Young right-hander Singer saw himself being ready for majors with Royals this season
The coronavirus slowed the progress of Brad Keller and Jakob Junis and created an even greater need than already existed in the Kansas City Royals’ starting rotation, but all indications were that Brady Singer was going to force the club’s hand sooner than later.
The Royals’ first pick in the 2018 MLB Draft and arguably one of the most dominant college pitchers in the country in his final two seasons at Florida, Singer makes his MLB debut Saturday at Progressive Field against a Cleveland Indians lineup that features a pair of All-Stars in Francisco Lindor and Carlos Santana.
“Just success, a good outing and a win on the board for the team,” Singer said of his hopes for Saturday. “I’m not really worried about much of anything else ... as long as we win the game.”
Singer’s debut won’t come in typical circumstances. Because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, he’ll throw his first pitch in the majors in a ballpark without fans.
Spectators aren’t allowed into the ballpark, so his friends and family will watch and cheer him on from afar (though he said his parents are in Cleveland for his debut).
Singer, a 6-foot-5 right-hander, will have one small measure of familiarity Saturday because last year he made his only appearance on a big-league mound in the MLB All-Star Futures Game in the same stadium where he’ll pitch his MLB debut.
“It’ll definitely be different,” Singer said. “Obviously, the difference between the Futures Game and your first big-league start is much different. I feel like the Futures Game you’re kind of just showing what you’ve got and getting through that inning. But (Saturday) is day one. Locking in for as many games as I can go. Absolute huge game plan and studying tonight and figuring out what to do.”
After just 26 professional starts in the minors and one simultaneously elongated and interrupted spring training, Singer has earned the trust of the organization and its major-league coaching staff.
By comparison, even Royals two-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series MVP Bret Saberhagen made 27 starts in the minors before he reached the majors.
Singer certainly doesn’t think this move comes too soon. He admitted he thought it was a realistic goal after last season, when he made it to Double-A.
“I felt like as hard as I worked in the offseason and as much time as I put into the game that I could get here pretty quick,” he said. “This is about the time that I thought I could get here. I put the expectations on myself to be here as soon as I can, and this is where I saw myself.”
Major strides
Royals director of pitching performance Paul Gibson views the way Singer used the first part of spring training — gathering information and feedback from his outings against major-league hitters, and making improvements during the pandemic break — as a sign of Singer’s mind for the game.
“He came back in here and he just basically — with his actions, his work ethic and what he did on the field — showed everybody, Hey, I’m your guy. Let’s not make any mistake about it,” Gibson said. “He made all of his pitches better. His command was superior. That’s just Brady. Brady has a very-high baseball IQ, and he senses very well what hitters’ adjustments are.”
The Royals’ player development staff remained in constant contact with the organization’s minor-leaguers throughout the spring and early summer as baseball endured its shutdown.
Gibson, a former big-league pitcher, knows first-hand that they all worked hard to stay ready, but he also acknowledged, “Brady is a little different when it comes to what he thinks he needs to do and he just does it. It didn’t surprise me that he was that prepared. We’ve known that about him since we drafted him.”
Singer, 23, didn’t pitch in the minors the summer he signed with the Royals due to a hamstring issue he experienced at the end of his collegiate career.
Last season, he began the year at High-A Wilmington for his first 10 starts and then moved up to Double-A Northwest Arkansas, where he earned the club’s Pitcher of the Year award.
Between those two levels of the minors last season, Singer went 12-5 with a 2.85 ERA in 26 starts. He struck out 138 and walked 39 in 148 1/3 innings. Opponents batted .247 against him and he registered a 1.19 WHIP.
“He keeps everything in perspective really well,” Gibson said of Singer’s readiness to make this jump to the majors. “He doesn’t ever really get too high or too low. He’s a very soft-spoken kid. You’re not going to see a lot of flair with him, a lot of outward personality.
“It’s just a kind of steady-as-she-goes, very workmanlike demeanor. He’s always where he needs to be and he’s always doing what he’s supposed to be doing. He’s got a focus beyond his years.”
In summation, Gibson said, “He’s geared for it.”
The first chapter
The Royals still hadn’t announced a starting pitcher for Sunday’s game by Friday afternoon. The club could use some quality innings from Singer Saturday.
When asked what he wanted to see from Singer his first time out, Royals manager Mike Matheny quipped, “A win.”
“I’m excited to watch him pitch,” Matheny continued. “It’s amazing. I don’t have this deep Rolodex of memories as a player. It seemed like it was always just, ‘I got the next day, then the next day.’ But that first day in the majors leagues is something really clear to me. I remember so much more about that, more so than a lot of other days in my life. Just realizing how important that is for a guy like Brady, it’s just a special day.”
Along with managing Singer during Cactus League play and spring training 2.0 in Kansas City this month, Matheny watched Singer last year in his role as a special advisor with the Royals. Matheny knows full well how much excitement Singer’s rise to the big leagues signifies within the organization.
“The fact that organization is thinking outside of the box, being aggressive, rewarding this kid for earning a spot and us just telling him we think you give us the best chance that we have right after our Opening Day guy to do something special, all things considered, (is exciting),” Matheny said. “All that is just a buildup for a great challenge for this guy and the next step in his story. We get to be a part of it.”
