The Kansas City Royals need several of their top pitching prospects to begin to come through, but so far it seems that they're either injured or disappointing as the reach the highest levels. Jake Odorizzi will hopefully become the next great pitcher for the Royals as he advances through the system, but Will Smith is also staking his claim at the part and hopes to land a long-term position in the rotation, even if it's not as the staff ace.
Smith already earned a promotion earlier this year to make his Major League debut and the results weren't so great. He went 1-2 with a 9.00 ERA and found himself back in AAA Omaha after only three starts. However, his most recent start after being called back up brought a higher level of comfort and confidence and his talent really shone through despite giving up four earned runs against the Mariners.
"We want to see Will Smith continue to develop. He's a 22-year-old left-hander who we think has a chance to be a solid back end of the rotation starter at the big league level on a real good team," KC manager Ned Yost said. "Teaford fits better long right now."
Smith will get his next start on Thursday against the Los Angeles Angels.
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