SURPRISE, Ariz. -- A year ago, the Royals broke camp with one big question in their bullpen: Was there enough power that would lead to swing and miss at the back end?
The answer, it turned out, was not enough.
The bullpen¡¯s 19% strikeout rate through July was second-worst in MLB, and the Royals had very few power options. Angel Zerpa became one later in the year, while Will Klein and Carlos Hern¨¢ndez had a few opportunities but didn¡¯t stick.
With more ways than one to get outs, power isn¡¯t everything, but it doesn¡¯t hurt to have velocity and swing-and-miss stuff, especially at the back end of the ¡®pen.
Almost every reliever the Royals have acquired since the Trade Deadline addresses that issue. Lucas Erceg, whose fastball averaged 98.6 mph, arrived and immediately made an impact as the Royals' closer. It isn¡¯t a coincidence that the Royals¡¯ strikeout rate jumped to 24.3% in the final two months of the season as Erceg settled in and others stepped up, like Zerpa, Sam Long and Kris Bubic.
New reliever Carlos Estévez, who signed a two-year deal with Kansas City, averaged 96.8 mph with his fastball in 2024 and 97.1 mph in ¡®23. The club is eager to have Hunter Harvey, another Deadline acquisition, healthy again after he threw only 5 2/3 innings with Kansas City and missed the rest of the season with a back injury. The righty averaged 97.8 mph and 98.3 with his heater the past two years.
In Saturday¡¯s 7-5 loss to the Guardians at Surprise Stadium, Harvey topped out at 97 mph to Jose Ramirez in the fifth inning. He paired the heater with his splitter and struck out three batters.
¡°The nice thing about a lot of the guys we¡¯ve acquired or continue to develop, they¡¯re power arms but they throw a lot of strikes,¡± manager Matt Quatraro said. ¡°That¡¯s the best combination you can have. Guys that can beat you in the zone, not beating themselves.¡±
Est¨¦vez, Erceg and Harvey figure to make up the back end of the bullpen. Quatraro hasn¡¯t defined any roles yet, but it¡¯s likely Est¨¦vez gets a lot of save opportunities early while Erceg pitches in more of a fireman role, whether that¡¯s with the bases loaded in the seventh or the ninth inning. Having Est¨¦vez takes the pressure off Harvey as he navigates his way back from an injury, but he¡¯ll get opportunities in the seventh, eighth and ninth.
¡°It¡¯s spreading the wealth,¡± Erceg said. ¡°We¡¯re going to have dudes at the back end of our bullpen from the sixth inning on, really. It¡¯s exciting to be a part of that kind of staff. It just brings a different type of confidence and reassurance, knowing that we¡¯re all going to get our jobs done more consistently. It¡¯s not going to be one or two guys wearing the brunt force of the heavy high-pressure outings.¡±
The Royals still have a lot of confidence in Zerpa, Long and John Schreiber in higher-leverage innings, but it helps that those innings could come in the fifth, sixth or seventh, putting them in better positions.
Whether it¡¯s Zerpa coming in to get a big left-on-left out or Schreiber coming in to face righties, the Royals feel like they have different looks to throw at hitters before getting to their big arms.
After posting a 5.55 ERA and career-high 12.8% walk percentage and ending 2024 on the injured list with a forearm strain, Chris Stratton is trying to get back to career norms, including a 9.5% career walk rate. If so, the Royals can use him as a multi-inning bridge reliever. There¡¯s still one spot for someone to win in camp; that could be Hern¨¢ndez, who¡¯s out of options, or Bubic or Daniel Lynch IV depending on who wins the rotation spot.
Evan Sisk -- who was optioned to Triple-A Omaha on Saturday -- Jonathan Bowlan and Steven Cruz, as well as non-roster pitchers Austin Cox and Taylor Clarke, are among the depth arms the Royals could rely on this year.
A lot depends on health and navigating the volatility relievers face in a season.
But to begin 2025, the unit looks stronger.
¡°I think we have a lot more swing and miss this year than we did at this point last year,¡± Stratton said. ¡°It¡¯s the name of the game now. Being able to navigate hitters and not put the ball in play always helps, even though we¡¯ve got a really good defense. All the additions they made are hard throwers with a lot of swing and miss. It¡¯s only going to pay dividends down the road.
¡°And I think we have a good balance of guys that are different. I just like our blend. Nobody¡¯s really the same.¡±