Back from the bullpen, Kris Bubic hopes to solidify Royals’ rotation once again

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Kris Bubic is back in a familiar spot with a new mentality.

Bubic, 27, will head to the Kauffman Stadium mound Sunday for the first time since claiming the fourth spot in the Kansas City Royals starting rotation. In 2024, Bubic was part of the Royals bullpen. Last year, he made his first appearance in July as he recovered from Tommy John surgery. The Stanford product appeared in 27 games during the regular season -- and several more in the playoffs -- but never pitched more than two innings or 35 pitches en route to a 2.67 earned run average.

“I think I learned a lot from the bullpen,” Bubic told KCTV ahead of Kansas City’s 7-game homestand against the Baltimore Orioles and Minnesota Twins. “When you’re a reliever you only have one inning, maybe 20-25 pitches to work with on any given day, any given outing. I think transferring that mentality back into starting has been huge. Not wasting time, not wasting pitches when I go after guys, especially with the arsenal that I have.”

This spring, he ramped himself up for regular season action with 80-plus pitches during one of the Royals’ final spring training games against the Texas Rangers. But that wasn’t quite the real deal.

“There’s definitely a certain element of fatigue,” Bubic said of readjusting to the starting rotation workload. “I won’t lie. We did a good job with the spring training lead-up... and you have a little bit more adrenaline when the games count, more people in the stands. I felt strong the whole day (against Milwaukee).”

Monday in Milwaukee, Bubic pitched six innings and struck out eight Brewers hitters during his first start of the year. The quality start for the lefty came in an 11-1 Royals win.

“It’s always good to get off to a good start individually and I know as a team it’s good to get back in the swing of things through the first week of the season,” Bubic said. “Now we get to go into a longer homestand to be here for a week. I think everybody’s excited for that and ready to continue to get settled into the season.”

Kansas City Royals pitcher Kris Bubic (50) throws during the second inning of a baseball game... — Kansas City Royals pitcher Kris Bubic (50) throws during the second inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Monday, March 31, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)(Kayla Wolf | AP)

Bubic threw 95 pitches against the Brewers, his most in a big league start since the 100 he threw in his final start of the 2023 season prior to Tommy John surgery. With his newfound approach, the left-hander said he has more ways to attack hitters in 2025.

“I feel like I can attack guys with multiple shapes, multiple pitches and multiple velocities,” he said. “For me, it’s just about getting in good counts and I think that’s what I did a good job of last year and in the first start. It’s just something I want to be as consistent as possible with.”

With this being his sixth season in Major League Baseball, Bubic has made 61 of his 98 career appearances as a starter. But last year’s stint in the bullpen and Monday’s season-opening performance against the Brewers are among the most encouraging signs of his career. During his last full season as a starter in 2022, Bubic went 3-13 with a 5.58 ERA.

Now, he returns to the rotation with a mix of that bullpen mentality and background as a starter. And if the Royals are to continue having the team success they achieved a year ago, Bubic’s contributions to a rotation that lost Brady Singer via trade during the offseason will likely have to be one of the reasons. Last season, the Royals’ 3.55 ERA for starters was second-best in MLB, something Bubic said he’s excited to get a chance to contribute toward this year.

“I think it’s great,” Bubic said of the conversations he shares with fellow starters Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha and Michael Lorenzen. “Especially with what these starters did last year. We’ve got vets on this staff. Getting to pick their brains and watch how they attack guys and watch how they prepare, especially, because you go in there as a reliever with an aggressive mentality regardless of who you’re facing.

“Now, there’s a little more strategy behind it when you’re facing guys more than once.”

Bubic and the Royals (3-5) are scheduled for first pitch against the Orioles (4-5) at 1:10 p.m. CT. Sunday. The game is the first of 10 games that can be watched free over-the-air on KCTV and KSMO this season.