Imagining a 2022 KC Royals pitching staff

The problem for the KC Royals will be a good one soon – how do we make room for all of these starters?

#1 Starter: Singer

Kansas City let Brady Singer take off the 2018 summer after selecting him 18th in the draft.  He responded by going 12-5 with a 2.85 ERA, 138 strikeouts, and a tidy 1.19 WHIP in 26 starts split between Wilmington in Advanced-A and Northwest Arkansas in Double-A ball.  He spent spring training version 1.0 with the major league club and it appeared he would make the team to start the year.  He is ready and Royals fans are ready for him.

#2 Starter: Lacy

A lot of hype is already surrounding this player including talks of him pulling a Brandon Finnegan and pitching in the majors by season’s end – if a season happens this year.  While the talent level is there, we may want to wait and start the clock on his way to possibly becoming a free agent until 2021.  However, if the Royals can somehow compete for a playoff spot in a shortened season, the temptation will be there.

#3 Starter: Bowlan

Jonathan Bowlan had a dominating year split between Lexington and Wilmington.  While an 11-4 record and 3.14 ERA does not appear too flashy, he held his WHIP to 0.99 and batters to a .227 average.  Striking out 150 batters in just 146 innings always plays well to mention.  I see him joining the squad possibly next year but 2022 for sure.

#4 Starter: Bubic

Although the fourth pitcher selected by Kansas City in 2018 he is just as likely to be a star at Kauffman Stadium as the rest of them.  He ate up the minors also splitting up time between the Legends and Blue Rocks.  An 11-5 record, 2.23 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, and 185 punchouts in 149 1/3 frames were the results.  He also kept batters to a frustrating .211 batting average.

#5 Starter: Kowar

Like Singer, Jackson Kowar spent half of his time in Advanced-A and the other in Double-A.  While his stats were not as gaudy, the tools are there for him to be a major league starter.  His fastball touches 97 and he has a devastating changeup that comes in at 84-86 MPH.  He can also command three other pitches well which will keep hitters on their heels.

The starters were arranged that way to give the KC Royals a nice righty/lefty mixup to give the opposition a different look each night.  We are not done yet either.  There are still plenty of arms we could put in the bullpen to hold leads and close out games.