The Three Options the Royals Have with Brady Singer

Singer has probably been better than the Royals could have hoped based on his draft slot, but also continues to perplex and is now at a career point that means the Royals have to make a decision.

I have been labeled a Brady Singer hater. I’ll own it. He has infuriated me over his five big league seasons. I remember before his first start on July 25, 2020 that I was so excited to see him pitch. He wasn’t great for Northwest Arkansas in 2019, but the Royals determined (and I think they were right), that he needed to continue to pitch competitively to continue his development. And that meant pitching in the big leagues because there was no minor league season in 2020. So into the rotation he went, actually pitching the season’s second game.

And he was good. He went five and struck out seven. He had 14 swinging strikes and had 18 strikes looking. It was the recipe for Good Singer. He was up and down that rookie year, but that’s to be expected after just 90.2 innings in AA the season before. The thought process after those 12 starts where he finished so strong (3-1 with a 1.50 ERA with nine hits allowed in 24 innings over his final four starts) was that he would only get better. He’d add a third pitch, probably a changeup, to help him with his issues with lefties and his bulldog mentality to go along with velocity that sat around 93-94 but could reach as high as 96 would carry him to a long career.

He’s definitely on his way to that long career, but he hasn’t really ever gotten significantly better. His time in the minors in 2022 meant that he wouldn’t reach free agency following 2025 but rather 2026. This means that the Royals have reached a decision point with Singer. They don’t have to do anything this winter, but it’s generally agreed that two years of team control is the sweet spot.