Jackson Kowar #57

Jackson Alexander Kowar...graduated from Charlotte Christian High School (N.C.)...resides in Charlotte, N.C...reached semifinals of College World Series with the University of Florida, striking out 13 in their first round matchup against Texas, the most strikeouts in a CWS game since 2010...Selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 40th round of the 2015 MLB First-Year Player Draft, but did not sign and attended Florida...Selected by the Kansas City Royals in the first round (33rd overall) of the 2018 MLB First-Year Player Draft...made MLB debut on June 7, 2021 at Los Angeles-AL.

2024

Suffered a right ulnar collateral ligament tear during spring training and missed the 2024 season after undergoing “Tommy John” surgery. Made two Cactus League appearances, tossing 2.0 scoreless innings with three strikeouts.

2023

Went 2-0 with a 6.43 ERA (20 ER, 28.0 IP), 20 walks and 29 strikeouts in 23 relief appearances for the Royals...Earned first career Major League win on Sept. 18 vs. Chicago-AL...Went 2-5 with a 5.96 ERA (30 ER, 45.1 IP), 32 walks, 49 strikeouts and two saves in 30 games (one start) for Triple-A Omaha.

2022

His first scoreless appearance in the Majors came on June 27 vs. Texas, when he allowed just two hits and recorded five strikeouts over 3.1 innings...He returned to Triple-A Omaha on July 30 and remained there for the rest of the season...On Aug. 9 at Toledo, he did not allow a hit or walk over four scoreless innings and recorded eight strikeouts...On Aug. 20 at Louisville, he earned a win after allowing just one run on one hit over five innings.

2021

Named the Royals Paul Splittorff Minor League Pitcher of the Year, which is given to the top pitcher in the organization...had two stints with Triple-A Omaha in 2021, and in 17 overall appearances (16 starts), he went 9-4 with a 3.46 ERA (31 ER in 80.2 IP) and 115 strikeouts (12.8 K/9), which led all Triple-A pitchers at the time of his recall on Sept. 1...also named the Storm Chasers Pitcher of the Year and a Triple-A postseason All-Star...Made his Major League debut with the Royals in 2021, but in nine appearances (8 starts), he went 0-6 with an 11.27 ERA (38 ER in 30.1 IP) and averaged 3.1 innings/start and allowed at least five runs in each of his last five starts of the season...Named the Triple-A East Pitcher of the Month for May, after going 5-0 with a 1.01 ERA (3 ER in 26.2 IP) in five starts...he made his Majors debut on June 6 at Angel Stadium, and at the time his contract was selected by the Royals, his 0.85 ERA led Triple-A and ranked third among all minor league pitchers, while his five wins were tied with four others for the minors lead...Went 5-0 with a 0.85 ERA (3 ER in 31.2 IP) in six starts with Triple-A Omaha to begin the season, before making his Major League debut with the Royals on June 7...in three outings during his first big league stint, he went 0-2 and allowed 10 runs on 11 hits and five walks in 5.0 innings...he returned to Omaha on June 23, and made 11 appearances there before returning to Kansas City on Sept. 1...in his first start of his second stint with the Royals on Sept. 1 vs. Cleveland, he allowed just two runs in 6.0 innings and exited with a 3-2 lead and in line for his first career win, but the Royals lost 5-3 in 11 innings...he allowed at least five runs in each of his next five starts, going 0-4 with a 12.10 ERA (26 ER in 19.1 IP)...Threw 631 pitches in 30.1 innings with the Royals for an average of 20.8 pitches per inning, the highest rate in the Majors in 2021 (min. 8 starts)...the last pitcher with a higher pitches-per-inning average during a season in which he made at least eight starts was Tim Lincecum, who averaged 21.0 pitches per inning across nine starts for the Angels in 2016...Kowar’s high pitch counts were fueled by the 20 walks he issued in 30.1 innings for a 5.93 BB/9, which was also the highest rate in the Majors.

2020

Pitched at the Royals alternate training site in Kansas City, Kansas...A non-roster invitee to Major League Spring Training… appeared in five Cactus League games...Also participated in the Royals’ Postseason Camp at Kauffman Stadium in October.

2019

Split the season between Wilmington (A+) and Northwest Arkansas (AA), combining to go 7-10 with a 3.52 ERA (58 ER in 148.1 IP) in 26 starts...Among Royals' minor league pitchers, his 144 strikeouts ranked fourth, while he ranked seventh in WHIP (1.24) and eighth in ERA (min. 100 IP)...Selected as a Carolina League midseason All-Star, pitching a scoreless fourth inning in the annual game...Promoted to Northwest Arkansas on June 22 and tossed 7.0 shutout innings vs. Frisco in his Double-A debut, taking a no-decision in a 2-0 Naturals victory…scattered six hits and allowed two walks, with seven strikeouts...Pitched to a 1.91 ERA (6 ER  in 28.1 IP) over his first five starts with Northwest Arkansas, but recorded just one victory in that stretch...Fanned a career-high nine hitters over just 5.0 innings his July 27 start vs. Amarillo, but suffered a 4-0   defeat...Entered the year as the No. 4 prospect in the organization according to MLB.com.

2018

Made nine starts with Lexington (A) in his first professional campaign...Posted a 1.06 ERA (2 ER in 17.0 IP) and a .125 opponents average (7-for-56) in his final five regular season starts...Tossed 5.0 shutout innings in Game 2 of the South Atlantic League Championship Series, a 5-2 victory.