It’s all about making strides for Kansas City Royals pitcher Jackson Kowar
The most important number for Kansas City Royals pitcher Jackson Kowar after his first Cactus League outing on Sunday was zero. As in he allowed zero walks.
Kowar, a former first-round draft pick in 2018 who made his major-league debut last season, showed off a blazing fastball that reached 98 mph in the first inning, and he registered four strikeouts in two innings.
The Royals recorded their first win over the spring on Edward Olivares’ walk-off RBI double with two outs in the ninth to lift his club to an 11-10 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in a Cactus League game in front of an announced 6,449 at Surprise Stadium.
“More than anything, I just wanted to fill the zone today,” Kowar said. “So that no walks, I was happy with. I put myself behind in a couple counts, but I was really happy with the way I was able to bounce back, especially from the 3-0 one, and make some pitches.
“For me, that’s what I’m looking for at this point, to be able to fill the zone up and then go from there.”
Kowar’s “stuff” hasn’t really ever been a question. By all accounts, his changeup can be a devastating pitch, and he has coupled that with a fastball in the upper 90s.
This offseason, he “committed” to the slider instead of the curveball he’d been working on in recent years.
Now, it’s a matter of being consistent with those offerings.
Last season in his first taste of the majors, Kowar battled command issues that held him back from coming close to the type of success he had in the minors. He’d shown flashes of dominance on his way to the big leagues.
He walked 20 batters in 30 1/3 innings last year in the majors, which contributed greatly to his 11.27 ERA in his first nine big-league appearances (eight starts).
He made some adjustments to his pitching mechanics, specifically increasing his stride length, this offseason in an attempt to find more consistency.
“It just gets my hand in a better spot,” Kowar said. “It keeps me in my tunnels and my lanes a little bit better and allows me to command my fastball. And it keeps my fastball a little bit more on plane. …
“For me that’s the biggest thing I think I’ve found these last couple years in my delivery, if my stride length is out there then my hand gets in a really good spot and I’m able to command my pitches best.”
The first hit he gave up was a flare off the end of the bat that carried over the infield and dropped into short left field for a single by Seth Beer with one out in the second inning. Then Stuart Fairchild followed with a single through the hole between third base and shortstop to put two on and no outs.
Kowar responded with back-to-back strikeouts — the second time in two innings he finished that way — and stranded both runners when he blew a 95 mph fastball past Geraldo Perdomo for the final out of the second inning.
Kowar ended the day having allowed one run on three hits in two innings. The run scored after he turned the game over to reliever Josh Dye with a runner on second base after a leadoff double by Jake Hager to start the third.
“He was amped up last year and trying to overthrow at times and power through and go to his very best changeup in counts where he probably just needed to try to do soft contact,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “He’s learning. He learned a lot from last year, and he’s better.”
Big fly baseball
The Royals scored their first five runs via the home run. Michael A. Taylor and Salvador Perez each blasted solo shots — Taylor’s to center field in the third and Perez’s to left in the fourth — and Emmanuel Rivera hammered a three-run homer to center in the fifth inning.
Taylor’s 12 home runs last season were his most since he smashed 19 for the Washington Nationals in 2017.
Perez tied the franchise single-season record for home runs with 48 last year. He also set a single-season record for a primary catcher (at least 75 percent of his games at catcher).
Rivera made his major-league debut last season. He hit his first career home run at Wrigley Field on August 20.
“We have guys with that kind of power,” Matheny said. “It was nice to see Salvy fill that box. It’s always good to see him get going. Michael being able to too. All the way down. We had a number of guys put together good at-bats overall. You’ve got to take advantage of Arizona spring training and days like today, get the ball in the air and take your chances.”
Pitch-calling system
Matheny said the Royals have been troubleshooting a new pitch-calling system that would allow catchers to communicate with pitchers and fielders without using traditional hand signals. The Royals haven’t implemented it yet, but it’s something that Matheny seemed very open to doing in the future.
The Tampa Bay Rays have recently started testing the system in their big-league camp and during spring training exhibition games in Florida.
“I’m a fan, and I never in a million years thought I would be,” Matheny said. “It’s actually as simple as I’ve got it down already. I could call a game right now without even needing the cue cards.”
The catcher presses a button on a wristband that sends a signal to a receiver that pitchers and a small number of designated players in the field can wear inside their hats. The players wearing the receivers would hear an automated voice in their ear telling them pitch and location.
Matheny, a four-time Gold Glove-winning catcher, pulled out a briefcase with the wearable technology and showed it off while explaining it to reporters in his office. He appreciated that the wrist strap is oriented from the perspective of the catcher. Along with the pitch selection, the device also conveys a location.
“I’ll tell you right now, this would not have bothered me at all,” Matheny said of the wristband.
Roster moves/pitching update
Prior to Sunday’s game, the Royals optioned pitchers Jonathan Bowlan, Daniel Tillo and Nate Webb to Double-A Northwest Arkansas.
Following the moves, the Royals have 58 players in major-league camp, including 21 non-roster invitees. That does not include right-hander Tyler Zuber, who went on the 60-day injured list on Wednesday with right shoulder impingement syndrome.
The Royals list Brady Singer, Austin Cox, Joel Payamps and Taylor Clarke as probable pitchers for Monday’s game at the Los Angeles Angels.
