KCKingdom
Fansided

Kansas City Royals: Bubba Starling is on the rebound

Kansas City Royals prospect Bubba Starling. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Kansas City Royals prospect Bubba Starling. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

It has been a long road for Kansas City Royals prospect Bubba Starling, but the former first round pick seems to have gotten things back on track.

It was almost to the point that Kansas City Royals fans were giving up on Bubba Starling. The outfield prospect seemed to be making slow, if any, progress towards the major leagues. However, over the past month Starling has been on an absolute tear. He now stands poised to make his major league debut very soon.

When he was drafted, Bubba Starling was hailed as a game-changing selection. Many believed the local boy from Gardner, Kansas would quickly become the face of the franchise. However, things moved very slowly for Starling and he was in a pretty stagnant state for quite some time.

Now, over the past month, Bubba Starling is hitting a slash line of .333/.367./.508. That is very impressive, and it shows that he’s starting to get things put together. If Starling keeps this kind of a pace, he will certainly be playing Kansas City very soon.

The Youth Movement Is On

More from Kansas City Royals

Bubba Starling wouldn’t be the first young Royals prospect to make an impact this season. Kansas City is currently getting solid work from Whit Merrifield and Jorge Bonifacio. They have also seen Raul Mondesi Jr and Ramon Torres put in quality playing time. If Bubba Starling can make the jump to the majors, we will have a solid image of the future of Royals baseball.

A talented young core of players is something Kansas City fans can get behind. After all, that was the driving force behind back to back trips to the World Series in 2014 and 2015. If this next young core can continue to step up, there is no reason why we couldn’t see postseason success again.

However, that will still rely on Bubba Starling stepping up. The Royals need as much of their youthful talent to become contributors as possible. Starling, a former first round pick, is absolutely important to that.

The Kansas City Royals are starting to shake up the American League. However, their long-term prospects are still a bit unclear. The Royals need their young talent to start coming into more prominent roles if they want to be in contention for years to come. A lot of that will circle around the progress of Bubba Starling.