FOX broadcast reveals detail making Stephen Kolek’s breakout increasingly impressive

There’s not much to be excited about at the moment when it comes to Kansas City Royals baseball, especially after dropping their fifth game in their last six with an 8-2 defeat to the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday.

It was the night prior though that really took the wind out of the Royals’ sails after a devasting collapse to drop the four-game series to the Cleveland Guardians.

However, lost in the wave of disappointment was yet another impressive start from one of the Royals newer arms in Stephen Kolek.

And early on in Kolek’s third consecutive masterclass, the FOX broadcast brought up a subtle detail about his dominance since arriving with Kansas City that makes his recent stretch all the more impressive.

FOX broadcast points out Stephen Kolek’s recent comfort in the spotlight

In the first few innings of Thursday’s contest, FOX’s Adam Amin and A.J. Pierzynski pointed out a seemingly small detail in the moment, that everyone of Kolek’s three starts with the Royals had come under the spotlight of national television.

And while the eyes of America watched on, Kolek would go on to show the stage is not too big for him, putting together yet another start of six or more innings, going 6.2 innings of one-run ball by giving up just three hits and one walk while striking out four.

Now, on the surface, it may seem silly to discuss how someone performs based on the broadcast. After all, when pitchers take the mound, they’re not watching the broadcast. It’s just another day at the office for them.

However, while experienced veterans may not be phased in the slightest, as speculative as it may seem the likelihood of younger arms like the second-year Kolek saying “hey, my start is being shown across the nation” seems a lot higher.

Regardless of whether Kolek has felt the additional pressure of increased eyes or not, he’s certainly taken his opportunity to occupy a spot in this depleted KC rotation and run with it.

Through his first three starts in Royal blue, he now sports a shimmering 1.83 ERA, 2.33 FIP, 0.76 WHIP and .181 BAA. in 19.2 innings.

He’s gone from a trade deadline depth arm to suddenly someone who could very well be a go-to arm for the foreseeable future in this Royals rotation.

Thankfully for Kansas City, the right-hander still has a full year left before he hits his arbitration years, meaning the Royals might have a potential diamond in the rough here, who as we can see, can hold his own when the stage is set high.