Kansas City Royals: Catching up with Jonathan Bowlan

KC Royals pitching prospect Jonathan Bowlan isn’t talked about nearly enough. We had the chance to chat with him recently.

As the No. 9-ranked prospect in the KC Royals’ farm system, Jonathan Bowlan has a lot of promise when it comes to being a big-league starter. With his plus fastball, and quickly developing changeup and slider, he has the ability to have three solid pitches in his arsenal.

Bowlan agreed to do a quick Q&A session about his adjustments and growth he made from year one to year two, as well as answering some fun questions that allow for fans to reach a point where they can relate to the athlete more.

Q: Your jump from year 1 to year 2 was pretty big from a statistical standpoint. What do you believe was the reason for that improvement?

I believe I felt more refreshed and a lot more comfortable with my teammates and coaches. It was definitely the rest that I believe is  what impacted my second year the most and also preparation for professional hitters.

Going into Bowlan’s first year in the KC Royals organization, he started in 9 games and threw 35.0 innings. With that came a 6.94 ERA and a 1.714 WHIP. However, if we jump back into the idea of rest being a major impact, that makes a lot of sense.

Bowlan pitched at Memphis for three years, never going over 85.0 innings. The most games he pitched in during a season was 18 during his sophomore year. If you add in his junior year at Memphis, throwing 85.0 innings over 14 games, to his first year with the Royals, he threw for 120.0 innings and made 23 appearances. Adding travel and workouts, that is an exhausting stretch for anyone, especially a recently drafted player. Not to mention the level of talent going from college to professional is a significant jump in itself.

After having an entire offseason to rest, Bowlan seemingly came back well-rested and prepared for professional hitters as he began moving up from Rookie Ball his first year to finishing his second year in Advanced-A Ball. During his sophomore season, he improved in every statistical category, logging an impressive 3.14 ERA, 0.986 WHIP, striking out 150 batters, and walking just 23 over 146.0 innings and 26 games.

If rest and preparation resulted in that type of jump, imagine what experience and endurance will result in.

Q: What have you been up to during the shutdown? Have you been able to do any pitching, workouts, have you been with other pitchers/hitters? What does the shutdown look like for you?

I have been throwing with other professional pitchers and doing the Royals body weight workouts. I have also been playing some golf whenever I can.

I feel like we all know what the followup question is going to be here…

Q: How’s your golf game?

It’s getting better, but I try to play bogey golf right now [laughing].

I feel like it is a secret requirement that every athlete has some form of a golf game, and as time goes on they become better than the average person at golf. So this leads me to believe that Bowlan is going to make it to the MLB and stick for a while because bogey golf isn’t terrible. Especially for a 23-year-old.

While asking about his golf game was a fun followup question, the real question was related to one of his focuses this offseason.

What has KC Royals prospect Jonathan Bowlan been focusing on?

Q: What has been one of the biggest things you’ve been working on during the offseason this year?

Consistency with my mechanics and all my pitches, especially my CH.

As previously mentioned, Bowlan already had an above-average fastball. It currently sits in the mid-90s, however, he has been able to reach the upper-90s at times. He pairs the velocity of his fastball with the sinking action, making it easy to see why it is his best pitch.

But adding his changeup to the mix, and getting a much better feel for it could bring a significant upgrade to his game. So what exactly has he been doing to help improve his changeup?

Q: For someone who’s not a pitcher, how do you build consistency and command of a certain pitch. Is it as “simple” as repeating the pitching over and over again? Or does grip also play a role in everything?

You have to find a grip you are comfortable with and then continue to throw it, feel it at your release point, and build confidence with it. Which comes from throwing it.

Q: To build off that, what kind of grip have you been using lately that feels the most comfortable when throwing you CH?

I’ve been experimenting with both a 4-seam and a 2-seam grip. I feel more consistent with the 2-seam because I have been throwing it longer but the 4-seam grip has been coming along pretty well. I would say more comfortable rather than consistent.

So why would it be such an improvement if Bowlan can build more consistency with his changeup? To put it simply, his slider is a pitch Bowlan feels he has more consistency with. While he doesn’t necessarily consider it to be better than his changeup, MLB.com and Baseball Savant have his slider labeled as a pitch that “will flash plus with tilt and sharp break to it”, which is a great offspeed pitch (low-80s) when coupled with his fastball.

When Bowlan establishes his most comfortable grip for an effective and consistent changeup, that would make him an even more dynamic pitcher. When looking at his 2019 numbers, imagine what they could look like with an improved changeup, coupled with his plus-fastball and a slider that flashes plus abilities. That seems like a recipe for disaster for a hitter.

Is there a current KC Royals player that Jonathan Bowlan follows closely?

The last baseball question I asked is one that I can really respect and get behind. As humans, we replicate people to improve our own craft. After all, imitation is the highest form of flattery, right? So I had to ask…

Q: Do you have a favorite pitcher or pitcher you try to emulate your game after?

I do not, I watch successful pitchers mechanics and I get ideas and I experiment with things to help become my own pitcher.

Bowlan, in my mind, gets it. Baseball has a long, rich history of dominant pitchers. It would be easy to find one that you really like and are a fan of and emulate your game after him. Instead, Bowlan is looking at all the successful pitchers and trying to find what makes them successful and emulate that.

“Become [his] own pitcher.” In my mind, become “that” pitcher. If that doesn’t get you excited to see him develop and become “that” pitcher, on top of his improvements he’s trying to make and has shown from year one to year two, maybe we need to start talking and find out what will.

I could have gone with the question of “what do you do outside of baseball?” or some other generic question. Instead, I wanted to know something about him that was relevant to the world right now. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, sports understandably took a back seat. However, over a year before all this happened, we were teased by ESPN with a documentary over a particular basketball player who many consider being the greatest of all time, or better known as The GOAT. I took a shot at seeing if Bowlan has had time to watch the docu-series and see what his opinions are on who is the real GOAT, and how he’s felt about The Last Dance.

Q: Are you a Jordan, LeBron or Kobe guy? Who’s your GOAT? Did you watch the Jordan Docu-Series and what were your thoughts on it?

I am a Jordan guy, but Lebron is not far behind him, and Kobe is an absolute legend that competed his butt off every game. I watched the first couple of episodes and I plan on watching the rest very soon. He was an absolute beast and his mentality never changed whether it was in practice or the game. He was also very competitive when it came to golf.

Do you see why my question about golf was necessary now? Every athlete plays golf. The 2015 KC Royals were well documented playing golf, and even the “GOAT” himself played golf. But the real question isn’t just “do you play golf?” but rather “how good are you at playing golf?” But I digress.

Not much KC Royals-related here… just some fun questions and answers.

These last two questions, I feel, are questions that might be the best way to get to know a future Kansas City athlete. Both are about food and BBQ in Kansas City. First question:

Q: Boneless or bone-in wings?

I am a big Boneless guy but I will never turn down bone-in wings; especially from places in Memphis.

Now, I feel like this is the right answer. I am a boneless guy first, bone-in second. However, I will never refuse a bone-in wing or leg and won’t complain if I don’t get boneless. I’ll let you decide if this is make-or-break for you though.

Which leads to my last question. But let’s set the stage here. Bowlan attended Memphis for three years. Memphis is a city that is known for its BBQ. The only thing is, here in Kansas City we believe our BBQ is the best around. So I had to ask…

Q: I’m going to put you on the spot. Who has better BBQ? KC or TEN? No pressure.

[Laughing] Both places have very good BBQ but it just depends on what type of BBQ you want. If you want ribs and pulled pork it’s all Memphis. If you’re in the mood for some burnt ends the KC is the way haha. That’s at least what I’ve learned from the little bit of KC BBQ I have had. I’ll have to give a more detailed opinion once I’ve had some more KC BBQ. If I was to choose one right now, it would have to be Memphis.

As someone who has never had BBQ in Memphis, I don’t know if I can answer this question fairly. If you have had BBQ from both, I’ll let you decide what we do next.

Final Thoughts

After talking more with Jonathan Bowlan, the only outcome that came from it was excitement. This sounds like someone who understands that in order to reach the ultimate goal you can never stop working. His improvement from year one to year two showed that but hearing how he handles some of the mental aspects, as well as personal growth, should make anyone within the KC Royals organization excited.

I know I am a believer in the fact that Bowlan should be talked about more when mentioning the other pitchers in his draft class. I also am a believer in the fact that he will continue to improve and force himself into the conversation if anything.

Jonathan Bowlan has gained a fan and supporter. I look forward to seeing others join me as he continues working his way throughout the rankings, and I look forward to seeing him become “that” pitcher for the KC Royals.