The 2021 KC Royals come into Monday’s game against the Cleveland Indians with a 16-10 record and still are in the lead of the American League Central after one month of the season. KC just went on a nine-game road trip and won six of those games. Despite the early season success, the team still has some holes to fill on the roster.
This weekend, the Minnesota Twins won two of three from Kansas City in two blowout wins. Over the weekend, the Twins averaged around eight runs per game off the 2021 KC Royals pitching rotation. It’s a small sample size, but the starting rotation has its ups and downs. Danny Duffy is off to one of the best starts a starting pitcher could have, while Brad Keller has an ERA over 8.00 heading into May. Jakob Junis was supposed to move to the bullpen to begin the 2021 season, however, he has been starting for the last couple of weeks.
2021 KC Royals: Welcome to the Show
Enter Daniel Lynch, the newest member of the 2021 KC Royals. Lynch saw some time at the team’s alternate site last season and appeared in a few games this spring for KC. The-24-year-old lefty got the call Sunday afternoon that he will be making his MLB debut Monday against Cleveland.
High School and College Career
Daniel Lynch played baseball at Douglas S. Freeman High School in Virginia in his hometown of Henrico. During his junior year, Lynch ended the season with just a 0.97 ERA.
After high school, Lynch stayed close to home and enrolled at the University of Virginia. During his freshman season, Lynch started nine of his 13 games but ended his season with a 5.49 ERA. In his sophomore season, he made 14 starts, going 7–5 with a 5.00 ERA with 45 strikeouts. Lynch started to see his strikeout numbers rise during his junior year, he went 4–4 over the course of 13 starts with a 3.96 ERA and 105 strikeouts.
MLB Draft and Minor League Seasons
Daniel Lynch was selected by the Kansas City Royals with the 34th pick in the 2018 draft. In 2018, Lynch played in both rookie ball and Single-A. During his 2018 season, he started 12 games with a 5-1 record with a 1.58 ERA. In 2019, Lynch again saw time in rookie ball, but this time got called up to High-A Wilmington. Lynch put together another solid season in 2019 as he pitched in 20 games and finished with a 6-2 record. Along with that, he collected 96 strikeouts, while only walking 29 batters.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 MiLB season was canceled so Lynch did not pitch in any games during this time. He however did appear at the Royals’ alternate site during the 2020 season along with other KC prospects.
Lynch reported to the Royals’ spring training site and pitched in a few games during his time in Arizona. This spring, Lynch appeared in five games and ended up with a 7.71 ERA.
Monday will be a big day for Kansas City as the club looks to open up the seven-game homestand with a win and also see the big-league debut of Daniel Lynch. With the addition of Lynch, expect Jakob Junis to now make the move to the bullpen as he has been one of the most effective pitchers on the team.
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