Stephen

Kolek

The 29-year-old hurler will be away from the team for at least a couple of games while he tends to a family emergency. Josh Rojas was promoted from Triple-A Omaha to take his place on the Royals’ active roster for Thursday’s showdown against the Twins.

Kolek allowed six hits and two walks in the outing, lowering his ERA to 3.32 this season. He opened the year on the injured list but has filled in admirably while Kansas City has battled pitching injuries. His next start projects to come at home against the Rangers, where he’ll continue to lean on grounders and strike-throwing.

Facing the Rangers in Arlington is probably the second most favorable assignment a pitcher can get right now (next to most home starts against the Rockies), so this is quite the letdown after Kolek pitched a shutout against the Mariners last week. Still, he did strike out five and generate 15 whiffs. Kolek isn’t much of a streaming option next week for his start in Cincinnati.

Kolek was outstanding against the Mariners on Saturday, tossing a complete-game shutout on his way to his third win. He scattered four hits and one walk, with just two runners reaching scoring position. Kolek collected only two strikeouts, but kept the Seattle lineup quiet by generating plenty of weak contact. The 29-year-old right-hander ends the day with a 2.77 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, and a 14/5 K/BB ratio across 26 innings. His spot in the rotation aligns with a start against the Rangers in Texas on Friday, though Cole Ragans (elbow), currently on a rehab assignment, is due back soon.

Kolek allowed four hits, walked one and struck out three on his way to combining with Daniel Lynch IV and Lucas Erceg on a shutout. It improved his case for sticking around after Cole Ragans returns, but he’s probably still behind Noah Cameron on the depth chart for now. If the Royals, who have Thursday off, think Ragans will be ready soon, they could send down Kolek for a fresh arm prior to Monday’s game.

All five runs scored in the fifth, when Drew Romo and Chase Meidroth hit 35x-foot homers off him. Romo’s was a homer in 17 ballparks, while Meidroth’s would have left only eight. Kolek departed down by three runs, but the Royals came back to let him off the hook in the sixth before ultimately losing 6-5. This is a definite setback for Kolek’s chances of sticking around over Noah Cameron after Cole Ragans comes off the IL, but he should get one more chance to impress Sunday against the Cardinals.

Kolek was sent down after giving up three runs over six innings in a spot start Wednesday, but now he’s in the rotation with Cole Ragans going down. He’ll likely start Tuesday or Wednesday against the White Sox. If he performs well, there’s a chance he could retain a spot after Ragans returns.

Ragans pitched three scoreless innings, but he went from averaging 96.9 mph with his fastball in the first inning to 93.2 mph in the third and didn’t come back out for the fourth in the game against the Guardians. An extended absence would create room for both Noah Cameron and Stephen Kolek in the Royals rotation.

Kolek heads back to the minors after a solid effort where he allowed three runs over six innings against the Guardians in a spot start on Tuesday in place of an injured Noah Cameron (back). It sounds like Kansas City is going to stick with Cameron this weekend instead of letting Kolek take the ball again. That could change if the back issue flares up again.

All three runs came on a 343-foot homer from Rhys Hoskins. Kolek struck out three and walked none. He has a case for overtaking Noah Cameron in the Kansas City rotation after this, but Cameron, who was scratched with a back problem, still seems to be penciled in at this point.