KC Royals breakout star receives overdue recognition, claims AL Pitcher of the Month

Kansas City Royals pitcher Kris Bubic has had quite the journey to get where he's at. Bubic was named AL Pitcher of the Month after a spectacular May that left no doubt about who the best pitcher in the American League was.

Bubic has gone at least six innings in 75% of his starts this season. He's also gone seven innings in his last three starts.

Last month he was virtually unhittable, going 3-0 with an AL leading 0.56 ERA, a 0.87 WHIP and 33 strikeouts across 32.1 innings of work.

Kris Bubic earns AL Pitcher of the Month honors

Bubic was pure filth, only allowing two runs the entire month. His 3.5 WAR is tops in all of baseball. The crafty lefty has put it all together this season, cementing his place in this Royals rotation for the foreseeable future. His turnaround has been truly remarkable to watch.

With Cole Ragans hitting the IL in early May, Bubic has taken the reigns on this staff and put them on his back. To do what he's doing in his first full season back from Tommy John surgery is even more inspiring and will only endear him to the fanbase even more.

He's not far removed from fans throwing him into the bust category after a nightmare season in 2022 that saw him go 3-13 with a 5.58 ERA. That was during the dreaded Cal Eldred era, where every pitcher we put on the bump had the worst year of their career.

A new pitching coach and a new lease on life have done wonders for the 27-year-old Bubic. He showcased late last season that he still had quality stuff. During the Royals playoff push, he was a force out of the bullpen, but no one thought he could be a dominant starter.

Bubic was part of the infamous 2018 draft class that saw the Royals select five straight college pitchers to try and jumpstart a position group in their depleted farm system. At the time, it was a strategy that was met with some criticism, but no one has anyting to say now.

The Royals had a known track record of not developing pitching, and the early returns on the pitchers drafted in '18 were not pretty.

The way Bubic has looked this season, no one will ever remember how lost he looked just three years ago. Bubic has blossomed into the best of that 2018 class and deserves his time in the major league national spotlight. At this rate, his first All-Star appearance should be well within his grasp.

But with an offense that ranks 28th in runs per game (3.34), his boys on offense will have to wake up the bats to ensure he has a shot at the Cy Young as well. Tuesday night in St. Louis was a good start, let's hope the Royals can save some runs for Bubic's next start.