Kansas City Royals: Brady Singer gives glimpse of future
By David Hill
On Thursday, Brady Singer gave the Kansas City Royals a glimpse of what could be a promising future for the franchise.
Brady Singer was on the cusp of history on Thursday. The Kansas City Royals rookie starter had dominated the Cleveland Indians, allowing just two walks through 7.2 innings. He was four more outs away from becoming the 38th rookie in MLB history to throw a no hitter, a rare bright spot in what has been another dismal year.
That dream ended with Austin Hedges. The Indians backstop hit a little ground ball towards where the second baseman normally plays. However, the Royals were in a shift, leading to that grounder becoming the only hit that Singer would allow.
Singer would record the final out of the inning, allowing just one hit and two walks over his eight shutout innings, striking out eight batters. His 116 pitches were the second most thrown this season, trailing only Adam Wainwright during his complete game.
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Singer’s performance goes beyond this one outing. For the Royals, it is a whisper of hope that better days are coming. They had based their rebuild upon a quartet of young starters, with Singer, Kris Bubic, Jackson Kowar, and Daniel Lynch expected to bring the Royals back to relevance and contention.
Pieces of that future have arrived with Bubic and Singer making their debuts this season. As will always be the case with young starters, there have been some bumps in the road. Bubic has yet to record his first major league victory, posting a 0-5 record with a 4.89 ERA and a 1.429 WHiP in his 35 innings. Singer, prior to Thursday night, had a 1-4 record with a 5.88 ERA and a 1.438 WHiP in his 40.1 innings of work.
Despite those rough patches, there will be moments of brilliance. Singer had one of those last night, shutting down the Indians offense with ease. Even if that success does not carry over to his next start, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
The Royals Mount Rushmore. dark. Next
Brady Singer gave the Kansas City Royals a glimpse of the future. There is a reason for hope after all.