Royals pitcher Jose Cuas’ debut might be the most inspirational story in MLB this year
The Kansas City Royals will have to turn things around if they hope to make the playoffs, but one of their pitchers might have this season’s most inspirational story in Major League Baseball.
Right-hander Jose Cuas made his big-league debut Tuesday in the Royals’ 8-3 loss to the Guardians in Cleveland. Cuas, who pitched a scoreless inning of relief, got to the big leagues seven years after he was drafted.
It wasn’t a traditional path to the majors.
The Brewers selected Cuas, who was an infielder at the University of Maryland, in the 11th round, but he failed to hit above .200 in any season after rookie ball and switched to pitching. Cuas went to the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2019, but didn’t pitch during the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
As Bally Sports Kansas City’s Joel Goldberg revealed during Tuesday’s broadcast, Cuas was working at FedEx in Brooklyn for a while. The Royals signed Cuas last June, and after a long journey, he was in the majors.
Cuas’ family was at Tuesday’s game and cameras showed them recording his debut. Afterward, they met him on Progressive Field.
Cuas’ journey touched people around the nation, and Jomboy shared Goldberg’s first report on the Royals pitcher.
CBS Sports producer Danny Vietti tweeted the video, too.
This is what others around the country were saying.
This story was originally published June 1, 2022 at 11:37 AM.
