Tuesday, August 26

The move is not one that the Royals have historically made.

Sending a 17-year-old pitcher who had signed with the organization just eight months prior from the Dominican Summer League to the United States and the Arizona Complex League?

And then sending him onto Single-A Columbia after just three starts?

It raised some eyebrows, sure, but it was a well-deserved move.

We’re talking about Kendry Chourio, the 17-year-old Venezuelan righty with an electric arm whose prospect status has been on an upward trajectory ever since the Royals signed him during the international signing period this past January. Unranked on the club’s Top 30 list as evaluators got to know him, Chourio is now ranked No. 8.

“From the moment I met him, the way he handles himself, it’s hard to believe he’s 17,” Royals pitching coordinator Paul Gibson said. “And then he goes out and does his throwing program, and the attention to detail – it’s like, ‘Oh my God, I haven’t seen this in years.’ In bullpens and in games, it’s the same thing. It reminds me a lot of what Zack Greinke looked like in high school. … Just the stature, and there’s something in the delivery that reminds me of [Greinke].

“Obviously a lot of excitement about him. A lot of energy around him. We felt like the game has changed so much, let’s get him to Columbia, put him in front of some crowds.”

In the DSL, Chourio allowed just five runs (four earned) in 17 2/3 innings, striking out 22 and walking just one. Watching him pitch, along with the results, showed he was ready for the next level sooner than his peers. When senior vice president of Major League and international operations Rene Francisco brought up the idea of accelerating Chourio’s timeline, Gibson knew the excitement was real.

“It goes totally against his grain, so when Rene comes up and says something like that, you take notice of it,” Gibson said. “I said, ‘Are you serious?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, I’m serious.’”

In the ACL, Chourio gave up three earned runs in 15 innings, striking out 17 and walking none. As that season ended, the Royals opted to send Chourio to Columbia.

He has a 4.02 ERA across four starts there, inflated by his Aug. 8 start in which he allowed six runs in 3 2/3 innings. But he followed that up with five perfect innings on Aug. 14. His starts have become a must-follow.

“It’s been amazing,” Chourio said earlier this month, interpreted by Columbia pitching coach Julio Pimentel. “This was a dream for me to be here in the United States, and to be able to pitch in front of a big crowd. But even as the scenario changes, you’ve got to stay with the same mentality. Attack and compete in the game.”

This is Chourio’s game: Attack. He has walked four batters total this year in 44 1/3 innings. His fastball sits 93-98 mph with ride, and he has a curveball and changeup that are developing. He’s dabbled with a two-seamer as well this year. What blows evaluators away is the advanced feel Chourio has for his mix and how he gets hitters out.

“When I’m on the mound, I go pitch by pitch,” Chourio said, and he credited his coaches in Venezuela, Jannio Gutierrez and Gustavo Lavernia, with that mentality. “Going off of what the hitter tells me. That’s how I navigate the game. I pitch off of what the hitters tell me and read the swings.”

Despite the Royals’ aggressiveness this year with Chourio, they’re not envisioning some crazy fast development. He still has a long way to go and a lot to learn.

But the Royals haven’t seen this electric of a pitching prospect in years.

“He knows who he is, he works hard, his routine is unbelievable,” Pimentel said. “Everything you can imagine with this kid, it’s like, ‘Wow.’”

Families of players from the Midwest and drafted by the Royals are usually ecstatic -- not only because their kid just got drafted, but also because it’s really easy to go watch them play in affiliate ball. After rookie ball in Arizona and Single-A Columbia, all of the Royals’ affiliates are in the Midwest: High-A Quad Cities, Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha.

No one has loved it more than the Jensen and Kudrna families as they follow catcher Carter Jensen (Royals’ No. 2 prospect) and pitcher Ben Kudrna (No. 7) from their Kansas City high schools throughout the Minor Leagues.

And now Kudrna has joined Jensen just one step away from getting back home. Kudrna was promoted to Triple-A Omaha last week, reuniting with Jensen, who jumped up a level back in June.

Kudrna made 20 appearances (19 starts) in Double-A this year, with a 4.21 ERA. The 22-year-old from Blue Valley Southwest High School has a 23.5% strikeout rate -- just a tick down from last year -- but has seen a drop in his walk rate at 8.9%. Kudrna has made one start for Omaha so far, allowing five runs in 5 1/3 innings with four strikeouts and five walks.

Both Jensen and Kudrna are Rule 5 Draft eligible this season, so there’s a good chance we’ll see them added to the 40-man roster in November.

When the Royals recalled Jonathan Bowlan to the Majors on Saturday -- in the corresponding move for Bailey Falter hitting the 15-day injured list with a left bicep contusion -- they did so knowing that they could not option Bowlan again.

The 28-year-old right-hander has been the Royals’ go-to reliever shuffled between MLB and Triple-A this year, but he’s been optioned five times this season -- the maximum number of times a player can be optioned in a season. After that, it requires the Royals to place Bowlan on outright waivers to assign him back to the Minor Leagues.

This constricts the Royals’ bullpen flexibility, as they don’t have a ton of players they can option to the Minors in order to get fresh arms or a different look. The club hasn’t done that a ton anyway this year, but now it won’t be as easy as simply optioning Bowlan.

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