Full name is Kristofer Sime Bubic (pronounced: Boobich)…resides in Cupertino, Calif., during the offseason...Donated proceeds from his Cameo account to Royals Charities as well as the Harvester Food Network in 2020...Graduated from Archbishop Mitty High School (Calif.) in 2015...Attended Stanford University…went 8-1 with a 2.62 ERA (25 ER in 86.0 IP) with 101 strikeouts in 15 starts as a junior (2018) for the Pac-12 champions…named All-Pac-12 with the third-most strikeouts and fifth-lowest ERA in the league in 2018…one of 40 players to be selected to the Golden Spikes Award midseason Watch List...Majored in communications at Stanford and aspires to be a sports color commentator...Enjoys golfing, listening to music and playing guitar as his favorite offseason activities…he is also a novice chef.
2020
Made his Major League debut in Kansas City’s eighth game of the season on July 31 vs. the White Sox, suffering a 3-2 loss…started 10 games during his rookie campaign...Earned his first win in his eighth start, Sept. 11 vs. Pittsburgh…allowed one run over 5.0 innings, to join five other Royals to record his first win in 2020...Recorded 49 strikeouts in 50.0 innings for an 8.82 K/9, setting the franchise’s rookie record (min. 10 starts), ahead of Bob Johnson’s 8.66 mark (206 K in 214.0 IP) in 1970…his ratio ranked second among all rookies, trailing Houston’s Cristian Javier (8.94)...In his debut, became the youngest Royals pitcher (22 years, 347 days) to make his MLB debut as a starter since the late Yordano Ventura (22 years, 106 days) on Sept. 17, 2013 vs. Cleveland…became the first lefthanded pitcher to debut as a starter for the Royals prior to his 23rd birthday since Will Smith in 2012...He (8th game) and Brady Singer (2nd game) became the third pair of American League teammates since 2000 to debut as starting pitchers within the team’s first eight games, joining the 2020 Toronto Blue Jays (Tom Hatch & Nate Pearson) and the 2009 Oakland A’s (Trevor Cahill & Brett Anderson)...According to Elias, he became the eighth Royals pitcher since 1995 to start a game within two seasons of being drafted, joining Brady Singer, Luke Hochevar, J.P. Howell, Zack Greinke, Mike MacDougal, Dan Reichert and José Rosado…Bubic and Singer became the first set of Royals from the same draft class to debut as starting pitchers two years after being drafted, and the first in the Majors since San Diego’s Joey Lucchesi and Eric Lauer in 2018 (drafted in 2016)...Held opponents to two earned runs or fewer in seven of his 10 starts, matching Minnesota’s Randy Dobnak for the most among AL rookies and trailing only the Dodgers Dustin May (10) for most among all rookies...Allowed two earned runs or fewer in a four-start stretch between Aug. 30-Sept. 19, a stretch in which he went 1-2, despite a 1.99 ERA (5 ER in 22.2 IP), which ranked third among qualifying AL pitchers in that span...Suffered a 5-0 loss on Sept. 19 in Milwaukee, despite not allowing an earned run (1 UER) on one hit over 5.1 innings…became the first Royal to lose a start in which he allowed no earned runs and one hit, and first in MLB to do so since David Price on Aug. 21, 2014 (8.0 IP)… it was the 13th time a Royals starter has lost a game in which he allowed just one hit...Seven of his 10 starts came against All-Star caliber mound opponents, including his first three starts vs. former Cy Young Award winner, Dallas Keuchel (July 31), four-time All-Star Yu Darvish (Aug. 5) and 2019 AllStar Luis Castillo (Aug. 11).
2019
Named the Wilmington (A+) Pitcher of the Year, after splitting the season between Wilmington and Lexington (A)…posted a combined record of 11-5 with a 2.23 ERA (37 ER in 149.1 IP) in 26 starts...Led the minors with 185 strikeouts (11.15 K/9), while his two complete games were tied for the most in the minor leagues…also ranked sixth in WHIP (0.97), tied for ninth in wins and 10th in ERA...Selected to pitch in the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game, recording the final two outs in the fourth inning…named MiLB.com Fans' Choice for Best Starting Pitcher, an MiLB. com Organization All-Star, a Carolina League postseason AllStar and a Baseball America High Class A All-Star...Registered his first professional shutout on Aug. 15 vs. Lynchburg, allowing one hit and one walk over 9.0 scoreless innings…lone hit was a single to lead off the ninth inning...His two complete games came in consecutive starts: Aug. 8 at Fayetteville (9.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R) and Aug. 15 vs. Lynchburg...Recorded seven games with double-digit strikeouts, including a career-high 12 vs. Columbia (with Lexington) on April 12… also collected 11 K's on three occasions with Wilmington: July 17 at Winston-Salem, Aug. 8 at Fayetteville and Aug. 15 vs. Lynchburg...Held right-handed batters to a .168 average (63-for-374) combined between his two stops...Allowed no more than two earned runs in any of his final 10 starts (July 12-end of season), posting a 1.39 ERA (10 ER in 64.2 IP) in that span...Entered the 2020 season as the No. 8 prospect in the Royals' organization according to Baseball America.
2018
Made 10 starts with Idaho Falls (Rookie) in his first professional season…named a Pioneer League midseason All-Star...Fanned 53 batters in 38.0 innings (12.6 K/9), including a pair of 10-K performances: Aug. 1 at Orem and Aug. 15 at Billings...Earned his first professional victory on Aug. 1 at Orem, allowing two unearned runs on three hits over 5.0 innings in a 20-5 triumph.
