He was sharp from the get-go. Facing Cesar Hernandez in the bottom of the first inning, Brady Singer painted a fastball directly on the line at the bottom of the strike zone. Singer knew he had recorded a strikeout to begin the night, confidently peeling off the left side of the mound. Watching from the dugout, Royals manager Mike Matheny knew Singer was pitching with good stuff.
Advertisement
“We sensed it pretty early,” Matheny said, “that this was a pretty special outing.”
Singer fired a fastball past Cleveland shortstop Francisco Lindor in the first inning, recording another strikeout without giving up a hit. In the second inning, Singer’s slider was coasting beneath the Indians’ bats. He struck out Tyler Naquin with the breaking ball, then painted the outside corner for another strikeout against lefty-hitting Josh Naylor.
And still, no hits for the Tribe.
“I just tried to stay focused the whole time,” Singer said. “That’s something I really did. And I know that’s what this takes.”
By the fifth, Singer had racked up six strikeouts, and the hitless outing had continued. Cleveland power-hitter Franmil Reyes became the seventh punchout, waving his bat like a wand and whiffing at a fastball. Matheny, watching the no-hit bid, was prepared to provide Singer a clear path to finish the thing off as long as the right-hander’s pitch count remained underneath a danger zone. Which it did.
So Singer kept going. He emerged from the sixth unscathed. Defensive plays made by Matt Reynolds and Adalberto Mondesi got him through the seventh. Two outs into the eighth, with a full count and Singer’s pitch count at 115, he fired a fastball to Austin Hedges. Unfortunately, the ball caught a bit too much of the plate, and Hedges sliced it into right field.
“Honestly, I kind of blacked out,” Singer said afterward with a smile.
Matheny was smiling postgame, after the Royals’ 11-1 victory at Progressive Field, loving not only the three-game win streak the team has but also a glimpse at the current peak of a pitcher who will long earn starts for the Royals.
“I just thought it was going to be a special night,” the skipper said. “And I was right. It was. Unfortunately, just short of being as special as we wanted.”
Advertisement
Rarely does one series capture an entire season’s sample size, but the Royals’ pitching in the series win against Cleveland — capped off by Singer’s exclamation point — highlighted the positives of this 2020 season. Even without Trevor Rosenthal, whom the Royals traded at the deadline, the Royals’ bullpen also has been a bright spot. We assessed the Royals’ hitters earlier this week, so now it’s time to look at each Royals pitcher. Here’s our assessment in order of the innings each pitcher has thrown, featuring FIP (fielding-independent pitching), The Athletic’s Eno Sarris’ starters rankings and other advanced statistics:
Brady Singer, RHP (Age 24)
Innings pitched: 48 1/3
Eno Sarris’ starting pitcher ranking: 93
No Royals pitcher has thrown more innings than the former College World Series champion. The raw numbers won’t blow you away. In 48 1/3 innings, Singer has a 4.66 ERA and a 4.63 FIP. But dig deeper. Against the three, four and five hitters he has faced, Singer has allowed a Major League Baseball-best .413 opponents’ OBP. There’s also this: Opponents are 6-for-31 against Singer with runners in scoring position, a sign of execution when it matters most. It’s always a process for rookie pitchers, specifically those such as Singer who rely so heavily on two pitches. Take Cleveland ace Shane Bieber, for example. He posted a 4.55 ERA in his rookie 2018 season. Continued confidence in the changeup will be crucial for Singer, who has thrown the pitch only 7.1 percent of the time in 2020. Yet even then, outings such as Thursday night’s shed light on what Singer can ultimately be.
Danny Duffy, LHP (31)
Innings pitched: 46 2/3
Eno’s starting pitcher ranking: 67
Pitching in his 10th big-league season, Duffy has remained consistent in 2020. Both his ERA (4.24) and FIP (4.74) are hovering around his numbers from 2019 (a 4.34 ERA and 4.78 FIP). Two numbers highlight what Duffy has been able to do in 46 2/3 innings. His strikeouts per nine innings (9.06) is the third-highest of his career and the highest since 2016. He also has benefited from a .248 BABIP, which is lower than his .291 career average, indicating some fortunate batted-ball luck. Next season, he’ll be entering the final year of his deal, so the Royals will have a decision to make, whether they want to keep the man who once tweeted, “Bury me a Royal,” whether they want to save some cash via trade, or whether they want to work out an extension.
Advertisement
Kris Bubic, LHP (23)
Innings pitched: 35
Eno’s starting pitcher ranking: 101
Similar to Singer, who has the third-highest home run per fly ball rate in baseball, Bubic’s is astronomically high (17.1 percent). Indicating a lack of command, that explains the lofty 4.89 ERA and 4.92 FIP in 35 innings. Per Sarris’ Command+ statistic, Bubic’s command ranks in the bottom five of the 150 pitchers he ranked. Even Bubic would admit his fastball command hasn’t been up to par thus far. Still, his changeup has kept him in games, leading to so much soft contact that hitters have an 86.4 mph average exit velocity against him. Refining command and continuing to land his curveball will be essentials for Bubic’s progression, and he, like Singer, has shown a willingness to ensure he takes the next steps.
Brad Keller, RHP (25)
Innings pitched: 34 2/3
Eno’s starting pitcher ranking: 80
As positive as Kyle Zimmer, Scott Barlow and Josh Staumont’s performances have been, how Keller has continued to progress in 2020 may be the Royals’ biggest boon from a pitching standpoint. The raw numbers: Keller has a 2.60 ERA and 3.09 FIP in 34 2/3 innings pitched, and his sinking fastball continues to generate ground balls at a level that almost feels as if Keller is telling the ball what to do (52.5 percent). Going more in-depth, both Keller’s SIERA (4.86) and xFIP (96) are the best of his career. Though he has added more spin to his slider, generating more whiffs overall, Keller’s development of his changeup will continue to be critical for him. The positive: He has developed each season and is driven to be the ace of the future Royals staff.
Greg Holland, RHP (34)
Innings pitched: 23 1/3
Boy has this been heck of a throwback season for Holland. He’s walking batters at a rate (2.7 walks per nine innings) lower than any season since 2013, and his 2.31 ERA and 2.88 FIP are the lowest they’ve been since 2014. Interestingly, Holland’s fastball velocity has ticked up in 2020, moving from 91.6 mph to 93 mph. And most important, he has commanded the pitch well, putting himself in a nice position to make some cash this offseason, whether it be from the Royals or another club. That said, the blue just seems to fit quite well.
Scott Barlow (27)
Innings pitched: 22
Advertisement
Picking up right where he left in 2019, when he posted a 2.08 ERA in 13 innings, Barlow has been pretty dominant in 2020. Utilizing his slider and curveball, Barlow has put together a 2.86 ERA and 2.91 FIP in 22 innings. At age 27, Barlow figures to be a cornerstone of the Royals’ bullpen for years to come — unless the Royals pivot from wanting to win sooner and make Barlow a nice trade chip given his years of control.
Jakob Junis, RHP (27)
Innings pitched: 21
Eno’s starting pitcher ranking: 146
Assessing Junis’ 2020 season is similar to the assessment of a hitter such as Hunter Dozier. Junis was diagnosed with COVID-19 at the beginning of summer camp and began the season on the COVID-19 injured list. When he returned, he suffered back spasms. And two starts ago, a hitter lined a ball directly toward the bicep in his right arm. Even when Junis has been healthy, he has struggled to command his slider, which traditionally has been his best pitch. That explains his 5.57 ERA and 6.56 FIP. Junis is headed for his first season of arbitration this offseason. Whether the Royals want to continue to utilize him as a starting pitcher or not going forward is the question. His slider and length could prove lethal out of the bullpen.
Josh Staumont, RHP (26)
Innings pitched: 18
Few relievers in baseball are as electric as Staumont, and that’s not hyperbole; he has thrown 15 of the 28 pitches thrown 101 mph-plus in baseball. Add in a curveball that drops an average of 55.8 inches per pitch and you’ll get 15.5 K’s per nine innings, which ranks fifth among all MLB relievers. The only downside to Staumont’s 2020 campaign has been the dip in his numbers on back-to-back outings. Opponents have posted a 1.333 OPS when Staumont is pitching on zero days’ rest. When he has rested a day or more, Staumont has hitters posting a .393 OPS. Fixing that, if possible, would lead to lights-out-closer stuff, explaining why he’ll be a stalwart in the Royals’ bullpen for some time.
Kyle Zimmer, RHP (28)
Innings pitched: 17 2/3
Few arms have been through as much pain as Zimmer’s. The elbow has hurt. The shoulder, the biceps … They don’t anymore. Zimmer has posted a 2.09 FIP in 2020, ranking 19th among all relievers. From a numbers perspective, Zimmer’s reduced walks (4.08 walks per nine innings in 2020 as opposed to 9.33 in 2019) have allowed him to have success. That, of course, is a testament to the work he put in during the quarantine, work with legendary pitching coach Tom House. Zimmer’s consistency appears to be real, and for that reason, it seems the Royals have yet another reliever in their arsenal moving forward.
A note on the rest of the Royals’ pitchers
Advertisement
In his rookie season, Tyler Zuber, 25, has pitched 17 innings and posted a 4.76 ERA. The positive: He has thrown five straight scoreless outings, striking out seven and walking two in that span. He figures to be a usable piece going forward, as does right-hander Jake Newberry, who has posted a 4.40 ERA in 14 1/3 innings. As for the others, Ian Kennedy, who is in the final year of his hefty deal, strained a calf. It would appear as if his Royals career would be over, barring a cost-effective signing. Though Matt Harvey has shown flashes and will participate in the bullpen the rest of this season, it’s also fair to wonder what his Royals future looks like moving forward. And then there is the literal Royals future in Carlos Hernandez, who will earn his first big-league start Saturday at age 23, marking the third 24-and-under starter in the Royals’ current rotation.
(Photo of Singer: Ron Schwane / Getty Images)
