The good news about Bailey Falter’s early struggles with the Kansas City Royals is that they’ll have him for a long time. But they’d sure like to get some production out of him now, too.
Falter came to the Royals in a July 31 trade, as part of the team’s overall strategy to stockpile pitching depth for their improbable playoff push. But after immediately slotting into the rotation upon arrival, Falter finds himself demoted to the bullpen after just two outings.
With Michael Lorenzen returning from the injured list, the Royals are opting to roll with rookie Ryan Bergert, another trade piece, over Falter as a starter. But they’ve also got high hopes that Falter can now make an impact in his new relief role.
Royals pitching coach Brian Sweeney was excited to get his hands on Falter when he was acquired, having spent time with him when he was a rookie with the Philadelphia Phillies. His command hasn’t been good so far as a Royal, but there’s a plan in place, as Sweeney recently explained.
“I think most importantly, he’s open to experimenting …” Sweeney said, per Jaylon Thompson of the Kansas City Star. “His slider was kind of verti (vertical, displaying a lot of height) and it had more vertical movement than we would want. So just a little shift in that grip and his slider actually got down to the zero line with less vertical break.”
Thompson also noted that Falter’s slider usage has increased drastically in his first two outings, and he’s generated six whiffs on the pitch in eight innings as a Royal.
“I think the whole repertoire changed because of the slider,” Sweeney said, per Thompson. “So we’re trying to solve the problem of strikeouts and swing-and-miss for him.
“It was a good thing for him the other day. He went from 12 percentile to double that because of the slider. So he is solid. Maybe it wasn’t his favorite day of pitching the other day, but you can take the positive out of that outing.”
So is that all that needs to change? More sliders, and hope Falter’s stuff ticks up in a short outing where he can empty the tank?
Perhaps so. But the Royals are banking on a quick learning curve, and a lot of improvements from not only Falter, but other pitchers on the roster. If it all works out, though, they could find themselves breaking some hearts to get to October.
More MLB: Where Does Royals’ Rotation Rank Against Other Playoff Contenders?
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