Kris Bubic is proving the KC Royals were right to move on from Brady Singer

Their biggest move of the long baseball winter came early for the Kansas City Royals. The trade market had been open only three weeks when the club shipped Brady Singer, the centerpiece of their famously pitching-packed 2018 draft class, to Cincinnati in a November 22 deal that brought them Jonathan India and Joey Wiemer. Speculation about who'd replace Singer in Kansas City's rotation lasted well into spring training before it became clear that Kris Bubic was the choice.

And now, just nine games into the new major league season, is that change working? Yes, and quite well as it turns out. Bubic, like Singer a product of the 2018 draft, is the cream of the KC rotation crop so far. After excellent starts against Milwaukee and Baltimore, he's 2-0 with a miniscule 0.71 ERA and owns two of the Royals' five quality starts (Seth Lugo, Michael Lorenzen and Cole Ragans have the others). He's struck out 16 and surrendered only one run in 12.2 innings.

But does that impressive beginning to the season, in Bubic's first campaign in the rotation since he went 0-2 in three starts in 2023 before Tommy John Surgery shelved him for the rest of the season, prove the Royals were right to deal Singer away?

Not conclusively — it's too early for that — but Bubic is on the right path to delivering such proof.

Kris Bubic is the KC Royals' best starter so far this season

That Bubic, who pitched superbly out of manager Matt Quatraro's 2024 bullpen, is leading this season's rotation is clear. Lugo, is 1-0 with a 3.27 ERA, but gave up three runs and walked three in a five-inning no-decision against Cleveland in the season's second game. Opening Day starter Cole Ragans is 0-0 with a 2.81 ERA but, like Lugo, yielded three runs in five innings in his first start. Michael Wacha is winless in two starts. Michael Lorenzen is 1-1, 3.18 after picking up the win in KC's 4-2 victory over Minnesota Monday night.

Accurate to say, then, is that Bubic has been a more than suitable replacement for Singer, whose up-and-down, five-season Kansas City career resulted in a 36-44, 4.28 record. Yes, he pitched for some bad teams, but a sub-.500 performance and plus-4.20 ERA aren't the kind of stats the club had in mind for Singer when it made him its first draft pick seven years ago.

Now, the changes — Bubic returning to the rotation and Singer moving to another team and league — appear to suit Bubic and Singer. Bubic shut out the Brewers and struck out eight over six innings March 31, then allowed only one run and fanned another eight against the Orioles six days later. His next start will come this weekend in Cleveland.

Singer made a bit of Reds history when he whitewashed Texas for seven innings in his first start of the year. He earned another win by beating Milwaukee April 5. He's 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 12 innings.

So at least for now, Singer and Bubic are both proving the Royals made the right moves when they traded Singer to Cincinnati and returned Bubic to the KC rotation.

But there's a lot of this season left...