Royals Unheralded 27-Year-Old Named 'Dark Horse Candidate' For Opening Day Roster
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While some baseball fans are waiting until Opening Day to see the game's biggest stars again, the die-hards are locked in right now on battles for the 25th and 26th roster spots.
For the Kansas City Royals, there's plenty of intrigue both on the position player side and the pitching staff. For the latter, it will be interesting to see both who loses out on a rotation spot and gets kicked to the bullpen, and who fits into that bullpen mix at the back of the pack.
Every bullpen needs a change-of-pace option, which might entail bringing in a reliever with a different arm angle. The Royals already have a sidewinding right-hander in John Schreiber, but will they add a similar lefty to the mix to open the season?
MLB.com's Anne Rogers believes one such lefty has a shot at making the team. Rogers named 27-year-old minor leaguer Evan Sisk as the top "dark horse candidate" to crack Kansas City's roster out of camp.
"The Royals added Sisk to their 40-man roster in November because other teams were calling with interest, and they wanted to avoid losing him as a Minor League free agent," Rogers wrote. "He’s a different-look lefty with a sidearm delivery and stuff that’s hard for any hitter to pick up, but especially left-handers."
"He’s competing for a spot in the Royals’ bullpen, and with limited spots, he’s going to have to have a great spring to break camp with the team. Regardless of Opening Day or not, it’s likely the Royals rely on him at some point this year, especially if there’s a series with a lot of left-handed hitters."
Last season, Sisk posted a stellar 1.57 ERA in 57 1/3 innings of work for Triple-A Omaha, striking out an impressive 81 batters to 26 walks. If he can maintain that elite K rate in the big leagues, Fisk won't just be a fringe roster option, but an elite lefty option.
There's a lot to work out between now and Mar. 27, when the Royals open their season against the Cleveland Guardians. But Sisk is the kind of unheralded talent who can wind up having a huge impact on a big-league team.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org
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