Kansas City Royals: 3 potential September call ups team should look at

3. Jake Kalish, LHP

Jake Kalish was drafted in the 32nd round in the 2015 MLB Draft out of George Mason University by the Kansas City Royals. He’s been relatively quiet progressing up through the farm system. The Royals rotation is a mess right now.

Glenn Sparkman and Jakob Junis do not appear to be long-term solutions. Brad Keller is on an innings limit and won’t be allowed to throw more than 100 pitches in a game the rest of the year.

It wouldn’t hurt to get a look at the 28-year old, who has yet to pitch in the major leagues. He’s made 8 starts (23 appearances) in Triple-A Omaha this season with a 7-7 record, 5.23 ERA. Kalish has tossed 106.2 innings while striking out 82 batters and walking just 24.

On paper, he looks like another Sparkman or Junis but it’s worth a look if the Royals would like to retain him. Kalish was named the organization’s best relief pitcher in 2016 while holding batters to a 0.192 average. He’s recently been utilized as a starting pitcher.

At the very least, I’d expect him to get a shot at earning a spot in the rotation but he could be extremely valuable as a reliever going forward where he has displayed a much better track record. Like Mejia, Kalish is not currently on the 40-man roster so a corresponding roster move would be needed.