Kansas City Royals: Kyle Zimmer facing pivotal season
By David Hill
The Kansas City Royals still hope that Kyle Zimmer can be a part of their bullpen moving forward. That makes 2020 pivotal to his future.
It had been believed that Kyle Zimmer was out of minor league options. The oft injured former top pitching prospect had been optioned back to the minors several times by the Kansas City Royals due to those varied ailments, and needed to stick in the majors this season or be exposed to waivers. With that being the case, the Royals would need to decide whether or not to keep Zimmer in the majors, even if he was not ready.
Due to a ruling on Sunday, that decision will not be as difficult. Major League Baseball awarded Zimmer a fourth option, allowing the Royals to be able to send him back to Omaha without having to worry about potentially losing his services.
FYI, Kyle Zimmer was awarded a fourth option because past injuries derailed so many seasons. That could be big in terms of roster construction.
— Jeffrey Flanagan (@FlannyMLB) February 16, 2020
Zimmer finally made his long awaited major league debut last season. While he had some positive moments, his time with the Royals was not what anyone had hoped. Over his 18.1 innings, Zimmer posted a 10.80 ERA and a 2.564 WHiP, striking out 18 batters, but also issuing 19 walks.
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In theory, he has another opportunity to crack the major league roster out of spring training once again. At this point, Tim Hill and Ian Kennedy appear to be the only givens in the Royals bullpen, although one would have to imagine that both Trevor Rosenthal and Greg Holland would have to completely implode not to be a part of the roster. Zimmer should get a long look for one of those other spots.
However, to earn his place, he will need to work on his command. Walking over a batter per inning will not help his cause. Those command issues even followed Zimmer to Omaha last year, as he issued 33 walks in his 54 innings.
Given his history as a former consensus top 100 prospect, and the fifth overall selection of the 2012 MLB Draft, the Royals will keep giving Zimmer chances. Yet, he needs to prove that he is worthy of their continued faith in his arm. He needs to finally put everything together, and be the pitcher they had hoped for, even if it is as a lefty in the bullpen.
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If that does not happen, at least the Kansas City Royals have options. Well, in the case of Kyle Zimmer, one more option.