Kansas City Royals: Jackson Kowar electric in College World Series start

By Leigh Oleszczak | Jun 20, 2018

Pitcher Jackson Kowar #37 of the Florida Gators (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images) /

Kansas City Royals fans have never watched so much Florida Gators baseball before, but with Jackson Kowar taking the mound on Tuesday, fans had a reason to tune in.

We all know by now that the Kansas City Royals took two pitchers from the Florida Gators with their first two picks in the 2018 MLB Draft. The second pick, Jackson Kowar, took the mound for the Gators in an elimination game of the College World Series on Tuesday.

Florida, who lost 6-3 to Texas Tech on Sunday (a game in which other Royals first rounder Brady Singer started), was in a do or die situation on Tuesday. The Gators were squaring off against the Texas Longhorns and the loser would be heading home and cleaning out their lockers.

Kowar didn’t let the pressure affect him one bit. He was absolutely phenomenal in his second game since being drafted by the Royals, throwing 6.2 scoreless innings against the Texas lineup. Kowar surrendered just five hits and had a whopping 13 strikeouts with only two walks. This is exactly the type of performance Royals fans want to see from their first round pick.

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Brady Singer has been getting most of the hype since the draft, which makes sense considering he was the first pick for the Royals, but Jackson Kowar has been the better of the two in his two starts since being drafted. In the two games Kowar has pitched in since the draft, he’s gone 13.2 innings and allowed just one run.

Florida avoided elimination and will now face the winner of the Arkansas/Texas Tech game, set to take place on Wednesday. That game was initially scheduled for Tuesday evening, but the weather in Omaha has been crazy and has postponed several games now.

If the Gators win, Jackson Kowar might get to pitch again. Otherwise, he’ll be ready to join the Royals organization, along with Brady Singer. It’ll be exciting to have these guys join the farm system and both honestly look like they could contribute in games later this season. That’s what ended up happening with Brandon Finnegan in the 2014 season, so maybe the two could get a shot in the bigs.

So far, it’s been all positive for Jackson Kowar and Kansas City Royals fans should be really excited for what the future has in store for their second draft pick. Hopefully we get to see him pitch again as the Gators continue their quest to repeat as College World Series champions.

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