Why Taylor Clarke is suddenly a go-to late-inning option for Royals

If the Kansas City Royals are going to make the playoffs in 2025, they're going to need every single player to contribute in the final month. The good news is that a few players, like Taylor Clarke, are contributing to a degree that might be a bit of a surprise to those not paying close attention.

Things have been up and down for KC this season, and the same can be said for Clarke. He hasn't always been a lockdown reliever in 2025. However, in August, he's been among the best pitchers on the staff and one of the best back-of-the-bullpen options in the American League. Considering he's hitting these heights at the age of 32, his performance of late is a nice bonus.

Taylor Clarke’s August surge is stabilizing the Kansas City Royals bullpen

Clarke was signed by the Kansas City Royals over the winter, but didn't join the active roster until May. On the season, he's had a perfectly respectable 3.14 earned run average in 38 appearances, but the really good news is how he's gotten better as the season's gone on.

In the month of August, Clarke's made 10 appearances and logged 11 innings, posting a 0.82 ERA with 11 strikeouts. He's allowed just seven base runners.

So, how has a reliever that hadn't pitched in the big leagues since 2023 and posted a 5.95 ERA in 58 appearances when he did pitch suddenly start mowing people down this season?

According to Baseball Savant, it's been an impressive combination of a fastball that can touch 95 fairly regularly and breaking and offspeed pitches that would rate among the best in baseball if he'd pitched enough to qualify. So far this season his slider (his primary offering thrown 41.0% of the time) has looked unhittable, with a .103 BAA and .172 opposing SLG. Then his changeup and sinker (used 18.3% and 16.0% respectively) both hold sub-.100 BAAs and sub-.300 opposing SLG rates.

Pair all that with an amazing sense of trust that his control won't get away from him, as he's sporting just a 3.2% walk rate this season, and suddenly he looks as reliable of a bullpen arm as any.

The Kansas City Royals will need whatever magic Clarke has found to continue through the end of the season if they want to compete. He's having a career-best campaign and a stellar month. He's hoping he doesn't wilt in the end of the summer heat.