Newfound versatility could send this KC Royals prospect to the majors

Jonathan Bowlan needed an excellent 2024 spring training performance to squeeze his way onto the Kansas City Royals' Opening Day roster. Unfortunately, pitching only twice and giving up two runs in just 3.1 Cactus League innings didn't quite cut it, and Bowlan was left on the outside looking in when the Royals broke camp and headed for Kansas City to begin the regular season.

Since then, he's given the club reason to believe he could now win the Opening Day slot he failed to nail down last season. One of the few top pitchers in the Royals' potential-packed 2018 draft class who still calls the KC organization his baseball home, Bowlan may be ready to carve out a nice major league niche for himself — and Kansas City can use the kind of pitcher he could be turning into.

After a bumpy road, Jonathan Bowlan had one of his best seasons in 2024

The Royals grabbed Bowlan in the second round of the 2018 draft, just after they used their first round and three Competitive Balance picks to corral Brady Singer, Jackson Kowar, Daniel Lynch IV, and Kris Bubic. He went a shaky 1-4 with a 6.94 ERA in nine Rookie-league starts later that summer, then improved in 2019 to 11-5 with a 3.14 ERA in 26 games split across stops at both Class A levels.

But to understand where Bowlan is today requires knowing what he went through after that.

Because the pandemic wiped out the 2020 minor league season, he pitched only at the Royals' Alternate Training Site that year. Bowlan then missed almost all of 2021 after undergoing Tommy John Surgery early in the campaign, and the fact he was 2-0 and had surrendered only three runs in 17 innings before suffering the underlying elbow injury made things worse.

Bowlan's recovery from TJS wasn't immediately successful. Pitching in the Arizona Complex League, High-A, and Double-A when he returned during the 2022 season, he gave up 41 runs in 62.1 innings (5.92 ERA). Then, in 2023, his first full season back, Double-A batters knocked Bowlan around for 30 runs in 35 innings, a performance that produced a terrible 7.20 ERA. He moved up to Triple-A Omaha and went 6-6 with a less unsightly — but still bad — 5.24 ERA. He pitched twice for the Royals in late September 2023, striking out three in three innings but losing his only start.

Bowlan's 2024 campaign was much better. After missing his shot at Kansas City during spring training, he returned to Omaha, won 12 of 16 decisions, and lowered his ERA to 4.67. Still, his statistical improvement doesn't tell the whole story, which changed significantly in mid-July when the Storm Chasers moved him out of the rotation, where he was 7-5 but had yielded 55 runs in 80.2 innings.

Bowlan transferred to the bullpen and there he flourished. Assuming a role he'd rarely filled before, he made 15 relief appearances down the stretch, posting a 5-0 record with a 3.60 ERA, 18 strikeouts, and only four walks in 20 innings. The performance contrasted starkly with his post-TJS rotation work, though where it leaves him remains to be seen. Still, Bowlan's new bullpen experience could be good for him and the Royals.

The KC Royals should consider Jonathan Bowlan for a dual role

Bowlan's 2024 campaign wasn't limited to the minors — he made one disastrous appearance for the Royals. In a late-April start against the Toronto Blue Jays, he gave up four runs on six hits, including three home runs, and walked three in 2.2 innings, but that single poor effort shouldn't discourage the club from giving him a long look in 2025. That he's still a member of the Royals' 40-man roster suggests they may feel the same way.

The club still has rotation and bullpen issues Bowlan might help solve. What he offers Kansas City today that he didn't last spring is potential versatility. He's enjoyed some success as a starter and, if he's ready for a big league role that includes relief work, being able to use him as a starter and reliever would give manager Matt Quatraro invaluable flexibility.

Trying Bowlan in such a dual role is worth considering.