Alec Marsh #48

Alec lives in Gilbert, Ariz....He and his wife, Makenna, married after the 2024 season...He attended Arizona State, where as a junior in 2019, he was named to the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List and the Collegiate Baseball Hall of Fame Watch List for National Pitcher of the Year...Marsh graduated from Ronald Reagan HS (Wis.) in 2016, where he recorded a 1.21 ERA on the mound and batted .470 at the plate as the team captain during his senior season.

2024

Marsh completed his second Major League season with the Royals in 2024 after breaking Spring Training as the fifth starting pitcher...He made 26 appearances (25 starts) for the Royals, earning nine wins and striking out 123 batters over 129.0 innings pitched...He reached 100 career strikeouts on April 19 vs. Baltimore and 200 in his start on Sept. 13 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh...Missed 14 games from April 25-May 9 due to a right elbow contusion suffered on a comebacker that occurred during his start on April 24 vs. Toronto...Went 4-1 with a 2.72 ERA (13 ER in 43.0 IP) through his first eight starts from April 2-May 21...From May 27-July 29, he went 3-6 with a 6.17 ERA (40 ER in 58.1 IP)...Pitched one inning in relief on July 19 vs. the White Sox in an effort to keep his arm fresh, since he hadn’t pitched in nine days due to the All-Star break...He was optioned to Triple-A Omaha following the trade deadline on July 31 and remained there for nearly a month, making five starts between Aug. 1-25, going 1-1 with a 1.42 ERA (3 ER in 19.0 IP)...Over his final six starts, after he was appointed the 27th Man for a doubleheader on Aug. 26 and recalled on Sept. 1, he logged a 3.90 ERA (12 ER in 27.2 IP) and did not allow more than three earned runs in any start...Punctuated his sophomore season with five innings of two-run (1 ER) ball in the finale on Sept. 29 at Atlanta.

2023

Marsh recorded 85 strikeouts in 74.1 innings to start his career, which are the second most by a Royal over 17 career games, behind Brady Singer (87)...From his debut on June 30, 2023 through season’s end, his 10.3 K/9 ranked 10th in the AL (min. 70.0 IP), trailing leader Nick Pivetta (12.6 K/9)...his 24.9 K% in that span ranked 19th among all AL pitchers...In just 17 outings (eight starts) in 2023, Marsh recorded 180 swings and misses (according to Baseball Savant), including five outings with at least 15 whiffs…from July 1 through the end of the season, he induced 172 swings and misses, which accounted for 13.8% of his 1,247 total pitches and was tied for the 17th highest rate in the AL in that span (min. 1,000 pitches)... Induced 51 swings and misses July 2023 alone, accounting for 11.3% of his total pitches thrown (450)...his 11.3% rate of pitches whiffed on led the Majors in July (min. 400 total pitches), ahead of Gavin Williams (9.8%)... Made his 3rd career start on July 15 in Game 1 of the Royals split doubleheader vs. the Rays, in which he set career highs in innings (6.0) and strikeouts (11)...his 11 strikeouts marked the most by a Royal within his 1st 3 career outings, breaking the previous mark set by Runelvys Hernández, who had nine strikeouts in his second start on July 20, 2002 (Game 1)...On July 15 (G1), he became just the sixth American League pitcher this century to record an 11-strikeout game within his first three career appearances, following Kyle Bradish (May 10, 2022), Shohei Ohtani (April 8, 2018), Chris Archer (Sept. 8, 2012), Matt Moore (Sept. 22, 2011) and Félix Hernández (Aug. 15, 2005)... Earned his third straight win in the Royals sweep-clinching victory vs. the Astros on Sept. 24, a streak that came on the heels of an 0-8 start to his career through his first 13 appearances...his five straight losses in five starts to begin his career marked the longest career-opening losing streak in Royals history...Yielded a home run in each of his eight starts in 2023, which marked the longest streak of starts with a home run allowed to begin a career in Royals history... Opposed the Dodgers in his Majors debut on June 30 and recorded five strikeouts, which were the most by a Royal in his Majors debut since Brady Singer had seven strikeouts in his debut on July 25, 2020.

2022

Marsh was selected to the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game in 2022...Over an eight-start span from April 30-June 11, 2022, Marsh recorded 64 strikeouts in 34.1 innings (16.8 K/9), including back-to-back 10-strikeout starts on May 19 and 25...Marsh finished the season at Triple-A Omaha and allowed just two runs on five hits over 10.0 innings in his two starts.

2020

Pitched for Eastern Reyes del Tigre in the Constellation Energy League, which operated in Texas during July and August…went 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA (2 ER in 4.0 IP), collecting six strikeouts...Participated in the Royals’ Postseason Camp at Kauffman Stadium in October.

2021

He appeared in one game with Surprise in the 2021 Arizona Fall League...In his 2nd start of 2021 on May 14 vs. Tulsa, Marsh recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts over 6.0 innings....Marsh was limited to six starts in 2021 due to injury.

2019

Made 13 starts for Idaho Falls (Rookie) in his first professional season, going 0-1 with a 4.05 ERA (15 ER in 33.1 IP) with 38 strikeouts (10.3 K/9), compared to just four walks...Did not walk a batter in his first five starts, and surrendered just one free pass in his first eight outings (20.1 innings)...Did not allow a run over his final three starts (9.0 IP), after allowing a total of six earned runs in a span of two outings (Aug. 9-15)...Posted a 2.25 ERA (6 ER in 24.0 IP) with one walk and 27 strikeouts in his nine home starts...Held left-handed batters to a .208 average (11-for-53), with one home run.