Royals pitcher's meltdown couldn't have come at worse time after Bailey Falter's outing

While many Kansas City Royals fans were left dumbfounded by the terrible pitching spectacle that Bailey Falter produced on Tuesday against the Yankees, somehow his shelling wasn't the worst the Royals organization saw that day. The Royals may've lost by 14 to the Yankees at Kauffman Stadium, down at Werner Park the Omaha Storm Chasers also found themselves losing by 14 after a 19-5 loss against the Louisville Bats.

Starting that game for Omaha was Royals 40-man right-hander Mitch Spence, who in true "anything you can I can do better" fashion saw Falter's seven-run outburst and gave up 13 himself - all earned to make matters worse. In just two-thirds of an inning more work, he gave up six more runs, six more hits and one more homer than Falter.

What makes this all the more troubling, is that after a performance like he had on Tuesday, paired with the atrocious looking numbers he held prior, Falter may've played his last game in a Royals uniform, with Kansas City DFA'ing him on Wednesday afternoon.

So, with the Royals looking for an interim replacement, a current 40-man arm is the easiest route. However, it's hard to make a case for someone like Spence after an outing like that.

Mitch Spence shouldn't solely be evaluated on his nightmare 13-run outing

Now, while it was hard to argue Spence as the immediate call-up after Falter got the boot, besides the fact he just pitched, Spence hasn't been all bad this season. Entering Tuesday's start, Spence was sporting a not ideal but at least more serviceable 4.80 ERA. It's not someone you'd want to call-up for the long-term, but in a pinch with his prior big league experience, perhaps the Royals could feel confident he could not look too out of place.

The unfortunate reality for Spence is that arguably his two worst outings came when the Royals needed him the most. Spence has just one big league outing under his belt this season and it didn't go well. Coming out of the bullpen against the Yankees on April 18, the 28-year-old surrendered six earned runs across four innings of work. Then as the Royals look solutions to their Falter problem, Spence didn't put his best foot forward by any means.

That being said, apart from a seven-run shelling on May 1, Spence has been able to limit the damage to a replacement level standard the rest of the way, giving up three or less runs in every other start.

So, while the Royals may have to excercise more caution with Spence after Tuesday's rough day at the office, they shouldn't avoid him altogether.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow