Royals Might Call Up 'Dynamite' Pitching Prospect Sooner Than Expected
The Kansas City Royals might have more starting pitching depth than they thought.
Kansas City’s rotation is set, but they could be in trouble if any of their top five arms misses time.
27-year-old lefty Kris Bubic is poised to become the Royals’ fifth starter, joining Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, and Michael Lorenzen. Bucic worked out of the bullpen last season but has the stuff and stamina to transition into a new role in 2025.
Despite the emergence of Bucic, Kansas City’s depth beyond their first five starters is one of the team’s weaknesses, as pointed out recently by The Athletic’s Jim Bowden.
However, the Royals might have a prospect who is suddenly ready to step in and join the rotation, giving Kansas City another valuable option.
On a scouting trip to Arizona this week, The Athletic’s Keith Law was impressed with Royals’ pitching prospect Steven Zobac.
“Right-hander Steven Zobac was dynamite in the Double-A game, working 94-96 mph with a hard changeup at 85-88 that had plus fading action and an above-average slider at 84-88, along with one cutter (that I saw, at least) at 91,” Law wrote.
“He threw strikes, he attacked with the fastball, he used the changeup really well to hitters on both sides, and he can miss some right-handers’ bats with the slider. It’s better velocity than he showed last year, at least on the fastball.”
“Even though Zobac only has 10 starts above A-ball under his belt, I really don’t see why this wouldn’t work in the big leagues if during the first month or two of the season the Royals need to call up a starter.”
Zobac, 24, was selected with the No. 115 overall pick in the 2022 MLB draft by Kansas City.
If Zobac is trending in the direction indicated by Law, the Royals may have just solved one of their biggest depth chart issues.
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Colin Keane is a contributing journalist for "Kansas City Royals On SI." Born in Illinois, Colin grew up in Massachusetts as the third of four brothers. For his high school education, Colin attended St. Mark's School (Southborough, MA), where he played basketball and soccer and served as student body president. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Villanova University. Colin currently resides in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org