Royals' Kris Bubic: Likely to open at Double-A

Bubic will likely open the year at Double-A Northwest Arkansas, Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports.

He gave up four earned runs on five hits and two walks while striking out two over 3.1 innings this spring. According to Brendan Gawlowski of FanGraphs, Bubic was sitting in the upper 80s with his fastball at times while touching 93 mph in a March 8 outing against the White Sox. This is important to factor in when looking at Bubic's eye-popping stats from 2019. He is a lefty with a plus changeup and average curveball, and that is often more than enough to flummox low-level hitters. While his statistics make him seem like a pitcher with a high ceiling, his stuff is more in line with a back-end starter.