Luinder Avila lit up for six runs by Rockies

Avila is out for the year and will undergo Tommy John surgery, meaning it is doubtful he’ll be back before the start of the 2028 season.

It’s a massive hit to Kansas City’s rotation depth beyond just the current season. Avila emerged as a decent back-end rotation stabilizer before hitting the injured list with forearm tightness over the weekend. Given the timing of the procedures, fantasy managers shouldn’t anticipate either Avila or Kolek returning until the 2028 campaign.

Avila was knocked around for six runs over 2 2/3 innings in a losing effort against the Rockies on Saturday and perhaps the forearm issue contributed to those struggles. No word yet on the severity or how long the 24-year-old hurler will be sidelined for. Aaron Bummer was recalled from Triple-A Omaha in a corresponding move.

Avila gave up four hits, walked four and struck out two. He cruised through the first four innings before running into trouble in the fifth inning. Avila allowed the first three batters to reach base, struck out Gleyber Torres and was removed. Lefty reliever Matt Strahm came in to face lefty Riley Greene, but a ground ball led to a fielder’s choice and an error. Two runs scored on the play and four would score in the inning with three runs and two earned runs charged to Avila. He has a 4.81 ERA as a swingman for the Royals this year. Avila is lined up to face the Rockies on the road next weekend.

Avila, who has struggled in opening frames throughout this season, gets the ball without an opener after limiting the Giants to just two runs and piling up seven punchouts over 6 1/3 innings earlier this week. The unheralded 24-year-old has emerged as a back-end rotation stabilizer for Kansas City and is starting to routinely miss enough bats that he could be interesting from a fantasy standpoint, especially in deeper mixed leagues. It’s going to take some refinement from a command and control standpoint for him to make another leap, but he’s an interesting talent.

Avila walked one and struck out seven, which was his season high. He threw 70 percent of his pitches for strikes and posted a 13 percent swinging strike rate. On the season, he has averaged 60 percent of pitches for strikes, a 10 percent swinging strike rate, and just a 20.9 percent strikeout rate, so this was easily his best outing of the season. His slider was tremendous with an 81 percent strike rate and a 25 percent swinging strike rate as his main secondary against righties. His curveball was also great for him against lefties with an 18 percent swinging strike rate. Ever since his poor June 12th outing against the Astros, Avila has allowed 12 earned runs on 27 hits in 31 innings for a 3.48 ERA. It’s not elite production, but it could make him interesting in deeper leagues in his next start against the Tigers.

The Orioles got to Avila a bit in the second inning, lacing four singles off the righty to drive in two runs and give the O’s an early 2-0 lead. Avila would make it through the third inning without any damage, but gave up a 450-foot homer to Blaze Alexander in the fourth inning, breaking a 2-2 tie after the Royals plated two runs of their own in the top of the frame. Avila would pitch a scoreless fifth inning before being pulled to begin the sixth. Despite an inflated 5.08 ERA at the All-Star Break, Avila has been solid as of late for the Royals, allowing three earned runs or fewer in four of his last five starts.

Avila wasn’t effective, but the Royals were able to score five runs to keep him from picking up the loss. The right-hander has not shown much consistency since joining the Kansas City rotation, with a couple of solid efforts and some real clunkers. This was somewhere in the middle, but not what fantasy managers should be hoping for. Avila shouldn’t be in fantasy lineups for his scheduled start Sunday against the Phillies.

Avila fanned six and also handed out four free passes. The 24-year-old gave up only three hits with a run-scoring single by Junior Caminero representing the lone tally against him. He’s allowed one earned run or fewer in four of five starts since becoming a full-fledged member of Kansas City’s rotation back on June 1. He’ll close a two-start week with a challenging road matchup against the upstart White Sox on Sunday.

Avila struck out five and walked one against the highest-scoring lineup in baseball this season. The performance was even more surprising given that he didn’t make it out of the first inning in his last start, allowing a whopping eight earned against the Astros. Wednesday marked his fourth start of the year in his transition from the bullpen. His control makes him a risk-reward play against the Rays next time out.