RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesMINNEAPOLIS, MN - JULY 29: Tyler Tolbert #2 of the Kansas City Royals takes the field prior to the game between the Kansas City Royals and the Minnesota Twins at Target Field on Wednesday, July 29, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Andrew Ritter/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
It feels like another lifetime ago, but there was a time, back at the beginning of 2024, when the Royals had a battle for the fifth rotation spot between Daniel “Danny Drips” Lynch IV and Alec Marsh. Marsh won the job out of Spring Training, but Lynch was demoted to Omaha to continue starting and be ready to fill into the rotation as necessary. When Marsh was injured toward the end of April, Lynch got the call.
Lynch’s first start that season was five shutout innings, pretty good! Then he had a two-inning relief appearance. Then he retook the starter’s mound for another five innings, but this time he allowed three runs (two earned). His next appearance was a start against the Mariners, which saw him allow 8 runs, all earned, in 4 innings. He got a bulk relief appearance next that saw him allow 6 runs in 6.2 innings. That was on June 12, 2024, and was the last time Danny Drips made a true effort at starting.* His next appearance was at the end of August, and he picked up a 3-inning save before sticking in the bullpen for the rest of the year.
* He had two “starts” as an Opener last year.
He struck out 24 over 20.2 innings without allowing a run and gave the Royals some hope he could be something of a left-handed Wade Davis. He spent the entire season in the bullpen last year, where he regularly put runners on before being bailed out by John Schreiber. He started off this season looking more like the reliever from ‘24, but has since backslid into the reliever from ‘25. Over his last 20 appearances, he has pitched 19.2 innings while striking out only 6 and walking 4. He’s also allowed 14 hits. The fact that he’s only given up 5 runs for a 2.29 ERA over that span speaks more to incredible luck than incredible talent.
Some will point to Seth Lugo’s success returning to the rotation after being relegated to the bullpen for years. Others will point to Danny Duffy’s. And while I’m not saying this can’t or even won’t work, I will say Lynch’s performance in the bullpen over the past two years has done very little to prove that it should. Still, the Royals are critically low on starting pitching, and giving Daniel Lynch IV another shot makes a heck of a lot more sense than giving Mitch Spence another.
The Cubs will debut the newly acquired Kevin Gausman against the Royals. Gausman is a right-hander who gets by on three pitches – a four-seamer, a slider, and a splitter. He throws that fastball more than half the time. You’d think that would make him easy to pigeonhole, but he’s pitched quite effectively for a very long time, regardless.
Lineups
I’m not entirely sure why the Royals have loaded their lineup as if they’re facing a lefty tonight if it’s going to be Gausman, but that’s what they’ve done. The Royals made another roster move ahead of today’s game:
Bummer pitched twice for the Royals and blew the game open for the other team both times, leading to his name being featured in the headlines of both game recaps. Maybe the headlines will be less entertaining, or maybe we’ll have to be more creative. Only one way to find out!
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