Kansas City Royals Pitchers Of The Year, 2026: Michael Wacha Was Once Again The Anchor Of A Depleted Rotation

The pitching of the Kansas City Royals was a collective disaster all year, above all because of the problems of a bullpen that never managed to sustain itself. So we have arrived at complicated territory. The Royals lost 44 games in which they had a lead in 2026, one fewer than the Angels (45), who recorded the highest number in the American League. They wasted a lead in 47.3% of their losses (44 of 93), the fifth-highest rate in the American League. In 2025, Kansas City had the best record in the major leagues with a 73-0 record when they came into the ninth inning with a lead, but they lost eight games in that situation in 2026, the third-highest number in the majors.

They also suffered 13 losses when they had a lead after the seventh inning, tying for third place in the league, and 10 walk-off losses, tying for the fourth-worst result, one behind the Tigers and Yankees (11 each), who recorded the highest number in the American League.

The narrow margins were a problem all year. Really, when you lose a lot of games like that, pitching is not the only culprit, but in the case of the Royals, in pressure situations, pitching found it very difficult to contain their opponents. They finished with 108 of their 162 games decided by three runs or fewer (66.7%), one fewer than the Cleveland Guardians (109), who recorded the highest number in the Major Leagues. It was their highest figure since 2013 (113), and they had a record of just 46-62 (.426) in those games, the fifth-worst record in all of the Majors. Their 62 losses in those conditions were only one fewer than those of the Tigers and Angels (63), who recorded the highest number in MLB.

Even so, there were some interesting stories to highlight, especially those of these three pitchers I chose here.

3. Daniel Lynch IV, LHP

Daniel completed his sixth major league season in 2026, with a 6-6 record and a 4.08 ERA (39 earned runs in 86 innings) in 56 games, 10 of them as a starter. His 13 holds left him tied with Matt Strahm in second place among Royals relievers, only behind John Schreiber (14).

But the big story of his season changed when the team began to use him as a starter. Lynch IV became the first pitcher in Royals history to participate in at least 40 games as a reliever and make at least 10 starts in the same season. He was one of three major league pitchers who reached those figures in 2026, alongside Lake Bachar and Braydon Fisher.

Lynch IV began the season in the Royals’ bullpen, where he recorded a 1.96 ERA (10 earned runs in 46 innings) in 46 games. It was the fourth-lowest ERA by a Royals left-hander in his first 46 appearances of a season, behind José Mijares (1.72) in 2012, Tom Burgmeier (1.75) in 1971, and Ron Mahay (1.78) in 2008. He allowed only two home runs in 46.0 innings as a reliever (0.4 HR/9), a figure tied for the sixth-best mark among American League relievers (minimum of 40 games).

While the Royals were looking for alternatives to complete a rotation very affected by injuries during the season, Lynch IV moved into the rotation on August 7 against the Cubs. It was his first start since May 27, 2025, against Cincinnati. However, in his 10 starts, he allowed nine home runs in 40 innings (2.0 HR/9), and his FIP was affected, going from 3.06 to 6.17. He did not overcome the pressure of facing the opposing batting order more than once, seeing his K-BB% rate fall from 12.6% to 4.0%.

Even so, Lynch IV completed at least five innings in four of his five September starts, including the last one of the year, on September 27 against Cleveland, when he worked 5 ⅓ innings, his highest total in a start during the season. He got consecutive wins on September 9 against Arizona and September 16 in Houston. They were his first wins as a starter since July 18, 2023, against Detroit.

Lynch IV limited left-handed hitters to a .165/.223/.248 slash line (20-for-121). Among American League pitchers, his .223 OBP allowed ranked fourth and his .165 batting average allowed ranked sixth (minimum of 100 batters faced). Lynch IV ranked in the 83rd percentile in breakings and the 79th percentile in GB% with 47.8%, and his two main weapons were the sinker and the slider. With the sinker, he recorded +7 Run Value and allowed only a .210 AVG, .300 SLG, and .304 wOBA. Although the slider was not one of the pitches he used the most, he used it only 19.4% of the time and managed to limit his opponents to a .132/.165/.211 slash line (10-for-76). His batting average allowed was tied with San Diego’s Mason Miller as the best in the major leagues against the slider (minimum of 75 at-bats).

2. Noah Cameron, LHP

The best of his season is far from his 9-8 record and 4.11 ERA (81 earned runs in 177 ⅓ innings) in 31 appearances, the highest number of his career, 30 of them as a starter. After making his major league debut on April 30, 2025, Cameron was one of four Royals players who made the Opening Day roster for the first time in 2026, alongside Tyler Tolbert, Jac Caglianone, and Carter Jensen.

His consistency pitching for a team whose hopes of winning increasingly seemed smaller revealed a lot about Cameron’s ability to compete, as he was one of 15 left-handed pitchers who made at least 30 starts in 2026. His 177 ⅓ innings ranked sixth among left-handers, behind Philadelphia’s Cristopher Sánchez (207 innings).

Cameron completed at least eight innings in three starts, all during his last 11 outings. That figure was tied with Cam Schlittler as the highest in the American League and was one behind Sandy Alcantara, Logan Webb, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who led the major leagues with four each.

After beginning his career with 43 consecutive starts, Noah pitched as a reliever behind opener Beck Way on July 24 in Detroit. He worked seven innings without allowing a run and struck out eight batters. But beyond that dominance, that game marked a before and after in his campaign. After that performance, Cameron revealed that he had started choosing his own pitches through the PitchCom device. This turned out to be a turning point in his season, recording a 2.58 ERA (22 earned runs in 76 ⅔ innings) in his last 12 games, 11 of them as a starter, after having recorded a 5.27 ERA (59 earned runs in 100 ⅔ innings) in his first 19 starts.

Cameron recorded a 3.92 FIP, lower than his 4.11 ERA, a difference of 0.19. Among qualified American League pitchers, that difference between his ERA and his FIP ranked as the tenth-highest—the leader was Jacob deGrom, with 1.09. He achieved it with several quality pitches. His cutter added +8 Run Value, finishing in the 94th percentile in RV/100 pitches, and opponents hit only .156/.200/.270 (19-for-122) against his curveball. That .156 batting average was the best in the American League and the third-best in the majors (minimum of 100 at-bats), only behind Nolan McLean (.130) and Braxton Ashcraft (.135). However, the slider and the sinker were his two weakest pitches, finishing with -5 and -3 Run Value, and a slugging percentage allowed of .490 and .636, respectively.

Cameron recorded a streak of 19.0 consecutive innings without allowing runs, the best of his career, from August 16 to 27. He also established a personal record with 48 ⅔ consecutive innings without allowing home runs, from July 19 to August 27.

1. Michael Wacha, RHP

This was the problem all the time: Wacha received an average of 3.36 runs of offensive support in his 32 starts, the lowest figure for a starter in the major leagues. It was the second consecutive year in which he had the lowest average offensive run support among starters. Then, when you see Wacha’s dominance and success as a rotation starter, I think you appreciate the effort and consistency even more, offering the opportunity to win almost every day. Among starters with at least 20 starts, only Yoshinobu Yamamoto (22/28, 78.6%), Chris Sale (19/27, 70.4%), Sonny Gray (20/29, 69.0%), and Cristopher Sanchez (22/33, 66.7%) surpassed Wacha (21/32, 65.6%) in quality start percentage. We can see a lot of run prevention and dominance numbers, but baseball is as complicated as it is simple, so often what teams need most is for their starters to be able to get a quality start.

Wacha has done that for a long time. He strung together five consecutive quality starts from May 4 to 25, matching the second-longest streak of that kind in his career. His longest streak was seven consecutive starts, from July 26 to August 28, 2015, when he played for St. Louis. He won four consecutive starts from August 17 to September 3, matching the best streak of his career. He was the only Royals pitcher who won four consecutive starts in 2026.

Once again, Wacha’s devastating changeup was the main weapon in his arsenal, ranking in the 98th percentile in Run Value with +11, the sixth-best mark in all of the majors. His opponents hit just .188 AVG, with .321 SLG and .225 xwOBA. His fastball (+5 RV) and cutter (+2) helped maintain the balance in his repertoire, but the slider (-2) and the curveball (-6) have once again been exposed.

In the last two seasons, although Wacha has thrown the slider and the curveball only 19.3% of the time, both pitches have combined for a negative Run Value of -9, even though they continue to generate his highest whiff rates—29.3% with the slider and 27.8% with the curveball.

He made his 300th career start on May 31, 2026, in Texas. He became the tenth active pitcher to reach that figure and the sixth who made his 300th start with Kansas City. He recorded the 1,500th strikeout of his career on June 27 against the White Sox, becoming the 17th active pitcher to reach that mark.

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