Royals’ Jackson Kowar feeling more comfortable in his second big-league camp
The second time around in big-league camp, Jackson Kowar has let his hair down — literally.
Kansas City Royals right-handed pitching prospect and former 33rd overall draft pick in 2018, Kowar is sporting a full beard as well as some curly locks of brown hair flowing from underneath his baseball cap.
Kowar said he’s already been mistaken for relief pitcher Scott Barlow by teammates and staff viewing him from behind during Royals camp. Barlow’s hair stretches well past Kowar’s, even at this early stage of spring training.
Kowar, rated by Baseball America and MLBPipeline.com as the Royals fourth-best prospect, pitched two scoreless innings, allowed three singles and struck out two in his first Cactus League start of the spring Monday as Kansas City beat Cleveland 8-6 in Goodyear, Arizona.
“It was just honestly nice to face someone who wasn’t wearing a Royals uniform,” Kowar said. “It’s the first time since last July I’ve done that, so it was really nice just to see some other guys in the box.”
Kowar earned a non-roster invitation to camp last spring as well as summer camp/spring training 2.0. With no minor-league season, he spent the summer training at the Royals alternate training site in Kansas City, Kansas.
He recorded strikeouts on both his changeup and his curveball.
The curveball has been a pitch he’s worked to develop since being drafted by the Royals.
“Just being able to throw it more has been the nice thing about the minor leagues,” Kowar said. “Going off to college was really good experience because I got to compete, but some of the developmental pieces took a bit of a step back. That’s been the really nice thing about coming here. I had really a full season in ‘19 to really just develop that pitch.
“Coming into this year, I feel as good as I’ve ever felt about it.”
First baseman/outfielder Ryan McBroom belted an RBI double and a two-run home run to drive in three of the Royals runs against the Indians. Outfielder Seuly Matias clubbed a mammoth pinch-hit home run late in the win that had witnesses amazed.
The Royals scored four runs in the second inning thanks in part to an Emmanuel Rivera RBI double and RBI singles by outfielder Nick Heath and top prospect Bobby Witt Jr. Witt’s RBI came on an infield single.
“I thought Jackson set the pace really well,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “His stuff was exactly what we were hoping for. He was repeating. The spin on the breaking ball looked really good. He was locating the fastball, controlling counts.
“The changeup is going to play. It’s going to play. It’s just that good of a pitch, but it’s just that much better when he’s got the other two working.”
Different rules
Even a few Royals players admitted their surprise when the second inning of Sunday’s spring training opener against the Texas Rangers ended with two outs and the bases loaded with slugger Carlos Santana due up.
When asked about the odd timing of stopping the inning at that point, Matheny took a lengthy pause after the game before he replied, “I’m going to have to be careful here because if we have something happen to us and we are really short pitching, I really don’t want to put Erick Mejia on the mound.”
Matheny referenced the Royals super-utility player, Mejia, and went on to say he has enough on his own plate and didn’t know the details of the Rangers pitching situation that caused them to halt the inning at that particular point.
He also allowed that a rash of injuries or an unfortunate outbreak of COVID-19 infections could force him into a similar situation.
“But it’s not ideal, right, as we’re talking about let’s go out and compete,” Matheny said. “I think everybody wants to watch some of our big boys come up with guys in scoring position and see what happens. But they put a lot of thought into the rules that they put in place for this season. There’s a purpose, to try to keep people healthy.”
Per the MLB rules for this year, Cactus League play will include games shortened to 5 or 7 innings provided the managers mutually agree upon the length prior to the contest.
Defensive managers will be allowed to end an inning prior to three outs following any completed plate appearance if the pitcher has thrown at least 20 pitches.
Those rules will be in place through games on March 13.
Games from March 14 through the end of spring training may only be shortened to 7 innings, and pitchers must face a minimum of three batters before being relieved. Pitchers who are removed during a game may re-enter at a later point during that same game.
Television schedule
ESPN will televise this Friday’s Royals game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at 2:05 p.m. Central.
The Royals and Fox Sports Kansas City announced six spring training Cactus League games in Arizona will be televised on FSKC.
FSKC’s coverage will begin on Sunday, March 7, with the Royals road game against the San Diego Padres. The second game televised by FSKC will be on Wednesday, March 10, against the Cincinnati Reds.
Each of the first two games will air via shared feed with the opposing teams.
The final four telecasts will be produced by FSKC crew and feature on-air talent Ryan Lefebvre, Steve Physioc, Rex Hudler, Joel Goldberg and Jeff Montgomery.
FSKC SCHEDULE
Sunday, March 7: at San Diego, 2 p.m.
Wednesday, March 10: vs. Cincinnati, 2 p.m.
Tuesday, March 16: vs. Seattle, 8 p.m.
Friday, March 19: vs. Los Angeles Angels, 3 p.m.
Sunday, March 21: vs. Colorado, 3 p.m.
Thursday, March 25: vs. Arizona, 3 p.m.
