With teams all over baseball shutting down their young pitchers as the season rolls through September, Royals manager Ned Yost said that he has no such plans with the four young pitchers currently driving the Kansas City bullpen. According to the team's website, Yost believes that pushing young players through September is key to their development:
"Like any manager, you worry about their health and giving them too much of a workload early. But we are into September. It's all part of them learning how to pitch into September, too, in big games. So yeah, there's going to be times where you're going to be a little fatigued. So what? You've got to get after it."
The Royals certainly aren't playing for a championship this season, leaving many worried that Yost will burn out Tim Collins (22 years old), Kelvin Herrera (22), Aaron Crow (25) and Greg Holland (26). All four pitchers have been used extensively this season -- many times in the same game -- to help shut down teams from the sixth inning on. Many times Yost plays them multiple games in a row, something that is concerning to those worried about the health of the pitchers' arms.
Still, Yost is making it known that even if the Royals aren't battling for a playoff spot he wants his young pitchers to know what that feels like over the course of a long season:
"But when you're battling for a championship -- the whole August, September and going into October, it's going to be like that. You've got to learn what it feels like, you've go to learn that, 'Hey, I can get through this.'"
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