With one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, who has the best individual offering
Over the last few years, the Royals’ new management has proven that they have one of the best pitching development staffs in baseball. Brian Sweeney, Paul Gibson, and other pitching coaches have had immense success adding new pitches to a player’s arsenal while also improving their existing pitches. But now there is a fun question to ask…
Who has the best individual pitch offering on the Royals?
I will start by dividing things up by pitch, showing which Royals pitcher has the best of each offering. I will then choose which one I think is the best and what makes it stand out above the rest. And to wrap things up, I will leave a top 10 list of the best pitches on the team.
Four-Seam Fastball – Steven Cruz
The four-seam fastball is the most commonly thrown offering in baseball and is often the baseline for a pitcher to establish the rest of the offerings in their arsenal. The Royals have several pitchers with great fastballs, but Steven Cruz stands out as the best on the team and maybe as one of the best in baseball.
The 6’7’’ Cruz is a dominating presence on the mound and can make hitters feel like he is standing over them as he starts his windup. Averaging just over 98 MPH on the pitch with good carry through the zone from his arm slot is simply a recipe for success. He also gets good extension on the pitch, making it play even faster than it is. Cruz throws his fastball nearly 50% of the time, but even when they know it’s coming, they can’t catch up when he ramps it up over 100 MPH.
So far in 2025, Cruz has a whiff rate of 27.1% which is above average. Even when hitters make contact, they don’t find much success. Hitters have a .191 xBA and .384 xSLG when they see the fastball, an elite mark for someone with that usage rate. Fastballs always get hit harder than other pitches (hence the higher xSLG), but Cruz’s great results while consistently leaning on that pitch make it the best fastball in Kansas City.
Two-Seam Fastball – Lucas Erceg
One of the best ways to keep hitters off of a firm four-seam fastball is to use a two-seam grip that can help force bad contact. Lucas Erceg is the master of this and has shown a great feel for the pitch in his short time with the Royals.
Erceg also has one of the best four-seam fastballs in the organization, but his sinker, which has the same velocity and has significantly more horizontal movement, is even better. In 2025, Erceg’s sinker has a .178 BA and .200 SLG against it, one of the best marks in baseball.
Erceg throws his sinker 22.3% of the time, meaning it is not just something he rarely throws, and hitters aren’t looking for it. Sitting at 97.5 MPH with 15 inches of arm-side run, the pure stuff on his two-seamer is elite as well. The stuff, paired with a high usage rate and results to back it all up, is exactly what makes Lucas Erceg’s two-seamer the best on the Royals.
Changeup – Michael Wacha
When you think of Michael Wacha, the first thing that should come to your mind is his incredible changeup. Since he came to the big leagues, Wacha has been known for this pitch and has polished it into one of the best individual offerings in all of baseball. Wacha got so comfortable with the pitch that it became his most-used offering in 2023 and 2024.
Michael Wacha can do so many different things with his changeup, and has mentioned in the past that he can manipulate it in a variety of ways. Sometimes he pronates his arm to get more armside run, and other times he looks to just have it go straight and dive at the plate. When you look at the movement profile for his changeup, that is why you can see so much variation in the location and movement.
With the variety on the pitch, it is hard to say the exact movement profile of his changeup, but whatever he does, it works. Sometimes it falls like a splitter, sometimes it runs like a circle-change grip, and other times it dives like a forkball. Either way, hitters can’t touch it, with hitters only posting a .150 BA and an incredible .189 slugging percentage off of it. Hitters whiff 31% of the time, and even if they do make contact, it doesn’t go far, exactly what you want out of an elite changeup.
Slider/Sweeper – Evan Sisk
There is only a small sample size of Evan Sisk pitching in the big leagues, but when he did, the slider was DISGUSTING. Throughout his entire career, Evan Sisk has been known for his sidearm 12-degree approach and ability to sweep the ball across the zone. When he came to the majors, he showed he could do just that better than almost anyone else.
In the 5.1 innings Evan Sisk pitched in the majors, he threw 39 total sliders, 29 of which were to lefties. Sisk has always been known as the go-to guy when you need to get a lefty out, and his mind-blowing slider is exactly why. Against lefties, this slider had a whopping 66% whiff rate that no one could catch up with. No matter who he faced, Evan Sisk found success with his slider. In his (albeit short) time in the majors this year, no hitter was able to get a hit off the slider.
The movement on the pitch is wicked, with the pitch logging 13.5 inches of break, a full 3.4 inches more than Chris Sale’s iconic slider. He throws the pitch 33% of the time, so hitters know to expect it, but still, they are unable to do anything with it. The metrics on Evan Sisk’s slider are unreal, and if he can get a consistent feel for his fastball, this may not just be the best slider in Kansas City, it could be one of the best in baseball.
Curveball – Seth Lugo
Since the first day that Seth Lugo entered the league, he was known for his top-tier curveball. Among qualified pitchers, Seth Lugo’s 3079 RPM curveball is seventh best in spin rate and is 16th in horizontal break. He also offers a slower version of the pitch that can get as low as 67 MPH, as well as a slurve variation that has more horizontal movement.
The ability to manipulate the pitch just makes it that much better, similar to what we see with Michael Wacha’s changeup. Lugo relies on the curve heavily, and this year is throwing it more than any other pitch in his arsenal. He has a 23% usage rate on the curve, which sounds low until you remember that Lugo has a 10+ pitch mix. He also uses the slurve 9% of the time, which would also impact that number.
The usage and the movement are all there for the curveball, and when he locates it where he wants, he is unhittable. But this year, Lugo has had some lapses in command, and the curve has been hit around. The pitch was dominant last year, and was far away the best pitch in Kansas City, but now with the command struggles, there is more of a question.
BEST OF THE BEST – Michael Wacha Changeup
Michael Wacha wins the crown for the best pitch in Kansas City, as his changeup continues to dominate MLB hitters. It was a tight race between his changeup, Lugos’ curveball, and Sisk’s slider, but the pure consistency, variation, and results set him over the top.
Michael Wacha is able to use his changeup as his primary pitch, as a starter, and still can hold hitters to a .150 BA off of it. Lugo’s struggles with the curve last month set him back, and Evan Sisk’s lack of variation and command stopped him from taking the crown. Wacha’s change has it all, and I think it is safe to say, there is no pitch in the Royals organization better than Michael Wacha’s incredible changeup(s).
TOP TEN PITCHES FOR ROYALS PITCHERS
- Michael Wacha Changeup
- Seth Lugo Curveball
- Evan Sisk Slider
- Steven Cruz Fastball
- Angel Zerpa Slider (no hits off of it in July and only two in June)
- Michael Lorenzen Changeup
- Lucas Erceg Sinker
- Taylor Clarke Slider
- Sam Long Curveball
- Andrew Hoffmann Kick-Changeup