Kris Bubic had high expectations heading into this season. He made ten starts for the big league team in 2020, averaging five innings per start and posting a serviceable but not exceptionally impressive 4.32 ERA.
He had an ERA of 95 and a FIP of 109, and was worth about 0.5 fWAR (both stats are set to a league average of 100 and lower is better.) He was making the transition from A-ball to Major League Baseball, and he was having some success.
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Unfortunately, his 2021 season did not start well; his Spring Training performance was so terrible that he did not even make the first roster and was demoted to AAA before the season began.
Due to injuries and ineffectiveness, he was promoted before the AAA season began, and he pitched well enough to finish the season with the major league club.
He was first utilized as a reliever, but after tossing five or more scoreless innings in his third and fourth appearances, the Royals decided to elevate him back into the rotation.
He replied by pitching six scoreless innings against the Brewers in what was then the greatest start of his short career, allowing only one hit.
He eventually struggled and spent the year bouncing back and forth between the rotation and the bullpen, depending on whether he was on a hot or cold streak.
By Game Score v2 (GSv2), a measure that aims to combine all of the results and total innings pitched into one, easy-to-compare number; 50 is supposed to be the average, Kris Bubic had both his greatest and worst starts in 2021.
There may be no better method to assess 2021 Kris Bubic than to examine the two starts he made in August. The first came against the Cardinals when he gave up seven runs on nine hits with only four outs.
In his next start, he took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, and there was every reason to believe he could have finished it if the Cubs hadn’t forced a 30-minute rain delay without any rain.
He was either unhittable or unpitchable quite regularly in 2021.
How Much Does Kris Bubic Make?
Kris Bubic makes an annual salary of $713,750.