The Kansas City Royals are off and running in Spring Training, jumping out to a hot start in the Cactus League as the upstart club tries to build off last season's surprise playoff run.
Their pitching staff figures to be the team's strength, especially after reworking the bullpen with the acquisition of Carlos Estévez. Led by Seth Lugo, Cole Ragans, and Michael Wacha, the starting pitchers should once again rank among the sport's best. That said, one of the biggest questions to answer is who will hold the final spot in that rotation.
Alec Marsh started 25 games in 2024 though is dealing with an injury to start the spring. He threw a bullpen session on Monday and spoke to the media, noting that it was the first real time he pitched since last year.
Alec Marsh's 3Ks in the 2nd. pic.twitter.com/yFUP0R9E6U
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 11, 2024
Royals SP Alec Marsh Nearing Return From Injury
According to the Kansas City Star, Marsh threw 25 pitches as he works on building up strength and gets closer to actual live action.
"That was pretty much my first bullpen of the year," Marsh said following the session. "I touched the mound once before I got shut down, so I wouldn’t even count that as a bullpen. That was the first time I had gotten off the mound since last year."
In those 25 starts, Marsh compiled a 9-9 record with a 4.53 ERA and 123 strikeouts in 129 innings. Still only 26 years old, he was particularly stellar early in the campaign, posting a 2.70 ERA in three April victories and a 3.86 mark in May.
He's competing against Kris Bubic, Daniel Lynch, and Kyle Wright for starts assuming that Michael Lorenzen gets the fourth spot in the rotation. Bubic feels like the early leader, though that could change should Marsh impress once he's back. He'll be part of the staff either way, and hopefully he can build off the strong start from last year to achieve a bit more consistency overall.
Regardless, the Royals are in great shape and it'll be interesting to watch these pitchers duel over the next month.