Kansas City Royals’ bullpen features a big-league rarity. Here’s why it matters

The Kansas City Royals were in a tough situation.

It was June 27 and they were on the proverbial ropes against the Cleveland Guardians. Their American League Central rivals were close to delivering a knockout punch, leading 1-0.

Royals starting pitcher Michael Wacha had done all he could to keep the deficit manageable. But he ran into trouble in the sixth inning.

Wacha allowed a double and single before departing the game. He had run out of gas after a superb performance. With left-handed Bo Naylor due up, the Royals turned to their bullpen.

Enter left-handed reliever Sam Long.

A non-roster invitee to spring training this year, Long has carved out a high-leverage role this season. And, the Royals needed him in that exact situation now, with Naylor at the plate.

With momentum teetering, Long delivered four strikeouts in his relief appearance. He pitched 1 2/3 innings and produced two of the biggest outs of the night.

He struck out Naylor with an 86.5 mph slider down and away. Then he worked out of a bases-loaded jam by retiring Guardians star Steven Kwan with another wipeout slider.

The Royals rallied for a 2-1 victory. Long stood tall in the game’s biggest moments and received a celebratory “Salvy splash” after the game.

Just how the Royals drew it up.

“We compete our butts off against anybody in this league, and the bullpen is going to be huge in being a part of that,” Long said after his performance that day. “To be able to throw up zeroes, as a group late in the game, that’s what we need to win big ballgames.”

A southpaw’s success

The Royals enjoy a Major League Baseball luxury: At any moment in a game, manager Matt Quatraro can choose from one of four left-handed relievers in the KC bullpen.

Across the majors, the Royals and Detroit Tigers are the only teams featuring four left-handed relievers on their respective active rosters. Several others have three.

Already, that plethora of lefties has become a big advantage for Kansas City.

Long headlines the KC quartet. He is joined by Will Smith, Kris Bubic and Angel Zerpa. Together, those four have been thrust into key situations against both left- and right-handed hitters.

“Yeah, I think it’s real unique,” Royals bullpen coach Mitch Stetter said. “We got some guys that are a little bit different, too, with (Kris) Bubic and Sam Long. You know, they have weapons for both lefties and righties. (Angel) Zerpa has a two-seam that a lot of the guys don’t have.

“Will has been around doing it for a long time. He’s got weapons for both too, with the changeup that he’s added. We feel confident in all four guys.”

In the process, the southpaws have garnered the trust of the Royals’ pitching staff. And they’ve been deployed in different ways.

As he displayed against the Guardians, Long is a go-to reliever in high leverage situations. This season, he’s 2-1 with a 2.30 ERA in 27 games. He has 28 strikeouts, three holds and one save in 27 1/3 innings.

He also has limited right-handers to a .193 batting average and left-handers to a .256 average. This allows him to be used in any situation, with the confidence he’ll get crucial outs.

“I think when we do a good job of getting righties out, that’s where we get away with it,” Long said. “And, I think the four of us down there are vital. Being able to put us in situations, where we need to go get a lefty out, and to have four different options to do that plays a big part.”

Long has also made a few key adjustments.

During spring training, at the behest of the KC pitching staff, he threw from the first-base side of the pitching mound. That decision has worked out well, as he’s improved his effectiveness on breaking pitches.

“We saw results right away,” Stetter said. “Lefties were taking bad swings off of him and stuff like that.”

Long has settled into a pivotal role. In the process, he added another chapter to his unique MLB journey.

A new frontier

A former starter, Bubic is also on a different path now. This season, he has found an opportunity in the bullpen after returning from Tommy John surgery.

The Royals decided to utilize Bubic in a relief role after acquiring veterans Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha and Michael Lorenzen to fortify their starting rotation.

Instead of making starts in Triple-A Omaha, Bubic was given a chance to provide length and contribute as a multi-inning reliever. And he’s continuing to figure out his role. He owns a 2.19 ERA in 10 relief appearances and has limited opponents to a .200 batting average.

There has also been a learning curve, of course, so Bubic leaned on Smith and other teammates for advice on such matters as pitching on consecutive days and preparation for various situations.

“He is a guy that has been there and done that and pitched in the postseason,” Bubic said of Smith. “It’s somewhere we want to go and he has all the knowledge in the world.”

That knowledge helped Bubic in a recent game against the St. Louis Cardinals. Bubic struck out St. Louis’ Alec Burleson and Nolan Arenado last Saturday with an improved slider and changeup.

Stetter noted a slight pre-pitch adjustment that led to the strikeouts.

“Sometimes, being a little more off-speed heavy is probably a smart thing to do,” the coach said. “(Bubic) also has a two-seam that he has worked on for lefties. He obviously has the four-seam (fastball). But adding the two-seam to lefties and just throwing more sliders and in counts when you come in to get lefties out.”

Bubic will continue to operate in a multi-inning role. He has produced a 32.7 strikeout percentage and a 47.1% whiff rate on his changeup, per Baseball Savant.

“It’s big for (Bubic) to be able to go multiples for us when we need that,” Long said.

A veteran’s voice

Smith is the elder statesman in the Royals’ bullpen. The 35-year-old has brought veteran leadership and a new voice to the clubhouse.

He has a 4.93 ERA in 42 appearances but has pitched well in his most recent outings. Smith has allowed 10 earned runs since April 21 and has limited opponents to a .198 batting average in that span.

He has a 58.0 first-pitch strike percentage thanks, in large part, to his four-seam fastball and slider combination.

“Having Will around to help all of those guys and just talk those guys through lefty situations is big late in games,” Stetter said.

Smith has made a few adjustments of his own. He also credits better luck as the season has unfolded.

“You don’t have to change everything,” Smith said. “It’s just little tiny things here and a little better location to just get you out of the middle and get you on the corners. … It’s sticking to the plan and not quitting for that. It’s going to be bad days and rough days. You just have to deal with it.”

Smith has dropped his earned-run average by 9.21 since allowing 11 runs in seven innings to open the season.

“You got to know how to use your stuff that goes the other way,” he said. “You know, pitch to corners, pitch to locations and let your defense work for you.”

A yearly leap

Zerpa is the lone left-hander remaining from the Royals’ 2023 bullpen. He leads the team with 49 appearances and has inherited 44 runners, most in the majors this season.

He has held his own with the increased usage, too. This season, Zerpa has stranded 70.5% of the runners he’s inherited. His ERA stands at 4.46 in 42 1/3 innings after a few rough outings of late.

“I think this stretch that he was in, prior to his last outing, was probably his toughest stretch of the year,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “We have a lot of confidence in his stuff, pitching in big spots. He’s got really good stuff and got the makeup to pitch in those spots. Just some usages he has been trying to tweak and get his execution a little bit better.”

Zerpa has a workhorse mentality. He has thrown multiple innings and operated as both a starter and bulk reliever during his career.

“We’ve all got great attitudes and we all have big hearts,” Smith said. “It’s the other big thing you need to pitch in the bullpen.”

Zerpa is in his first full season in the big leagues. The Royals hope to see continued growth, as he could become an important option during their playoff push.

“You know, they have weapons for both lefties and righties,” Stetter said. “Zerpa has a two-seam that a lot of the guys don’t have.”

The Royals will continue to deploy their unique bullpen alignment down the stretch. They can match with different opposing lineups because of the trust they have in their four left-handed relievers.

“I think we all have the ability to get outs,” Bubic said. “Late in games, early in games, it doesn’t matter. We can all bring that to the table.”