Royals bullpen in the middle of a ‘dominant’ stretch as pitchers embrace flexible roles
Just like that, Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Scott Barlow, at the ripe age of 29, has become the wise veteran of what has looked like a lock-down bullpen early in the season.
Even Barlow had to chuckle when asked about his place as the elder statesman among the group. After all, in recent years the unit has included grizzled veterans such as Greg Holland, Wade Davis and, briefly in 2020, Trevor Rosenthal.
Now it’s Barlow, a right-hander who broke into the majors in 2018, cast in the role of experienced veteran reliever, stalwart and reliable back-end option with a steady track record.
“I try not to think about it that way, but, realistically, yeah I try to set a good example, make sure I’m doing the right things, getting ready at the right times,” Barlow said after recording his first save of the season on Wednesday night in the Royals’ 2-0 win over the Minnesota Twins at Kauffman Stadium.
Technically, left-hander Amir Garrett has more service time in the big leagues than Barlow.
However, Garrett just joined the club in the middle of spring training via a trade from the Cincinnati Reds, whereas Barlow has been a mainstay in the Royals’ pen since 2019. Barlow was also the club’s pitcher of the year last season.
The Royals bullpen Barlow anchors along with Josh Staumont and Jake Brentz has been an undeniable strength of the club through the first 10 games.
That unit extended its collective scoreless innings streak to 17 1/3 innings with four more in Wednesday’s win. The streak dates back to the eighth inning last Thursday night.
“The best way to describe it right now is dominant,” Royals starting pitcher Daniel Lynch said of the bullpen’s recent performance.
Seven different members of the bullpen have contributed to that streak, including rookies Collin Snider and Dylan Coleman. Barlow has definitely been one of the go-to resources for newcomers, even if it’s still slightly shocking for him to find himself in that role.
“It’s like deja vu,” Barlow said. “It’s sometimes really weird. I’m like, ‘I’ve asked that same question. And I have a pretty good answer because I’ve asked the same question to some pretty good pitchers.’ It’s weird thinking about it now, but it’s been cool.”
During this recent run, they’ve allowed just four hits and registered 18 strikeouts. Taylor Clarke, Barlow, Brentz, Coleman, Garrett, Snider and Staumont each logged innings during the stretch.
The bullpen’s ability to keep games close has also been a big reason why nine of the Royals’ 10 games have been decided by three runs or fewer, including each of the last seven.
“Everyone is just doing their stuff, hitting their stride,” Staumont said. “It’s exciting. It’s one of those things that when you call your name, everyone is ready. Everyone wants those innings. We go, and you guys have seen what we’ve been able to do in these 10 games. Exciting is a very easy word to put on that. It’s just, at this point, just keeping the momentum.”
The group has once again embraced the idea of pitching in high-leverage situations and matching up with certain hitters or parts of an opposing team’s lineup as opposed to a more traditional mode of pitching in a certain inning regardless of the game situation.
Staumont earned back-to-back saves in the club’s previous two wins on Saturday and Tuesday (they were rained out on Sunday and had a scheduled off day on Monday).
But Barlow got the call in the ninth inning on Wednesday after Staumont pitched a wipe-out eighth inning that featured two strikeouts. Barlow ended his outing with a called third strike against Twins star Carlos Correa.
The Royals (5-5) had success operating in a similar mold early last season. They had five different players with saves in their first seven wins of 2021.
Why do they all seem to thrive in an environment where they don’t have set roles?
“It’s a culture thing,” Staumont said. “I truly believe that. When you start getting onto the idea of competition, I think it can switch into two different sides where you start competing against each other compared to the overall goal.
“I think that right now we’re so focused on getting the wins, doing our job, understanding that the losses are going to happen, but if we continually do our jobs in the way that we’re supposed to, continue to step on the right line at the same time, that’s been the easiest way.”
Royals manager Mike Matheny has said repeatedly that he thinks Barlow, who led the team with 16 saves last season, Brentz and Staumont could all be potential closers for a club in the traditional model of bullpen usage.
Matheny has also lauded the ability of the bullpen, from top to bottom, to buy into the way the coaching staff has asked them to be prepared to pitch in the fourth or fifth inning, if needed, to bail a starter out of a jam as well as in the later innings of a tight game.
“I think they’re finding some comfortability in what their roles are,” Matheny said. “They’re flexible with them too. Guys like Snider being able to come in the middle. Amir Garrett being able to come into the middle innings. Then watching them kind of take their turn when they get down to seventh, eighth, ninth, between Brentz, Josh and Scott understanding ‘I’ve just got to be ready.’”
This story was originally published April 21, 2022 at 12:23 AM.
