Michael

Lorenzen

The Royals placed Lorenzen on the 15-day IL on August 29th and put a two- to three-week timeline on his return at that point. Up to now, Lorenzen has not thrown a bullpen yet as the team waits for his muscle to fully heal, but he has been keeping his arm in shape by playing catch. Until he throws a bullpen, it’s impossible to know exactly how long he’ll be out.

Lorenzen was officially placed on the injured list prior to Wednesday’s game against the Guardians after exiting his start on Tuesday night with a left hamstring strain. Given the timing of the injury, he’s probably going to miss the majority, if not all, of the final month of the regular season.

The fact it’s already been labeled a hamstring strain by the Royals means Lorenzen is a pretty strong bet to wind up requiring a trip to the injured list. The 32-year-old veteran right-hander suffered the injury during the second inning of Tuesday’s start against the Guardians while covering the first-base bag. There should be an additional update on his status following the contest.

Lorenzen managed to stay in the contest initially after his left leg came down awkwardly while covering first base in the second inning. He faced just one more batter before leaving the contest with a trainer. He struck out one over 1 2/3 scoreless frames prior to his early exit. There should be an update on his status following the contest.

Lorenzen was outstanding on Wednesday, holding the Angels off the board over seven frames. He scattered four hits and two walks while striking out five in what was his best start of the season. The 32-year-old right-hander ends the day with a 3.47 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, and a 91/57 K/BB ratio across 124 1/3 innings. He’s set to take on the Guardians in Cleveland on Tuesday.

Lorenzen did walk three but also struck out three while inducing just six whiffs on 36 swings for a 17 percent whiff rate and 22 percent CSW. Lorenzen never seems to dazzle or put up impressive swinging strike rates, but he continues to deliver. He now has a 3.68 ERA on the season and gets a great matchup next week against the Angels.

Exactly one year to the day since his no-hitter with the Phillies, this start did not go as well for Lorenzen. He gave up two homers in the first three innings and absolutely nothing came easy. One interesting note: he’s thrown his sweeper more often in his two starts with the Royals. That pitch is nasty and could be the key to him getting back to league-average quality.

Lorenzen was excellent in his first start with the Royals, holding Detroit to one run into the sixth inning. He had tossed five scoreless frames before the Tigers brought a run across on a double and a base hit in the sixth. He struck out five on the day. The 32-year-old right-hander will take a 3.69 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, and an 80/50 K/BB ratio across 107 1/3 innings into a start against the Cardinals in Kansas City on Friday.

The Royals optioned Alec Marsh to the minors earlier so Lorenzen was a lock to join Kansas City’s rotation at that point. Now we know he’ll take on one of his former teams on Saturday as the Royals head to Detroit to face the Tigers. Lorenzen had a 3.87 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 74/48 K/BB ratio in 97 2/3 innings with the Rangers this year.

That answers that question. The Royals didn’t initially commit to Michael Lorenzen in the rotation after picking him up from the Rangers, but he will surely take over Marsh’s spot. Marsh heads back to the minors after going 7-7 with a 4.71 ERA and a 93/32 K/BB in 101 1/3 innings. Lucas Erceg slides into the open roster spot.