Royals' Connor Thomas Enjoying Second Chance after Rough Start to Season in Atlanta

For most of the season, the Royals bullpen has been one of the worst in baseball, but during this second half, they have seemed to bounce back a touch, being more middle of the pack. In that group lies Connor Thomas, whom the Royals got via a waiver claim from the Athletics. On the surface, Thomas doesn't have great numbers this season, but he is pitching well during his stay with the Royals.

Overall, Thomas has an ERA of 9.35, three holds, and 17.1 innings pitched this season. Those aren't great numbers, but they are skewed from his time pitching for Atlanta. So, what changed with Thomas since his tenure with the Braves?

Rough Start with his Hometown Team

Every kid who dreams of playing in the majors probably wants to do it for their home team, and Thomas got to do that with the Atlanta Braves. Thomas, a native of Tifton, Georgia, signed a minor league deal with the Braves in the offseason and got a chance to pitch for them when they selected his contract and called him up. On July 7, he made his first appearance of the year against the Pirates which didn't go well. He went 3.1 innings of work, allowing five hits, four runs, a walk, while striking out two batters.

In his second appearance, 20 days later, it was rock bottom for the former Georgia Tech Yellowjacket as he allowed ten hits, 11 runs, walked five, and struck out two in 2.2 innings of work. In two outings, Thomas had an ERA of 21.32 in 6.1 innings of work leading to the Braves designating him for assignment. The Athletics claimed Thomas off waivers, but didn't use him then DFA'd him once again, before the Royals claimed him.

Since that waiver claim and call-up to the majors, Thomas has been nails for the Royals. In 11 innings pitched, Thomas has an ERA of 2.45, three holds, and has yet to allow a home run with the Royals. He also pitched for the Brewers last season, to limited success, as he had an ERA of 20.25. His stop with the Royals has been his best so far in his career.

Sometimes, Throwing Strikes is all you need

On paper, Thomas isn't anything super special. He throws in the low 90s, doesn't have the best stuff, and has had trouble controlling his pitches. One number that stood out for Thomas in his time with Atlanta was his zone%, or the percentage of his pitches that were in the strike zone, which was 41.3%. That led to him having a walk rate of 15.0% and a CSW% of 18.8%.

With the Royals, his zone% rose to 49.7%, which, in turn, upped his CSW% to 30.2%. Not much else has changed in his plate discipline numbers as much as those two numbers. Going through his numbers, the only other major changes lie within his stuff which has seen an uptick since joining the Royals.

In a limited sample size, Thomas has an overall stuff+ of 98 with the Royals, compared to 87 with the Braves. The main culprits for the rise in stuff+ are Thomas's 4-seam fastball and sinker. While his whole repertoire has seen an uptick, his 4-seam fastball and sinker has seen the largest changes. On the Braves, his stuff+ on his 4-seam and sinker was 87. On the Royals, those same pitches sit with values of 102 and 110.

It is odd to see such a drastic uptick in stuff, but Thomas did make a change with his arm slot between his time with the Braves and the Royals. With the Braves, his average arm angle was around 31.6 degrees, and with the Royals, his average arm angle sits at 29 degrees, which is more in line with his 2025 form. While this is a neat development, the biggest thing for Thomas was throwing strikes, but his stuff playing up is a nice bonus.

Conclusion

Connor Thomas has been a nice addition to the Royals bullpen this season and will probably return as a depth guy. He likely won't be a shutdown reliever, but he has shown the ability to get outs and also get some high-leverage outs. In what has been a bad season overall for the bullpen, Thomas has been a nice victory for the Royals if he can continue pitching well to close out the year.

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Rough Start with his Hometown Team

Sometimes, Throwing Strikes is all you need

Conclusion

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