Carlos

Estévez

The 33-year-old closer came on to pitch in the fourth inning of this one with the Royals leading 5-3. He allowed a leadoff single to Joey Meneses and after retiring Henry Bolte on a pop up, Estévez coughed up the lead by allowing a two-run blast to Jacob Wilson. He then rallied to retire the final two hitters that he faced. Estévez has battled diminished velocity this spring and that was on full display on Friday, with his slider averaging 81.1 mph (-6.2 mph) and his changeup checking in at 85.7 mph (-2.2 mph). He did not throw a fastball in his 16 offerings. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor this as the spring progresses as it’s difficult to have any level of confidence in him at the moment.

Estévez’s fastball velocity was down nearly three miles per-hour from last year, which would typically be cause for alarm. However, he went through a similar ramp-up process last spring. It’s a situation fantasy managers should continue monitoring closely, but we’re going to exercise caution before drawing any firm conclusions based on a single early-spring appearance. He’ll be a top-15 range closer in fantasy drafts this spring.

Estévez will lead the majors in saves, as he’s currently two in front of Robert Suarez. He’s finished off more than half of the Royals’ 81 wins while amassing a 2.45 ERA this season.

Estévez made things a bit interesting by allowing a one-out single to Ty France, but he battled back to get Daulton Varsho and Ernie Clement on fly balls to center field to end the ballgame. He has been outstanding in the ninth inning for the Royals this season, registering a 2.49 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and a 52/22 K/BB ratio over 65 innings while converting 41 of his first 47 save chances.

Estévez didn’t make this save easy. He allowed singles to the first two hitters he faced and then fell behind Dominic Canzone 2-0. Luckily, he forced Canzone to ground into a double play which significantly dulled the threat. In the end, he became the first pitcher in the league to earn their 40th save so far this season.

This was a true bullpen game for the Royals, as Jonathan Bowlan opened and no one pitched more than two innings. Luinder Avila came away with the win, his first in the majors. Estévez now leads the majors in saves by three, with his 39 outpacing Robert Suarez’s 36.

Estévez’ save was his 38th of the year. He pitched around a walk to shut the door on the Twins, preserving a 2-1 win for the Royals. Estévez leads all of baseball in saves as his excellent season draws towards a close.

13 teams have more wins that the Royals’ 71 this season, but Estévez leads the majors in saves by two over Robert Suarez. This was his eighth straight scoreless appearance.

Estévez gave up a double to Riley Greene to begin the inning, but Greene was unable to score. He was handed a two-run lead so he would have gotten the save even if he did cross the plate, but the fact he didn’t lowers his ERA to 2.58 and gives Estévez an impressive 36 saves in 2025.

It didn’t look like the 32-year-old hurler was going to get a shot in this one as the Royals trailed 4-0 in the eighth inning and 4-2 heading to the ninth. The Royals offense did their part though to take a one-run lead and Estévez made sure that it stood up — retiring the side in order including a pair of strikeouts. He has been terrific for Royals this season, compiling a 2.62 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and a 50/20 K/BB ratio over 58 1/3 innings.