Kansas City Royals: Scott Barlow has a lot to prove in 2020 season
The Kansas City Royals will hopefully play a season in 2020 and if they do, Scott Barlow has a chance to prove himself in the bullpen.
As of now, the COVID-19 pandemic has Major League Baseball on hold. If a 2020 season is played, however, the Kansas City Royals will be hoping to see something out of Scott Barlow to prove he’s worthy of keeping in their bullpen over the next few years.
Barlow – who is 27 years old – made his MLB debut with the Royals in 2018 at the age of 25. His first season in the majors saw him do well, but in very limited action. He appeared in just six games while throwing 15 innings of work, notching an ERA of 3.60 and a WHIP of 1.26. He struck out 15 batters and walked just three. It was a nice rookie campaign for Barlow, even if they didn’t have much to go with in his limited appearances.
Things were looking good for Barlow in the 2019 season through the middle of May. At one point, he sat with an ERA of 2.01, but it was all downhill from there for him, as his ERA inflated for the rest of the season. By the end of May, he had a 4.23 ERA and it would continue to climb. He went from being one of the best arms in the pen to someone who made fans nervous any time he’d enter a game.
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By season’s end, Barlow logged 70.1 innings (through 61 games) and had an ERA of 4.22 when it was all said and done. He did record 92 strike outs while issuing 37 walks, but the initial promising start did show that Barlow could be a good reliever.
With Barlow being 27 years old and the Royals having a lot of other young pitchers who will be ready to make the leap to the majors in the next year or two, this is the time for Barlow to show he belongs in this bullpen. If there isn’t a 2020 season, Barlow will be 28 when the 2021 season starts and by then, the Royals might have seen enough and be ready to move on and look for new relief depth.
Some other names who were locks to be in the bullpen this year were Ian Kennedy (obviously), Tim Hill (though he was really struggling in Spring Training before it got put on hold), Jorge Lopez, Richard Lovelady, Trevor Rosenthal, Randy Rosario, and Josh Staumont. The Royals also have Greg Holland who was looking to revive his career with the team who helped him jumpstart his career.
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Hopefully there is baseball this year (assuming it can be played safely) and if there is, it’d be great for Scott Barlow to show he can help this team win games down the road.