Singer, Bubic will rep Royals in Futures Game
TORONTO -- The Royals are sending two of their brightest young prospects to the All-Star Futures Game. Brady Singer, ranked as the club's No. 1 prospect by MLB Pipeline, and No. 8 prospect Kris Bubic will represent the Royals in the prestigious event on Sunday in Cleveland.
Singer, a first-round pick in the 2018 MLB Draft, will join 23 other former first-round selections at Progressive Field, along with 15 internationally-born players. The 22-year-old right-hander is also ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 45 prospect overall. Bubic, a left-hander who was the 40th overall pick in 2018, was added to the American League roster on Tuesday.
The Royals kept Singer out of game action after the Draft in 2018 given how much he’d already pitched at the University of Florida, but his pro debut this summer has been a success. Singer opened the season with Class A Advanced Wilmington, where he posted a 1.87 ERA over 10 starts, and he has since been promoted to Double-A Northwest Arkansas.
Singer’s success hasn’t translated over to Double-A just yet with a 6.35 ERA over his first five starts, but he’s coming off his best outings at that level. On Thursday, Singer allowed just one run on four hits over six innings while striking out six.
The All-Star Futures Game has served as a launching pad for some of Kansas City’s current stars, including Hunter Dozier, who was selected to play in 2016 prior to making his brief MLB debut later that season.
Other Royals on their present roster who have played in Futures Games: Adalberto Mondesi, Cheslor Cuthbert, Alex Gordon and Danny Duffy.
Bubic, who began the season with Class A Lexington before being promoted to Wilmington, is 8-5 with a 3.23 ERA overall and 167 strikeouts over 122 2/3 innings in 26 starts. He is 2-1 with a 3.89 and 39 strikeouts in 37 innings with Wilmington.
The AL squad will be managed by Hall of Famer Jim Thome, while four-time All-Star Dennis Martinez will manage the NL side.