Kansas City Royals pitcher Kris Bubic still searching for form he showed in the past
Kris Bubic was more frustrated with his performance and had less patience for anything resembling an excuse than anyone else following his latest start.
The Kansas City Royals’ left-hander didn’t make it through the first inning of his start against the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium. He gave up four runs while recording just one out, which set the tone for a 10-0 loss to end the club’s homestand.
The third of an inning marked the shortest outing of his major-league career. Afterward, Bubic described the last month as “as frustrated, probably, as I’ve been on a baseball field.”
The 40th overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft and the Royals’ 2019 Minor League Pitcher of the Year, Bubic has endured a rough stretch to start this season.
Twice this season, he hasn’t completed the first inning, and he’s made it through five innings just once in his first five starts.
In those five starts, Bubic has allowed 18 earned runs, 18 hits and 11 walks in 12 1/3 innings. Much of those struggles resulted from early-inning command problems.
Prior to his outing against the Cardinals, he went two-thirds of an inning in his first start of the season against Cleveland and allowed five runs. He gave up two runs apiece in the first and second innings against Seattle on April 23. He gave up three first-inning runs in his previous start against the New York Yankees April 29.
“It’s just getting away from what I do best,” Bubic said. “I don’t want to over-analyze it too much.”
Last season, his nine quality starts tied for second-most among Royals pitchers and he ranked third with 130 innings despite not beginning the season on the major-league roster. He posted a career-best 17 2/3 scoreless-inning streak from May 6-18. Then he took a no-hitter into the seventh inning on the road against the Chicago Cubs on Aug. 21.
This season, he has repeatedly struggled to throw strikes early in outings, which has led to his high walk totals.
The Royals temporarily shelved the usage of his slider a couple weeks ago in an effort to let him focus on his command with his other pitches.
Asked whether he’d made changes to his preparation and routine, Bubic said, “A little bit. At the end of the day though, you can do whatever you want off the field. Once you get in between those white lines, it’s different. It’s tough to replicate that in any other environment. But like I said, it’s unacceptable, it’s embarrassing and it sucks. But I’ve just got to keep moving forward.”
Bubic lauded his teammates for being “supportive” of him through his struggles, while lamenting the poor positions he’s put the team in.
“He’s going to be all right,” Royals shortstop Nicky Lopez said. “… You’ve got to adjust in this game, and it’s not easy. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it. But it’s one of those games where you’ve got to constantly be adjusting. You constantly have to get better, and he’ll do it.”
Royals manager Mike Matheny has championed Bubic’s ability and bright future since Bubic’s major-league debut in 2020.
After Bubic’s start against the Cardinals, Matheny was asked what message he had for Bubic.
“I’m not sure yet,” Matheny said. “I haven’t had that (talk) with him today. The timing is not right yet, but we’ll have that conversation.
The Royals have several starting pitching candidates at Triple-A Omaha who are currently on the club’s 40-man roster, including Jon Heasley, Jackson Kowar and Brady Singer.
Singer began the season in the major-league bullpen. He was optioned to the minors April 28 in order to get him stretched out and starting on a regular basis. He’s made just one start (2 2/3 innings) since being sent to Triple-A.
This story was originally published May 4, 2022 at 5:51 PM.
