Jakob Junis will start for the Royals on Sunday against the White Sox
Rotation reinforcements are on their way for the Kansas City Royals.
After using six different starting pitchers in the first eight games, including relievers cast as “openers,” the Royals will get to add the workhorse of last year’s rotation back into the mix. Right-hander Jakob Junis will start Sunday afternoon’s series finale against the Chicago White Sox at Kauffman Stadium.
Last year’s opening day starter, right-hander Brad Keller, is also nearing a return and could be back in the rotation as early as the next week.
“This all kind of worked itself out recently,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “(Junis) has responded well. He was going to throw tomorrow, but we feel like we’d seen the things we need to see with him to give him that chance to do it tomorrow.
“Brad was just great. He just threw a live. He threw 80-some (pitches) in the live. Saw the things that we needed to see as well, so you can picture him soon.”
Junis, 27, got a late start to spring training 2.0 because he’d tested positive for COVID-19 at the start of camp in Kansas City.
He began the regular season on the injured list as he continued his throwing progression as opposed to trying to ramp up in big-league games.
Last season, Junis led the Royals’ pitching staff in wins (nine), starts (31), innings (175 1/3) and strikeouts (164).
Asked when he and the coaching staff knew he was ready to return, Junis said, “I think it was this last outing four days ago when I was pushed to four innings. I felt like my stuff finally sharpened up to where I wanted it to be. My stamina was there, and I got through four innings and I wasn’t super dead tired. … I like where I’m at right now.”
The Royals entered their initial spring training camp in Arizona with four solidified starters in Keller, Danny Duffy, Mike Montgomery and Junis.
Keller, who tested positive for COVID-19 during camp, began the season on the IL, along with Junis, and continued his throwing progression.
After his first start on Monday in Detroit, Montgomery went on the IL with a lat strain.
Ronald Bolaños, acquired in the trade that sent left-handed reliever Timmy Hill to the San Diego Padres, was set to start Saturday’s game. He has started in the majors previously, but the Royals acquired him with the intent of having him as a power arm out of the bullpen.
The rotation injuries also prompted the Royals to start a youth movement with rookie pitchers Brady Singer and Kris Bubic inserted into the rotation.
“It was tough,” Junis said of watching the early portion of the season. “You definitely want to be there for the team and go out there and compete, but I think it was the right call. I needed a couple more outings to stay back and really get things fine-tuned for this start tomorrow.”
Keller returned to Royals camp a week before the season started, and he initially expressed optimism about being able to pitch in some capacity in the first week of the regular season.
However, he has been on the IL and taking part in workouts and scrimmages along with Junis at the club’s alternate training site, T-Bones Stadium, since the start of the regular season.
“It was a collective decision between Mike and (pitching coach) Cal (Eldred) and myself,” Keller said. “It was a smart thing to do because you go from spring training and seeing hitters all the time, to not seeing hitters for two months and little live (sessions) here and there, then try to ramp up quickly and then you get shut down for 11 days. To get thrown back into the fire probably wasn’t the wisest decision.”
Keller said he thought the organization had his health in mind, and he’d taken note of how other pitchers around the league have had injuries early this season.
Among the pitchers to go down with injuries in the first week of this pandemic-shortened season are former Cy Young Award winners Justin Verlander of the Astros, Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Corey Kluber of the Texas Rangers.
Keller said he noticed a clear difference in his conditioning over the course of his working out at the alternate site.
This story was originally published August 1, 2020 at 4:05 PM with the headline "Jakob Junis will start for the Royals on Sunday against the White Sox."
