3 KC Royals who have to come through next season

The KC Royals have holes to fill and refinements to be made before Opening Day. Whether by addition or subtraction, or simply getting better, the rotation must improve. The bullpen, depleted at least in numbers by the departures of Kyle Zimmer, Jakob Junis, Scott Blewett, Jake Newberry and possibly others, and the retirement of Wade Davis, must be reinforced. Right field is open for the taking.

Fortunately, Kansas City is set almost everywhere else. But although their playing time is secure for now, and probably well into the 2022 campaign, three Royals need to have excellent seasons to secure their futures with the club.

The KC Royals’ top 2018 draft pick must have a breakthrough season.

In an ideal baseball world, Brady Singer wouldn’t have pitched for Kansas City in 2020. The 18th overall pick in the 2018 amateur draft, he didn’t see action until 2019 when he debuted at High-A, then worked at Double-A, and went a combined 12-5 with a 2.85 ERA.

After just a season in the low minors, Singer beginning 2020 in the big league rotation probably wasn’t part of the Royals’ master plan for him, but the pandemic changed things and forced the issue. Singer, looking good at times and woefully inexperienced at others, finished his rookie campaign 4-5, 4.06. He struggled constantly last season, going 5-10 with a 4.91 ERA.

Would things be different now had they been different in 2020? Possibly— Singer’s big league debut almost certainly wouldn’t have occurred so early, giving him more time to develop in the minors. He’ll need a much better 2022 to prove he’s ready to stick in the club’s rotation.

His command, an issue throughout last season, must get better. Concerning also, and well-chronicled, is the conspicuous absence of a third pitch from his repertoire, which likely accounts for much of Singer’s inconsistency. The Royals aren’t averse to sending regular players in their good graces to the minors for remedial work (think Mike Moustakas and Ryan O’Hearn), and that could happen to Singer if his apparent reluctance to use his changeup lingers.

Their closer needs to keep on doing what he’s been doing for the KC Royals.

Manager Mike Matheny rarely uses the word “closer,” but his actions speak volumes and prove that Scott Barlow is, indeed, Kansas City’s closer.

Barlow is clearly Matheny’s first choice when the Royals lead in late-inning, high-leverage situations. Barlow, who led the majors in appearances with 32 in 2020, appeared in a career-high 71 contests last season and entered the game before the seventh inning only six times, and never after mid-May. He led the club in saves (16) and games finished (28), averaged 11 strikeouts every nine innings (a mark he’s fallen below only once in four seasons), and won the team’s Bruce Rice Pitcher of the Year Award.

Barlow, who just turned 29 a few days ago, is arbitration-eligible for the first time and won’t be a free agent until after the 2024 season. Unless Kansas City has designs on a major trade requiring the club to give him up, the four-pitch (slider, fastball, sinker and curve) righthander has a lock on the closer’s job as long as he continues to do it well.

And that’s precisely what he must do in 2022. With a personnel adjustment here and there and a little bit of luck, the Royals could flirt with .500 next year. But to get there—or further—the club needs a reliable closer. Barlow can’t let up.

The Royals are improving. They’ll get even better if Brady Singer, Hunter Dozier and Scott Barlow all have good 2022 seasons.