As Josh Staumont joins bullpen, Royals map out a plan to get Dylan Coleman on track
.jpg "Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Josh Staumont")
Relief pitcher Josh Staumont was a surprising omission from the Royals’ opening-day roster, but his absence from the big-league team was a short one.
The Royals on Friday recalled Staumont from Triple-A Omaha, one day after relief pitcher Dylan Coleman was optioned to the Storm Chasers.
Staumont appeared in four games with Omaha, allowing three hits in four innings, while striking out seven. He said Friday he had tweaked a few things while with the Storm Chasers.
“A lot of it was just kind of tweaking little things here and there, trying to make sure that we’re being as consistent as possible,” Staumont said. “And some of that just comes with extra reps and stuff like that. It’s good.
“So we’re just happy to kind of keep the ball rolling. I’ve been throwing really well through spring training all the way up to here. So just got to kick it up a notch and do it up here basically.”
Coleman, 26, had an 18.00 ERA in five appearances this season. He gave up 10 hits, walked seven and struck out five in five innings pitched.
A year ago, Coleman was a key part of the Royals bullpen. In 68 appearances, Coleman had a 2.78 ERA with 71 strikeouts in 68 innings pitched. He walked 37.
Royals manager Matt Quatraro praised Coleman for recognizing he needed to improve. Quatraro added that Royals pitching coach Brian Sweeney sketched out a plan for Coleman to get back on track while at Omaha.
“He realized that he was not himself,” Quatraro said of Coleman. “Whether it’s mechanical, strike-throwing, whatever it is, there’s something that’s off, and he recognizes that. And he said it’s not fair to himself, it’s not fair to the team, it’s not fair to the other guys to go out there and compete without an arsenal that can get major-league hitters out right now.
“So Brian and the pitching team, they got together with him today on a call and mapped out his plan. All kinds of stuff: physical, mental, pitch design, arm strength, all that kind of stuff. The whole process to map out for a while and see if he can get himself right.”
