the Kansas City Royals with the fifth selection. His tenure in the organization has not been without obstacles. His story is riddled with injuries; his latest held him out of the entire 2018 season.

He was recently signed to a major league contract with the Royals, with Cheslor Cuthbert‘s DFA as the corresponding move. Though health is a large question with Zimmer, he may be a viable option coming out of the bullpen for the Royals in the 2019 season.

Will he make the 25-man roster?

It isn’t the greatest possibility that he will. Another perk of keeping him in the system is the fact that he does have one option remaining on his contract. Unless he has a stellar Spring Training showing, he may have to wait a little longer for opportunities on the hill at Kauffman Stadium in 2019.

2017 Statistics

Since he was unable to play during the 2018 season, his latest statistics come from 2017. He served stints with both the Northwest Arkansas Naturals and the Omaha Storm Chasers during the year.

He made just one appearance, in a starting role, with the Naturals. In his four innings, he yielded an ERA of 2.25. In Omaha, he returned to his more comfortable role as a reliever. In his 20 appearances, he tallied 32.2 innings of work where his ERA sat at 5.79 and earned a WHIP of 1.56.

Overall in his career in the minor leagues, his ERA is 3.54 through a total of 259 innings with a WHIP of 1.25.

What does he bring to the table?

As a former first round draft pick, he obviously has a lot of talent. His inability to stay healthy to this point has been a large factor in what has essentially kept him out of the majors to this point.

He remains a viable option for the bullpen staff in the 2019 season. He’s a young righty that is ready and willing to help the Kansas City Royals return to prosperity.