How (and why) the KC Royals’ starting pitchers have this year’s rotation rocking
The Kansas City Royals’ starting rotation has been a sight to behold this season.
Pitchers Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, Brady Singer, Michael Wacha and Alec Marsh entered Sunday’s game against the Chicago White Sox with a combined earned-run average of 1.26 ERA. Opposing batters are hitting just .144 against them.
Both of these marks lead the majors. With a 3-0 shutout of the White Sox on Saturday, the Royals climbed above .500 for the first time since April 2022, mainly due to their starting pitchers’ dominance.
Royals pitching coach Brian Sweeney believes the culture among the five-man staff of starting pitchers has much to do with that.
“When you look at the first-pitch strikes — early and ahead — these guys are doing a really good job,” he said. “Really, the culture they are creating has been a lot of fun to watch. … You see these guys from the dugout, kind of hanging out together, enjoying some time together.
“The culture is created by the people that occupy the space, and they’ve done an amazing job of kind of coming together.
“Before the season,” Sweeney continued, “I asked, ‘Do you want the starters to be out in the bullpen watching sides and getting ready for a game?’ I left it up to them. I didn’t want to force it. They decided doing that together was a good idea and it’s really been fun to watch.”
It isn’t just the starting pitchers who have forged a tight bond; the revamped KC bullpen, too, has created a “micro-culture,” Sweeney said, “and it’s fun to watch.”
The headliners, of course, are the Royals’ starting pitchers. They’d accumulated eight quality starts in nine games through Saturday, twice as many as any other team in the majors. Last season, KC had only 32 quality starts, matching Oakland for fewest in the majors.
Veteran pitcher Wacha — one of several newcomers on this year’s staff of starting pitchers — indicated he isn’t exactly surprised by the hot start.
“Guys are putting in a ton of work for our outings — we’re prepared,” he said. “It’s been fun to watch. It’s kind of just feeding off each other and building off each start.”
Sweeney said there’s even a little friendly competition among the staff, and that doesn’t hurt, either.
“There’s a competition — they pick each other up,” he said. “It’s easier when you are playing for something bigger than yourself. If one of these guys falls down, there’s six guys to pick them up — because Kyle Wright’s involved in this group, he’s in the dugout listening to the conversations and a part of it.
“If there’s a tough inning, there’s a guy to pat you on the butt to pick you up. I couldn’t be prouder of the culture they are creating.”
This story was originally published April 7, 2024 at 1:29 PM with the headline "How (and why) the KC Royals’ starting pitchers have this year’s rotation rocking."
