Lynch best of 2018 pitching class for Royals


The Royals in the 2018 MLB draft focused on starting pitchers by selecting 26 pitchers, but really only five of them fans had high hopes for. 
Singer had the highest praise coming out of the draft after being selected 18th overall. Many fans have been disappointed by the production they have seen from these pitchers early in their careers. Some believe Royals pitching coach Cal Eldred is to blame for the young pitchers’ struggles. While I believe it's fair to blame Eldred for some of the young pitchers' struggles, you can’t place all the blame on one guy. Fans must remember that not all draft picks are going to have success in professional baseball. Fortunately for the Royals and fans, the team has found a pitcher that has found early success in the majors in Daniel Lynch. The 25-year old made his major league debut in 2021, and the left-hander posted a 5.69 ERA in 15 games. Kansas City optioned the young lefty to Triple-A Omaha on May 14. Following Lynch's two month stay in Omaha, he posted a 2.27 ERA in six starts. According to Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star, I believe the slight changes Lynch made in the minors will transition into a good 2022 season for him in the majors. Unfortunately for the left-hander, his career numbers aren't what he has been producing in 2022. In 24 games, he has a 6-10 record with a 5.35 ERA. Lynch leads the struggling rotation with 37 strikeouts early this season. Lynch is leading the pack while the rest of the 2018 class has struggled this year. According to Preston Farr of Kings of Kauffman: "Although the sample size is small, the Royals have seen this from Lynch before—in his rookie campaign, they demoted him to Omaha when he posted a 15.75 ERA over his first three career starts. However, he returned to the majors in late July and, in his first seven starts, pitched 40.1 innings with an ERA of just 2.23. He struck out 33 batters and walked just 17.” While it is disappointing to see many of the arms from the 2018 draft class continue to struggle early in their careers, it is great to see at least one of them have success in the big leagues early in their careers.

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