Kansas City Royals pitching rotation shuffles with Jakob Junis and Jackson Kowar in KC
The Kansas City Royals pitching rotation shifted from a five-man rotation to a six-man rotation at the end of last week following Brad Keller’s injury.
Further complicating the rotation, two starters pitched in the same game on Friday night in Seattle when Carlos Hernández tossed 5 2/3 innings in relief of Kris Bubic in a contest the Royals eventually won in extra innings.
The Royals added another wrinkle to the pitching equation when they recalled Jakob Junis from Triple-A and slotted him in as the starter for Tuesday’s series opener against the Cleveland Indians at Kauffman Stadium. To make room for Junis, they optioned Scott Blewett back to the minors.
Junis began this season in the bullpen, but bounced back and forth between starting and relieving before the Royals sent him to the minors on June 7. While in the minors, Junis had a stint on the injured list that lasted more than a month (July 9-Aug. 24).
The Royals announced after Tuesday night’s game that right-hander Jackson Kowar (0-2, 18.00) will start on Wednesday.
With rosters set to expand from 26 to 28 players on Wednesday, the Royals can add Kowar, who joined the team in KC on Tuesday.
MLBPipleine.com ranks Kowar, who made his major-league debut earlier this season, the No. 89 overall prospect in the minors. Baseball America ranks him 68th.
In three games (two starts) in the majors this season, Kowar struggled. He posted an 0-2 record with a 18.00 ERA. He allowed 10 earned runs on 11 hits and five walks in five innings. He registered a 3.20 WHIP and opponents batted .458 against him.
Kowar has dominated for much of this year in the minors. In 17 games (16 starts) for Triple-A Omaha, he went 9-4 with a 3.46 ERA with 115 strikeouts and 34 walks in 80 2/3 innings. He held opponents to a .220 batting average and he registered a 1.25 WHIP.
The Royals’ current rotation consists of Brady Singer, Daniel Lynch, Mike Minor, Junis, Bubic and Hernández. Bubic, Junis and Hernández have pitched in relief at times this season.
Injury updates
During his weekly radio appearance on 610 AM (KCSP), Keller said that his shoulder pain and stiffness is gone.
Keller, who left his start on Thursday with shoulder pain, has been diagnosed with a grade 2 right lat strain. He was on the field for the team’s workout prior to Tuesday’s game, but he’s not allowed to throw for the time being.
Keller has gone 8-12 with a 5.39 ERA, a 1.66 WHIP, 120 strikeouts and 64 walks in 133 2/3 innings in 26 starts.
Left-hander Richard Lovelady, who went on the IL with a UCL sprain, has been shut down for the remainder of the season.
He registered a 3.48 ERA, with 23 strikeouts, six walks, a .106 WHIP and a .211 opponents batting average in 20 2/3 innings (20 appearances) with the Royals this season.
Lovelady hadn’t allowed a run in his last eight appearances (7 1/3 innings).
This story was originally published August 31, 2021 at 6:42 PM.
