The 3 most disappointing KC Royals from this season

Kansas City’s 9-2 season-ending loss to Cleveland 10 days ago, a defeat born of the poor pitching and hitting that tainted so much of the club’s season, capped a horrible, near-100 defeat campaign and sent the KC Royals home wondering when they might matter again.

Like so many of the club’s other 96, the last loss wasn’t the fault of any single Royal. There were nice isolated individual efforts, but it was a true club defeat.

That’s also accurately descriptive of Kansas City’s entire 2022 season. A few individual players stood out, like Vinnie Pasquantino, pitchers Brady Singer and Scott Barlow, and Bobby Witt Jr. who, although he probably won’t win the award, must be counted among American League Rookie of the Year candidates.

Some other Royals made headlines not because they were good, but instead because they weren’t. The bad seasons of three players were especially conspicuous.

Who were the three most disappointing players for the KC Royals in 2022?

Unfortunately, Kansas City’s roster is packed with players who disappointed.

Ryan O’Hearn comes immediately to mind. His .239/.290/.321 line alone rendered him disappointing but, save for his 2019 rookie effort, he’s been so for each of his five big league seasons. Disappointing, yes, but not “Top Three”-type disappointing when he did what most expected him to.

How about Nick Pratto? His defense didn’t disappoint after the Royals called him up in July (he’ll someday win a Gold Glove if he manages to stick in the majors), but his .184 bat did and forced his return to the minors in September. It’s hard, though, to call him one of the club’s three most disappointing players when he spent less than a season with it.

Brad Keller is, however, another story. Considered a key rotation component coming into the season, he performed miserably, losing 14 games for the second time in his five-year career and posting a plus-.5.00 ERA (5.09) for the second straight year. Even a move to the bullpen didn’t help—he gave up 13 runs, 25 hits and 10 walks in 17.1 innings after manager Mike Matheny bounced him from the rotation in August.

Consider Keller one of KC’s three most disappointing players.

Another starting pitcher was among the three most disappointing KC Royals.

Kris Bubic has appeared in more big league games (67) than any of the other four other highly-touted starters—Brady Singer, Daniel Lynch, Jackson Kowar and Jonathan Heasley—to reach the majors since Kansas City swept them all up in the 2018 amateur draft.

But, like Kowar especially (0-6 with an astronomical 10.76 ERA in 16 games), Bubic hasn’t met expectations. He went 1-6, 4.32 as a rookie during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and a more encouraging 6-7, 4.43 in 2021, a full-campaign performance that, while not concern-free, offered hope for a good 2022.

Unfortunately, little was good about Bubic’s third major league season. His 13 losses fell one shy of equaling Brad Keller’s 14 for team worst and he won only three times. His ERA jumped to 5.58 (78 ERA+) and he averaged less than five innings in 27 starts.

He also spent three weeks working in the minors after going 0-3 with a 13.14 ERA in his first five starts.

To say that, after 2021, Bubic’s 2022 was a disappointment, even a bitter one, states the obvious. His numbers are intolerable even for a last-place club like the Royals, and not the kind a pitcher striving for a long and successful major league career can repeat.

Hopefully, whoever replaces Cal Eldred as pitching coach can help Bubic find his way. If not, a lengthy Kansas City stay might not be in Bubic’s future.