7-9-2025 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on X
Offensive woes persist for the Bucs as the Pirates will hope to avoid being swept for a second straight series today as they finish the Royals series up against southpaw Kris Bubic.
Bubic has quietly been one of the better pitchers in MLB this season with the 7th lowest ERA (2.36) and he enters today with a 7-6 record through 17 starts this season.
Drafted 40th overall in the 2018 by Kansas City, the 2025 All Star is finally getting results as a big leaguer after injury and ineffectiveness plagued his first few years in MLB.
He debuted with the Royals during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, posting a solid but underwhelming 4.32 ERA over 10 starts and 50 innings pitched.
The next two seasons were much of the same as he pitched 259 innings with a 5.00 ERA over 2021 and 2022, bouncing between starting and relieving for KC.
He started 2023 in the Royals rotation but less than a month into the season, it was announced he would undergo Tommy John Surgery. After returning last year and pitching exclusively out of the pen, he is off the leash and leading the Royals rotation.
Although he doesn’t throw especially hard, Bubic has shown an ability to get chases on his pitches at an elite level by attacking the zone and mixing between heat and offspeed.
He works low-90s fastball for both his 4-seam and 2-seam while shifting to the mid-80s for his slider, sweeper and changeup offerings.
Hitters today will want to target his fastballs as opponents are hitting .276 against these offerings compared to .209 against breaking balls and .152 versus his changeup.
Look for elevated heat to attack early in counts. They’re starting to score a couple more runs lately but need to figure out how to break out a BIG offensive outburst.
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