No. 17 prospect Zobac blowing Royals' plans 'out of the water'

This story was excerpted from Anne Rogers’ Royals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

The first start with Double-A Northwest Arkansas for Steven Zobac this year didn’t go quite as planned, with the Royals’ No. 17 prospect allowing six runs (five earned) on nine hits in three innings at Frisco on July 12.

But Zobac had done well with High-A Quad Cities the previous 14 games (13 starts), with a 3.95 ERA across 70 2/3 innings, and opted to follow the advice of his coaches both in Quad Cities and Northwest Arkansas: Don’t change anything.

“When you get moved up, you feel it instantly,” Zobac said in a phone conversation late last month. “You’re expecting everyone to look at you and think, ‘OK, this guy just got moved up, he needs to perform right away.’ When you don’t perform well, you feel like you’re letting yourself down and letting the entire team down, like, ‘Why did we move this guy up?’ But it was really important to just blow that off to the side and go, ‘Let’s learn from the stuff I did wrong, but overall, that outing is going in the trash.’

“If you dig too deep into it, you’re going to find yourself in a deeper hole than you would if you just eliminate it from your brain.”

Zobac got back on track on July 20 with four scoreless innings and eight strikeouts, and he took off from there, posting a 3.25 ERA across 11 games (10 starts) in Double-A. He wrapped up his 2024 season against Double-A Arkansas on Wednesday night, ending with a 3.64 ERA across 126 innings over the two levels.

The Royals’ fourth-round Draft pick in 2022 out of California, Zobac is relatively new to full-time pitching. He was a two-way player at Cal until his junior year, and he pitched sparingly the first two years. For that reason, the Royals were slightly more cautious with his innings in ‘23, Zobac’s first full pro season.

Zobac started last season in Single-A Columbia, where he posted a 2.09 ERA, but he faded a bit down the stretch. This year, even with the increased workload, Zobac feels much stronger. It earned him the promotion to Double-A, even when the Royals envisioned a full year at High-A for him in ‘24.

“He’s just blown the development plan out of the water,” senior director of pitching Paul Gibson said. “He’s stronger, quicker, more dynamic. The slider has gotten so much better. He’s been really impressive. … He’s pushing us hard. It’s fun.”

Armed with a 93-95 mph fastball, a slider and a changeup, Zobac is known for his command. In Double-A this year, he had a 30% strikeout rate with a 6.3% walk rate. The walk rate is what really stands out; he’s a strike-thrower and is exactly the kind of pitcher the Royals need in their system.

“If I don’t attack the zone, my stuff doesn’t work,” Zobac said. “Being in the zone is crucial for everything else in my arsenal to work. It’s a really big piece of what I do.”

It’s been around two years since Zobac began focusing solely on pitching, and he’s embraced every part of it, from the prep work in between each start to the game plan when he steps on the mound – and the adjustments he has to make with each.

“When I was a two-way player, I was so overwhelmed with physical activities to do,” Zobac said. “You’re constantly moving. You never have time to sit there and contemplate your last outing or think about the hitters you’re about to face or even think about the pitcher you’re going to face as a hitter. This year, I feel like there’s a lot of reflection and getting to understand the batters you’re about to face. That’s been challenging for me. It’s also been a lot of fun.”