The Kansas City Royals will get a closer look at pitching prospect Stephen Kolek on Saturday night against the Detroit Tigers.
Kolek, 28, will make his Royals debut at Kauffman Stadium after being acquired at the trade deadline from the San Diego Padres. Kolek arrived alongside fellow starter Ryan Bergert in the Freddy Fermin trade.
Bergert is already established in the Royals rotation. He owns a 2.54 ERA in five starts and recently completed six innings in a start for the first time in his career.
Now, Kolek will get his opportunity. He will start on Saturday after the Royals placed MLB veteran Michael Wacha on the paternity list.
Wacha is still scheduled to start on Sunday. Meanwhile, Kolek will follow All-Star ace Seth Lugo — who started Friday night — as the Royals face their American League Central rivals.
“It’s great to have my Royals debut,” Kolek said. “One of the biggest things for me is that my wife — her whole dad’s side of the family is actually right here from Kansas City. (They are from) the Lee’s Summit area, so it’s super exciting to have that hometown kind of support.”
This season, Kolek held a spot in the Padres’ starting rotation. He posted a 4.18 ERA across 14 starts while striking out 56 batters in 79 2/3 innings. It was his first stint in the starting rotation after making 42 relief appearances in 2024.
Kolek offers a multitude of pitches. He relies primarily on two fastballs (four-seam and cutter) alongside a sinker, slider and changeup. At times, he will mix in a sweeper.
The Royals will see how Kolek fares against a potent Tigers offense. He primarily pitches to contact with a 50.6% groundball rate. Opponents also chase his “gyro” slider, as it registered a 24.3% whiff rate, per Baseball Savant.
“I think it just played,” Kolek said of the slider. “Historically, through the minor leagues, I had a sweeper that was really good. And then, as I learned other pitches, the sweeper kind of started to not be as effective. It was just kind of like, I’m not going to throw my fourth-best pitch. I’m going to use the one that’s producing. If the slider is producing, I’m going to throw it a little bit more.”
Left-hander Noah Cameron was originally set to start Saturday’s game, but the club decided to skip him through this cycle of the rotation.
Royals manager Matt Quatraro said that was to give Cameron additional rest ahead of the final stretch run.
“He is near or at a career-high in innings, you know, with several more starts to go,” Quatraro said of Cameron. “So we’re hoping to have him sprint through the finish line and then hopefully into the postseason. He’s been, as we know, great for us. So we just want to keep him strong and going.”
Cameron has a 2.92 ERA in 19 starts. He allowed six earned runs in his last start and has pitched 108 innings this season.
The Royals said Cameron is physically fine. The decision to skip a start came down to several factors, including the chance to present a different look to the Tigers.
“That’s our decision to just skip him once and taking advantage of the paternity list and Wacha not being here,” Quatraro said. “Having Kolek start gives them a different look and somebody they haven’t seen. Also, he is someone we think highly of.”
Kolek will be making his first start since July 27. He allowed two earned runs in six innings against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium in that outing.
Since joining the Royals, Kolek has pitched exclusively in Triple-A Omaha. He made five minor-league starts but only pitched one inning on Wednesday. He didn’t learn of his promotion until after the outing.
“I’m going to do my part while I’m here and give the best start I can.,” Kolek said.
Wacha will face Tigers ace Tarik Skubal on Sunday.