Royals Call Up Jackson Kowar, Set to Start Against Angels
Following Sunday's 2-1 loss to the Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals manager Mike Matheny announced right-handed pitcher Jackson Kowar, the Royals No. 4 prospect, will start tomorrow's game against the Los Angeles Angels.
Mike Matheny has just announced that RHP Jackson Kowar will make his MLB debut tomorrow, starting for the Royals in Anaheim. Jakob Junis has been optioned to AAA.
— Joel Goldberg (@goldbergkc) June 6, 2021
To make room on the roster, Kansas City has optioned Jakob Junis to Triple-A Omaha. In 34 2/3 innings pitched this year, Junis has gone 2-3 with a 5.19 ERA. After the game, Matheny said Junis would be heading to Omaha to "get built back up."
Kowar's dominance at the Triple-A level has been hard to ignore. In six starts this season, the righty has gone 5-0 with a 0.85 ERA. Kowar has collected 41 strikeouts in 31 2/3 innings pitched this year.
The 24-year-old's 0.85 ERA was the lowest in the Triple-A East among qualified pitchers. Kowar was tied for second in the league in strikeouts and his 10 walks rank among the lowest allowed by a starting pitcher. With numbers like that, it was hard to keep Kowar down much longer.
A tricky part involving Kowar's promotion is he is not currently on Kansas City's 40-man roster. A corresponding 40-man roster move will be announced tomorrow, according to Alec Lewis of The Athletic.
Kowar's call-up comes hours after the Royals announced four moves prior to their game against the Twins on Sunday. Before the game, Kansas City activated right-handed pitcher Josh Staumont from the 10-day injured list, recalled outfielder Edward Olivares, optioned right-handed pitcher Tyler Zuber to Triple-A Omaha and placed shortstop Adalberto Mondesi on the 10-day injured list.
Read More: Three Takeaways From the Royals' 2-1 Loss to the Twins
Tucker D. Franklin is an alumnus of Northwest Missouri State University, majoring in sports media and graduating in 2019. Tucker was previously the sports editor for The Maryville Forum and is now the editor-in-chief of Inside the Royals as well as the deputy editor for Arrowhead Report on SI.com and the host of the Roughing the Kicker Chiefs podcast. Follow Tucker on Twitter @tuckerdfranklin.