Kansas City Royals’ minor-leaguer Bubba Starling will play for Team USA in Olympics
Outfielder Bubba Starling will be taking a leave from the Royals’ Triple-A team in Omaha as he tries to win a championship with another squad: Team USA.
USA Baseball announced Friday that Starling is on the roster for the team that will compete at the Tokyo Olympics later this month. He is one of 12 position players and there also are 12 pitchers on the squad.
Starling, 28, was the fifth overall pick in the 2011 MLB draft out of Gardner Edgerton High School. He has appeared in 94 career games with the Royals, batting .204 with five home runs and 17 RBIs.
This season, Starling has a .271 average with the Storm Chasers. He has hit seven home runs and driven in 17 runs in 24 games.
Team USA will be part of a six-team field at the Olympics, joining Japan, Korea, Mexico, Israel and Dominican Republic. The first game for the U.S. is against Israel on July 30 at 5 a.m. (Kansas City time).
Before heading to Japan, Team USA said it will train in Cary, North Carolina, arriving there on July 16. The team will play a three-game exhibition series against the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team from July 18-20.
This story was originally published July 2, 2021 at 11:46 AM.
