Royals GM Dayton Moore explains decision to go forward with young pitchers this season
General manager Dayton Moore likes to say the Kansas City Royals’ prospects decide when they’re ready for the big leagues in how they perform — not a timetable sketched out by the front office, or clamoring from the fan base or their stature in third-party rankings.
But this summer, the Royals were running out of starting pitching options when they made the decision to promote right-hander Brady Singer and left-hander Kris Bubic to the majors.
Singer, who made just 26 starts in his minor-league career, has now made two starts in the majors. Bubic, having not thrown a pitch above Single-A in the minors, started the club’s home opener July 31. That assignment is typically not made lightly.
Had Brad Keller and Jakob Junis not had their respective pitching progressions slowed by COVID-19 and Mike Montgomery not been sidelined by a lat strain, the current youth movement would likely have been more of a toe in the water than the head-first dive the organization has taken.
Asked bluntly if the Royals would have made the moves to promote and start Singer and Bubic had things not unfolded this way for Keller, Junis and Montgomery, Moore offered a blunt answer.
“No, probably not. I’m going to be honest with you. I doubt it,” Moore said. “But those weren’t the circumstances presented. I think if Keller and Junis were ready to answer the bell, and Montgomery. I mean, we just had three guys in our rotation go down, obviously.”
Moore said the Royals’ front office and coaching staff went to spring training with the idea of getting Singer and Bubic into the starting rotation by mid-June or mid-July. That remained the plan through the team’s initial big-league camp in Surprise, Arizona, this spring.
The progress they made, even as camps in Arizona and Florida were canceled along with all minor-league seasons, kept them on a timetable of starting major-league games by this summer.
“I get it — it’s not as traditional as it has been in the past,” Moore said. “I was really pleased with the way Singer has approached things. I was very pleased with how Kris Bubic approached his (first MLB) start and how he managed through that game and continued to compete. He didn’t have his best command, but he made pitches and he kept attacking and he didn’t back down. I think that’s a huge testament and indicator of what type of pitcher he can ultimately become.”
The Royals have been very calculating in how they’ve brought along the quartet of college pitchers who comprised the core of their 2018 MLB draft class: Singer and Bubis, as well as Jackson Kowar and Daniel Lynch. Daniel Tillo, drafted in 2017, was in line with them, too, but an arm injury this summer and subsequent COVID-19 infection will likely cost him the season.
Why have the Royals been so aggressive in moving up Singer, who had one season in the minors and topped out at Double-A, and Bubic, who hadn’t pitched above Single-A?
Was it an urgency to see results at the big-league level during this 60-game season, or was it because this group of college arms was so advanced upon entering the Royals’ farm system?
“I would say both,” Moore said. “If we didn’t feel that it was the right thing to do for their development, they would not be here. OK? But it just so happens that we do believe this is the right path for their development at this point in time as we’ve had to adjust through the different dynamics of professional baseball in 2020. It’s also the best thing to help our team to put our team in a position to win games.
“We’re getting a chance to accomplish both. They give us the best chance to win, and we are convinced it’s the best thing to do for their individual development. The fact that you can locate quality pitches gives you a chance to be successful. Both Brady and Kris, although it’s a very short sample size, have proven in these major-league outings that they can locate quality pitches, which gives them a chance to get major-league hitters out.”
Moore pointed to their daily preparation, work ethic and mindset, as well as their all-around ability on the mound — fielding their positions, holding runners, controlling the pace of the game, battling back when behind in the count — as signs these two are capable of handling themselves at this level and aren’t going to self-destruct on the major-league stage.
What the young guns expected
Before his first start in the Royals’ second game of this 60-game season, Singer said he expected to ascend the majors this soon. He made it his mission to get to the big leagues quickly and have an impact once the Royals drafted him.
After his second MLB start last Thursday, and with Bubic announced as the following night’s starter, Singer said, “It’s awesome. We’re all working hard to get here, all four of us and the other guys, as well. Everybody is trying to get here as fast as they can. We can finally start seeing it in play. It’s definitely exciting.”
Bubic expressed confidence that Kowar and Lynch wouldn’t be too far behind in making their presence felt in the majors. Both were at the Royals’ big-league camp in Arizona and part of the club’s 60-man player pool.
They’re currently working out and staying ready at the club’s alternate summer training site, T-Bones Stadium in Kansas City, Kan.
“We get grouped together, and we’re all obviously in this thing together,” Bubic said. “I expect them to be up pretty soon as well. We’re all knocking on the door, if not already there.”
Bubic, the organization’s Pitcher of the Year in 2019, posted an 11-5 record with a 2.23 ERA and led all of minor-league baseball with 185 strikeouts. Even with that success, he said the experiences of spring training and training camp 2.0 in Kansas City this summer gave him comfort as he made the jump from Single-A to the majors.
Facing big-league hitters from their own organization came with the added benefit of being able to talk to those hitters afterward, and those hitters confirming, “Your stuff will play,” or, “Your stuff is really good.”
Bubic said that was an important boost.
“As a group, we’re confident enough in our ability that we know that we’ve proven to ourselves and to others that we can get big-league hitters out, whether it was back in February or March or now in summer camp facing our own hitters,” Bubic said. “Amongst ourselves, we’re just going to the park and trying to challenge each other each day and compete with one another. I think that’s what allows us to rise collectively and bring out the best in one another.”
What the Royals needed
Heading into the spring, Royals veterans such as left fielder Alex Gordon and infielder/outfielder Whit Merrifield were frank in saying they were tired of the “rebuilding” narrative around the club the past few seasons.
Back-to-back seasons of more than 100 losses put a premium on increased team success for experienced players on the team who’d tasted success in 2014 and 2015 and some measure of individual success.
They welcome this youth movement in the Royals’ pitching staff, whether seeing Singer or Bubic start or reliever Tyler Zuber debut and pitch in high-pressure situations.
“As a player, not just a veteran player, as a player, it shows what the front office’s view is, and that’s not about service-time manipulation and worried about the right time limits,” Merrifield said. “It’s, ‘Who is going to give us the best chance to win tonight?’ It’s super-refreshing to see that in this day and age. That’s why we love Dayton.”
Moore brushes off the idea that this youth movement conveys any sort of message to players on the current big-league roster. Instead, he contends that the moves were made because they’re the right moves to make at this time.
Last week, Merrifield compared Singer to Keller. He said Singer reminded him of Keller in how they work quickly on the mound, throw strikes and rely on weak contact to get hitters out.
“Both pound the zone and aren’t scared to challenge guys,” Merrifield said. “That’s what, I think, we’re looking for on this team. As a position player, that’s who I love playing behind. Playing at Kauffman Stadium, you can’t be scared to challenge guys. I love seeing that Brady has got that attitude to him. He’s not satisfied with what he has done. He wants to get better. I think he’s got a really bright future.”
This story was originally published August 1, 2020 at 3:45 PM with the headline "Royals GM Dayton Moore explains decision to go forward with young pitchers this season."
