Kansas City Royals: Bubba Starling poised for MLB call-up in 2019
The Kansas City Royals have been waiting for Bubba Starling to get “major league ready” for eight years now and it appears the time might finally have arrived. Starling is crushing it in Triple-A Omaha.
Ever since the Kansas City Royals took Bubba Starling with the fifth overall pick in the 2011 MLB Draft, fans have been anxiously awaiting the moment the Gardner, Kansas native would make his debut in the bigs.
Not many of those fans predicted it’d take this long for Starling to get to that point, but here we are. Still waiting for ol’ Bubba to swing the bat at Kauffman Stadium.
Starling, who opted to join the Royals organization rather than play football at Nebraska, has had his fair share of ups and downs in the minor leagues (mostly downs). What started off as him struggling to hit the ball then turned into him getting injured frequently. Whatever the case was – Starling wasn’t improving and it really did appear that he’d be a bust we’d be name dropping years from now.
More from Kansas City Royals
- This Plus-Money Bobby Witt Jr. Prop Bet is on Fire (Hit in 15/21 Games)!
- The Royals Need to Extend Bobby Witt Jr. Immediately
- DraftKings + FanDuel Kansas Promos: INSTANT $150 Bonus Plus Two Chances to Win!
- 3 Royals Players Who Won’t Be on the Roster Next Year
- LAST CHANCE to Claim $250 GUARANTEED Bonus With FanDuel and DraftKings Kansas Promos!
Fast forward to present day 2019 and Bubba Starling very well could make it to Kansas City this season.
As of May 6th, the former first round pick is currently slashing .351/.393/.455 with two home runs, eight RBI, and five stolen bases in 77 at bats with the Stormchasers. In other words, Starling is tearing it up in Omaha, a place where he has struggled immensely over time.
For the Royals to call up Starling, they’d have to do some rearranging with their current roster. Alex Gordon is the obvious left fielder, so he isn’t going anywhere this year. Billy Hamilton has been the predominant center fielder while right field has been switched up between Whit Merrifield and Jorge Soler.
Merrifield can play just about anywhere while Soler has been in right field more recently due to Chris Owings being removed from the lineup. Soler in right means Merrifield covers second base. Soler is also in the outfield due to Kelvin Gutierrez playing at third and Hunter Dozier is naturally going to be the designated hitter with his insanely hot hitting, taking that role from Soler.
Time for Nicky Lopez Era to Begin. light. Trending
Hamilton could be a trade piece come July due to his base stealing ability, so that could be when the Royals opt to bring Starling to KC. If they decide to call him up sooner, sending Terrance Gore (who is hitting quite well in limited action) could be another option. They should DFA Owings, but who knows if that’s even up for discussion.
Starling has played center and right field in Omaha this year and the hope was that he could man center field after Lorenzo Cain departed, but that obviously didn’t work out at the time. Now, however, if Gordon doesn’t come back next year, maybe left field is an option for Starling.
Next. Every Royals First Round Pick Since 2000. dark
No matter where they put him in the outfield, Bubba Starling has finally earned an opportunity to make it to Kansas City. Royals fans have been waiting a long time for this moment and it could finally be here.
What do you think the plan should be with Bubba Starling?