Seth Lugo knows where he stands with the Kansas City Royals. In July, the club gave him a two-year contract extension with a vesting option for 2028.
It was a deal that made sense for both sides. Lugo had thrived since arriving in free agency ahead of the 2024 campaign. He made an All-Star team and finished second for the American League Cy Young Award last year.
He also won a Gold Glove and led the Royals back to the postseason. Not bad for a former reliever turned starting pitcher late in his MLB career.
The Royals took a chance on Lugo. And he has rewarded them with stellar play and tangible belief that he is a bona fide ace — until lately.
At times, Lugo has carried the Royals through difficult stretches. He was the proverbial stopper to break losing streaks. And he became the veteran voice, alongside Michael Wacha, to help guide younger pitchers.
Now, Lugo finds himself in a precarious spot. He owns a 9.11 ERA in his last six starts while surrendering eight home runs and 18 walks. He has failed to complete at least five innings in multiple outings this month.
It’s clear that Lugo needs the Royals, and vice versa, as he attempts to find his mojo again.
“I mean, at the end of the day, you want to help the guys,” Lugo said. “You want to be a positive effect on the game and not the negative.”
What’s wrong with Seth Lugo?
On Friday night, Lugo tried to sort through his issues against the Detroit Tigers at Kauffman Stadium. It was a difficult task against one of the top AL teams this season. Lugo allowed four earned runs on eight hits. He walked four batters and struck out five in 3 ⅓ innings before giving way to the bullpen.
The Royals lost 5-3 in the series opener. Lugo was credited with the loss as he failed to stymie the Tigers’ potent offense.
However, that game was not without a lack of adjustments. Lugo has gone back to the drawing board in recent days and is trying to make some changes. His goal is to regain control of his expansive pitch repertoire after dealing with a right middle finger injury earlier this season.
The finger injury cost Lugo two starts in May. In recent interviews, Lugo mentioned that he feels fine physically and the finger doesn’t bother him. The Royals backed that claim by proclaiming Lugo is not hurt and cleared medically.
Lugo also reiterated he isn’t dealing with fatigue. The club, in fact, offered him an extra off day before his latest start, and he declined it. So the main issue boils down to execution and unlearning a trait he picked up while dealing with the injury.
“You know, I think competitively, challenging guys and throwing strikes has always been what I’ve been good at,” Lugo said. “And I think dealing with the finger issue kind of made me susceptible to the long ball, where I had to get a little more fine.”
Lugo explained that he tried too hard to pinpoint the baseball in certain spots. It led to him missing his spots and sometimes leaving the pitches over the plate. The finger injury also forced him to shorten his delivery. As a result, he wasn’t as sharp.
Opponents took advantage.
For example, take a closer look at Lugo’s Aug. 13 start against the Washington Nationals:
Lugo allowed five earned runs in the first inning. The Royals ace allowed a leadoff single to Nationals star James Wood. Later, he walked CJ Abrams, forced Luis Garcia Jr. to ground out and walked Josh Bell to load the bases.
Next, Lugo surrendered a grand slam to Nathaniel Lowe on the fifth pitch of the at-bat. He attempted to throw a curveball that caught too much of the plate and remained in the strike zone.
The Nationals added another run in the frame. Drew Millas hit an RBI double after mashing a cutter that stayed up in the strike zone.
“Finishing the first half … I was, you know, grinding to execute my pitches because my stuff wasn’t as sharp,” Lugo said.
Recent signs of improvement
Lugo’s start against the Nationals was an example of him trying to find his effectiveness. He couldn’t quite reel in his command that night. However, he came back five days later and recorded a quality start against the Texas Rangers.
That night, Lugo allowed two earned runs in 6 ⅔ innings at Kauffman Stadium. It was at that point he started to piece together some things. The start showed him his stuff was beginning to feel natural again.
The issue remained on how to control it.
“Now the pitches are starting to get the shapes like I’m more used to,” Lugo said. “Now, they are sprayed out of the zone. So I just need to reset.”
The reset will take time. Lugo admitted he has to visualize where he wants his pitches to start and try to replicate where each pitch shape will finish in the strike zone. And the biggest hurdle is finding trust again to put his pitches where they need to be.
“I feel like I’ve made a pretty good adjustment over the last couple of starts,” Lugo said. “You know, the results weren’t obviously what we want, but I think I’m trending in the right direction. I feel pretty confident moving forward.”
How Seth Lugo can end his slump
In Friday’s start, Lugo was ahead of several hitters in the game. He worked into two-strike counts and battled with two outs in various innings. Yet, he struggled to put the Tigers away when he needed it.
It led to Lugo giving up runs early in the game.
“I think (Friday) the walks were obviously an issue, but I got ahead of those hitters nicely — almost to a fault — getting a couple of swings and misses in the first two strikes,” Lugo said. “You know, that’s not usually part of my game plan. It’s more contact in those first couple of pitches and just didn’t get the swing and miss for the third strike. So I know my pitches were nasty, almost too nasty, where some pitches were getting off the plate too much.”
There is a delicate line that Lugo is trying to navigate. He is a pitcher who relies on pitch movement and command to be efficient. He doesn’t have overpowering stuff, so it takes accurate pitch shapes to keep hitters honest.
That balance is a key signifier for him. And one that he is hoping to recalibrate as the Royals look to make a run to the postseason.
“I think it’s a balance of trying to, you know, not be so fine or on the edges,” Lugo said. “Challenge guys with good movement of my pitches. I think that is an adjustment that should be pretty easy to work out.”
Lugo will have another start on this homestand. He is tentatively in line to pitch against the Los Angeles Angels next week.
The Royals will stick with Lugo. They say they have confidence he will turn it around despite his recent struggles.
“Maybe it hasn’t been what we’re used to seeing out of Seth,” Royals general manager J.J. Picollo said. “It’s hard to pull the guy. You’ve got to give him some grace. You’ve got to let him work through that.”
While there have been calls for him to be rested — the Royals have done that with fellow starter Noah Cameron — Lugo wants to pitch through his rough patch and figure things out.
“That’s the only way for me to do it,” Lugo said. “You know, getting rest and thinking more isn’t quite the answer. Simplifying, as far as the mind goes, is just get out there and compete. I think that’s the best thing for me. So I’m looking forward to the next start.”