Command issues prove costly in Bowlan's season debut

TORONTO -- Jonathan Bowlan has been a notorious strike-thrower in the Minor Leagues, but things can change on a big league mound when making your first MLB start of the season, especially on the road facing a Blue Jays lineup that could erupt at any moment.

That’s exactly what the Blue Jays did on Monday, with one more booming than the rest. Justin Turner had two at-bats against Bowlan and crushed homers in both of them, while Danny Jansen hit the third long ball of the night in the third inning.

Three batters later, Bowlan was out of the game having just thrown 2 2/3 innings and allowing four runs in the Royals’ eventual 6-5 loss at Rogers Centre. The Royals’ bullpen held the Blue Jays to two runs while covering 5 1/3 innings, and the offense kept it close with homers from Freddy Fermin and Kyle Isbel, but they still left nine on base and didn’t get enough production out of the middle of the order.

In the ninth, Michael Massey struck out swinging with the tying run on third, and the Royals dropped their third consecutive game.

“Mistakes got hit,” Bowlan said. “I wasn’t pounding the zone, as I would have liked, and when you fall behind, stuff like this happens. It’s all part of the process, learning from it, growing and trying to fix it.”

Making his first start for Kansas City this season, Bowlan allowed six hits, struck out three, walked three and threw 68 pitches without getting out of the third inning Monday. He threw first-pitch strikes to seven of the 17 batters he faced and got to two strikes against 10 of them.

Bowlan struggled to put hitters away with two strikes far too often, including the Jansen homer in the third when Bowlan grooved a 1-2 fastball down the middle of the plate.

“Most of the damage was when he was ahead in the count,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “But he threw the ball well. He just didn’t execute as well as he should have or wanted to with two strikes.”

In his own words, Bowlan pounds the zone, ever since the Royals drafted him in the second round of the 2018 MLB Draft. His walk rate in the Minors before he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2021 was under 5%. Like most pitchers recovering from elbow surgery, it took Bowlan some time to get his command back when he took the mound again.

Across 17 starts in 2022, Bowlan had a 7.6% walk rate, followed by a 9.8% walk rate across 21 starts in 2023. The 27-year-old found better command this year in Triple-A, pitching to a 2.57 ERA in four starts, with 21 strikeouts and just five walks.

He also found his velocity again over the past two years and is back sitting in the mid-90s with his fastball. On Monday, he maxed out at 98.5 mph.

That alone makes him intriguing as a potential relief prospect -- regardless of what happens for the next turn of the rotation with Alec Marsh on the 15-day injured list -- though Bowlan was quick to point out his desire to command his pitches over throwing hard.

“I know it’s there -- I’ve seen it in past outings,” Bowlan said. “Velo’s good, but if you don’t execute pitches, it doesn’t do you any good.”

The one pitch Bowlan did execute and still got beat on was Turner’s second home run, an up-and-in sinker that Turner turned on to hit over the left-field fence. Bowlan and catcher Freddy Fermin, who slotted into the lineup before first pitch when Salvador Perez was scratched with back tightness, weren’t going to throw Turner any sliders after the first at-bat.

Turner still hit the well-executed fastball out.

“He hit the slider pretty good, so we didn’t throw him it again, then he got to that fastball pretty good, too,” said Fermin, who was 2-for-3 on Monday. “His swing is good. Bowlan’s fastball was still good today.”

It remains to be seen how the Royals utilize Bowlan moving forward; Marsh will be on the IL until at least May 9, so the fifth starter spot will come up again before he can return.

Whatever happens, Bowlan will have to get back to what he knows best.

“I need to execute better,” Bowlan said. “Whenever you get behind in the count, it definitely makes the situation a lot harder. I’ll figure that out and fix that. At the end of the day, all I can do is grow from it. We’ll talk and learn as much as I can, with it being my first one up here.”