Daniel Richard Duffy…resides in Lompoc, California, with his wife Sara, and dog, Sadie…in 2019, he and Sadie were featured on a bobblehead, which was given away at Kauffman Stadium to the first 15,000 fans.
2022
The longtime Royals pitcher signed a non-roster deal with Texas on 1/27/23, seeking a return to the Majors after missing time due to injury…though he joined the Dodgers at the 2021 trading deadline and spent the entire 2022 campaign in the organization, he never appeared for L.A. after having left flexor tendon surgery repair on 10/27/21…his last MLB outing was his final game with the Royals on 7/16/21 vs. BAL…the 34-year-old lefty averaged nine wins, 25 starts, and 150.0 innings over a six-year period with K.C. from 2014-19, ranking among A.L. leaders for that span in starts (T11th, 150), ERA (14th, 3.84), and innings (15th, 8972)…was the Royals’ Opening Day starter in three of four years from 2017-20 (2017-18-20)…had a relief role during K.C.’s 2015 World Series championship run, when he was teammates with current Rangers GM Chris Young and played under then-Royals GM Dayton Moore, who is now a special assistant with Texas…the California native has pitched for Team USA in international competition on multiple occasions…he was also active in community endeavors during his time with the Royals.
2021
Started the year with Kansas City before getting traded to Los Angeles on July 29 but spent the majority of the campaign on the Injured List with a left flexor strain…did not pitch for the Dodgers after being place on the 60-Day IL on Aug. 9... Garnered a 4-3 record across 13 games (12 starts), striking out 65 batters against 22 walks for a 2.51 ERA (17 ER/61.0 IP)... Limited hitters to a .226 average, keeping lefties to a .217 average and limiting right-handed hitters to a .228 average... Had his best month in April, pitching to a 3-1 record over four starts with a 0.39 ERA (1 ER/23.0 IP)…struck out 27 batters and walked just six in that span... Pitched 5.0+ innings in eight of his starts, producing a 4-3 record in those contests with 53 strikeouts against just 15 walks... Struck out six or more batters six times, with eight strikeouts coming three times: April 19 vs. TB, May 12 at DET, and April 25 at DET With runners in scoring position, kept hitters to a .224 average in 12 different games…was dependable in away game contests, limiting hitters to a .189 average in eight games (seven starts) versus a .272 average during five starts at home…allowed five home runs and 15 walks on the road and just one longball and seven walks at home.
2020
Completed his 10th Major League season (all with Kansas City), finishing second on the team in starts (11), innings (56.1) and strikeouts (57), while his four victories tied for second most on the team...His 9.11 K/9 marked the second-highest rate of his career (min. 50 IP), trailing only his 2016 campaign, when he amassed a 9.42 rate (188 K in 179.2 IP)...Allowed no more than five hits in each of his first six starts, surrendering just 20 hits in 105 at-bats (.190 opponents’ average) through Aug. 21…his streak of five hits or fewer matched Edinson Vólquez (2015) for the longest stretch to begin any season by a Royals starting pitcher...His six starts of at least 4.0 innings and five hits or fewer fell one shy of Tommy John (1968) for the most by an American League lefty to begin a season since 1901…his streak to start the year extended a run to 10 consecutive starts with five hits or fewer in 4.0 innings or more, dating back to Sept. 7, 2019, which matched the fifth-longest streak by an American League pitcher since 1901...Held opponents to a .200 average (7-for-35) with runners in scoring position, however four of those seven hits went for extra-bases…of the 33 runs he allowed, 17 of them (51.5%) scored on his team-high 10 home runs...Opposing No. 9 hitters went 8-for-21 (.381) with four extra-base hits (.619 SLG)…only opposing No. 2 hitters (9-for-27) had more hits against him...Allowed a team-high 10 home runs, though six of them were solo shots…surrendered two rare roundtrippers in his Sept. 18 start vs. Milwaukee, a solo shot to Christian Yelich, marking just the 10th homer he’s allowed to a left-handed batter in 820 plate appearances since 2012, and a grand slam to Jacob Nottingham, just the sixth slam he’s yielded in his career...Made his third career Opening Day start on July 24 at Cleveland, tying him for third most in franchise history behind only Kevin Appier (7) and Dennis Leonard (4)… suffered a 2-0 setback, being charged with two runs on three hits over 4.1 innings... Held opponents to two runs or fewer in six of his 11 starts, which included back-to-back victories over Minnesota on Aug. 15-Game 2 and Aug. 21...Went 2-2 in the month of September, earning victories at Cleveland (Sept. 9) and vs. St. Louis (Sept. 23)… tossed 5.2 scoreless innings in the win over the Tribe, and allowed one run in 5.2 frames vs. the Cardinals, but was charged with six runs in both losses – Sept. 3 vs. the White Sox and Sept. 18 at Milwaukee...Made his final appearance of the year out of the bullpen on Sept. 25, his first relief outing since May 11, 2016 at Yankee Stadium…allowed two hits, both of which came around to score, marking the third time in 29 career relief outings that he’s allowed multiple runs.
2019
Posted a 7-6 with a 4.34 ERA (63 ER in 130.2 IP) in 23 starts…his inning and start totals were his fewest since 2013 ... Had two stints on the Injured List, March 28-April 26 (left shoulder impingement) and Aug. 6-31 (strained left hamstring) ... Allowed four home runs in the 130 times he faced a left-handed batter in 2019, after allowing just five homers in the 656 plate appearances vs. lefties from 2012-18 ... Left-handed batters hit .378 (14-for-37) vs. Duffy over his first eight starts, but he held them to a .197 average (15-for-76) over his last 14 starts from June 12 through season's end ... Opponents hit .324 (12-for-37) with runners in scoring position over his first eight starts, but he held them to a .177 average (11-for-62) over his last 14 starts from June 12 through season's end, which ranked second in the American League during that time (min. 75 batters faced), trailing only Gerrit Cole (.101) ... Pitched to a 3.21 ERA (17 ER in 47.2 IP) and held opponents to a .233 average (42-for-180) in his eight daytime starts…it marked his best day game ERA since 2016 (1.85) and lowest opponents' average since 2014 (.212) ... Went 3-1 with a 3.12 ERA (12 ER in 34.2 IP) over his first six starts, including wins in three consecutive starts: May 7 at Houston, May 14 vs. Texas and May 19 at the Angels ... Recorded a season-high 8.0 innings on June 22 vs. Minnesota, his longest outing since July 15, 2017 vs. Texas (8.1 IP), but did not factor into the decision of a 5-3 Royals loss…allowed three runs, all on solo homers ... Went 0-4 over a nine-start stretch from May 26-July 12, despite recording five quality starts…he received a total of 15 runs of support in 43.0 innings over the last eight starts in that run from May 31-July 12 for a 3.14 run support average, which was the third lowest in the American League during that time ... Had a season-high 11 strikeouts and allowed just one run over 6.0 innings in a no-decision on July 23 in Atlanta…it was the second-most strikeouts in his career, trailing only a franchise-record 16-strikeout performance on Aug. 1, 2016 at Tampa Bay…it was just the sixth double-digit strikeout effort in an Interleague game in Royals history, and the 11 strikeouts were the most by a Royal vs. a National League team since Zack Greinke had 12 on June 13, 2010 at Cincinnati ... Returned from the 10-day IL on Sept. 1 and went 2-0 with a 2.37 ERA (8 ER in 30.1 IP) and .185 opponents' average (20-for-108) over his five September starts, earning Royals Pitcher of the Month honors…his ERA was his lowest in any calendar month since July 2014, and ranked sixth among qualified American League pitchers in September, while his opponents' average ranked fourth ... Had a scoreless streak of 15.0 innings from the second inning on Sept. 13 through the third inning on Sept. 24, which was the second-longest run by a Royal in 2019, and was just 2.1 innings shy of his career-long scoreless streak in 2015 ... In nine starts vs. playoff teams, he went 2-1 with a 3.25 ERA (20 ER in 55.1 IP), but 11 of the 20 earned runs he allowed came in just 12.2 innings vs. Minnesota…he had a 1.90 ERA (9 ER in 42.2 IP) in seven starts vs. Atlanta, Houston, New York, Oakland and Tampa Bay.
2018
Named the Royals' Roberto Clemente Award nominee, which recognizes the player who best represents the game through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field...Donated $141,000 to Noah's Bandage Project ($1,000 per strikeout), a local foundation that provides fun bandages to kids and raises money to fight childhood cancer…foundation is named for Noah Wilson, who lost his battle with cancer in 2015...Suffered a career-high-tying 12 losses, matching his 2014 total, but made a career-high 28 starts...Held opponents to one earned run or fewer in 13 of 28 starts (46.4), trailing only Blake Snell (23) and Chris Sale (18) among left-handed pitchers in the American League...Conversely, he allowed at least six runs seven times- after doing so just 10 times in 130 starts from 2011-17- trailing only Dylan Bundy (8) for the most such starts in the Majors...Had three starts in which he held opponents to two hits or fewer in at least 6.0 innings, trailing only Blake Snell (5), Chris Sale (4), Mike Minor (4) and J.A. Happ (4) among American League left handers...Recorded his fifth career double-digit strikeout game- most among Royals left handers all-time-with 10 in 7.0 scoreless innings in a 2-0 win in Oakland on June 9...Had a 5.81 ERA (45 ER in 69.2 IP) through his first 13 starts, before pitching to a 2.47 ERA (14 ER in 51 IP) over his next eight from June 9-July 20, a stretch that included a pair of six-run outings…allowed at least six runs in three of the next four starts (July 25-Aug. 11)...Named Royals Pitcher of the Month for July after leading the team in wins (3), starts (6), innings (37.1) and strikeouts (37)…three of his six starts were scoreless, and he allowed just one run over 7.0 innings in another… it was his fifth Royals Pitcher of the Month Award, fifth most since the honor was established in 1995, trailing only: Zack Greinke (8), Joakim Soria (8), Kevin Appier (7) and Wade Davis (6)...Placed on the 10-day DL from Aug. 13-23 with a left shoulder impingement...Retired just two of seven batters in his last start on Sept. 4 in Cleveland and was charged with three runs on four hits and a walk…exited with a left shoulder impingement/ tighteness and was shut down for the rest of the season...Went 4-0 with a 0.24 ERA (1 ER in 37.2 IP) during a six-start stretch in road games from June 9-July 31… he became the first American League pitcher in the Live Ball Era (since 1920) to allow no more than one run over a six-start road stretch within the same season…the only National League pitcher to do it was Roger Clemens, who allowed one run over his first seven road starts with Houston in 2005…Duffy's stretch included a streak of 19.2 consecutive scoreless innings, which was snapped on a grand slam by Jake Cave on Aug. 5 at Minnesota.
2017
Made 24 starts, going 9-10 with a 3.81 ERA (62 ER in 146.1 IP), with 41 walks and 130 strikeouts...had two stints on the disabled list, May 30-July 3 (strained right oblique) and Aug. 26-Sept. 16 (left elbow impingement) ... Made his first career Opening Day start, recording eight strikeouts over 6.0 innings of one-run ball in a no-decision at Minnesota…the eight strikeouts matched a club record for Opening Day, originally set by Wally Bunker in 1970 ... Went 2-0 with a 1.32 ERA (4 ER in 27.1 IP) through his first four starts, matching the third-longest steak in club history of at least 6.0 innings and two-or-fewer runs allowed to begin a season ... Lost his next three outings from April 25-May 7, including a 1-0 setback to Cleveland in which he pitched 6.2 innings ... Dropped a 6-0 decision to the White Sox on May 2, snapping his franchise-record streak of 16 straight home starts without a loss...it was his first setback at home since Sept. 5, 2015 (also vs. the White Sox) ... Won consecutive starts against the Yankees, May 18-23… threw 7.0 shutout innings with 10 strikeouts in a 5-1 win vs. New York on May 18, becoming the first since Dallas Keuchel in 2015 to record 7.0 shutout innings with 10 strikeouts vs. the Yankees…later in the year, both Yu Darvish (June 23) and Chris Sale (July 15) accomplished this feat ... May 18 marked his second career start of 7.0 shutout innings and double-digit strikeouts (also, Aug. 1, 2016 at Tampa Bay)…Paul Splittorff is the only other KC lefty to do that (Sept. 16, 1973 at California) ... Surrendered a career-high tying three home runs on July 9 at the Dodgers and Aug. 6 vs. Seattle (Game 1)…allowed just seven HR in his other 22 starts overall ... Allowed just 13 HR in 146.1 IP overall (0.80 HR/9), the seventh-best rate in the Majors (min. 20 starts) ... Struck out Tyler Saladino on Aug. 11 at the White Sox to mark the 634th of his career, surpassing Larry Gura for second most by a left-handed pitcher in Royals history… ended the season with 670 strikeouts, trailing only Paul Splittorff (1,057) ... Recorded a season-high 8.1 innings in a 1-0 loss vs. Texas on July 15, allowing the go-ahead run in the ninth on an RBI single by Shin-Soo Choo…became first Royal since Jose Lima in 2005 to lose despite allowing one run in at least 8.1 IP ... The go-ahead single by Choo snapped a streak of 21 straight at bats vs. lefties in which Duffy had not allowed a hit ... Named Royals Pitcher of the Month in July for the fourth time in his career, leading the Royals with three wins and 31 strikeouts…tied for third in the Majors with 39.1 innings and ranked sixth with a 7.75 strikeout-to-walk ratio (four walks)…recorded at least 7.0 innings in three of his six starts and held opponents to two-or-fewer runs four times ... Recorded at least seven strikeouts in five consecutive starts from Aug. 6-Sept. 17, one shy of the franchise record set by Zack Greinke during his 2009 Cy Young Award winning season ... Allowed two runs on one hit in back-to-back starts (Aug. 22 and Sept. 17) that were separated by a three-week DL stint…he won the first start on Aug. 22 vs. Colorado, but lost on Sept. 17 at Cleveland, becoming the fourth Royal to lose a start in which he allowed one hit in at least 5.0 innings…he's the first since at least 1913 to record consecutive starts of at least 5.0 innings, one hit or less and two runs or more…only four others during that time (105 years) have recorded two such starts in the same season ... Held left-handed batters to a .167 average (17-for-102), eighth best in the American League (min. 100 lefties faced) ... Lefties hit just .091 (5-for-55) over his final 13 starts…he didn't issue a walk to the last 56 lefty batters he faced (last, Jason Kipnis on May 28) ... Went 2-0 with a 1.61 ERA (5 ER in 28.0 IP) in four starts vs. American League East opponents, the best record within the division in the Majors (min. four starts) ... Recorded 130 strikeouts, totalling a $65,000 donation to Noah's Bandage Project…for every strikeout he recorded in 2017, Danny donated $500 to the foundation that provides fun bandages to kids and raises money for pediatric cancer research ... Won a gold medal with Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, going 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA (1 ER in 8.0 IP) in two starts, both of which were pool-clinching wins…held Canada to two hits with seven strikeouts over 4.0 scoreless innings in an 8-0 win to advance to the second round... allowed two runs (one earned) over 4.0 innings to knock out the defending WBC champs Dominican Republic to advance to the championship round in a 6-3 win.
2016
Set career highs in wins (12), starts (26), innings (179.2) and strikeouts (188) while leading Royals' starting pitchers in ERA (3.51)...Pitched to a 3.00 ERA (6 ER in 18.0 IP) in 16 relief appearances before joining the starting rotation on May 15...Went 12-3 overall (.800), matching Larry Gura (.800, 16-4) in 1978 for the best winning percentage in franchise history (min. 15 decisions)...Set the Royals record for strikeouts by a left-handed pitcher (188), surpassing the previous high of 156 by Bill Butler in 1969...Held left-handed batters to a .183 average (20-for- 109), fourth best in the AL (min. 100 lefties faced)...Allowed just three extra-base hits to left handers all season, including one home run to Rougned Odor on July 22, which snapped a streak of 361 regular season at-bats without allowing a home run to a lefty, dating back to Aug. 27, 2011 (Jim Thome)...Won 10 straight decisions from June 11-Aug. 21, the longest winning streak by a Royal since Jeremy Guthrie won 10 straight from Aug. 8, 2012-May 9, 2013 and one shy of the franchise record held by Rich Gale (June 17-Aug. 23, 1980) and Paul Splittorff (Aug. 13, 1977-April 22, 1978)...During his 10-game winning streak, he led AL hurlers in innings (95.2) and WHIP (0.98), tied for first in opponents' average (.209) and strikeouts (98), tied for second in wins (10) and third in ERA (2.35)...His 14-start unbeaten streak was tied for the third longest in Royals history, trailing Jeremy Guthrie's 18-start unbeaten streak from Aug. 8, 2012-May 9, 2013 and Paul Splittorff's 16-start unbeaten streak from Aug. 13, 1977-April 22, 1978...Went 7-0 at home, joining Steve Farr (1986) and Larry Gura (1977) as the only Royals to finish a season 7-0 at home…among all pitchers in 2016, only Andrew Miller (8-0) had more wins without a loss at home...Hasn't lost at Kauffman Stadium since Sept. 5, 2015, setting a new club record for consecutive home starts without a loss (15), surpassing the previous mark held by Kevin Appier (12) and Bret Saberhagen (12)...Threw 61 of his 76 pitches for strikes (80.3%) on May 27 vs. the White Sox, the highest strike-rate by a KC starting pitcher since pitch-count totals are available (1988)...Recorded his 500th career strikeout on Aug. 27 at Boston, becoming the 15th pitcher in Royals history to reach the 500-strikeout mark and the fifth left hander...Recorded a then-career-high 10 strikeouts over 6.0 scoreless innings in a 4-1 win over the White Sox on June 11, joining Paul Splittorff as the only Royals left handers to record a double-digit strikeout game over at least 6.0 shutout innings...Named Royals Pitcher of the Month in both June and July...went 3-1 with a 3.25 ERA (13 ER in 36.0 IP) and 45 strikeouts in June, while he was 3-0 with a 3.18 ERA (12 ER in 34.0 IP) over five starts in July...Recorded his first Major League hit and RBI on July 2 in Philadelphia, reaching on an infield single to the shortstop to score Cheslor Cuthbert...Pitched 8.0 innings with eight strikeouts and no walks on June 27 vs. St. Louis and 8.2 innings with eight strikeouts and no walks in his next start at Philadelphia on July 2 to become the first Royals left hander to record consecutive starts of at least 8.0 innings, eight strikeouts and no walks...Had a streak of 88 straight batters faced without issuing a walk from June 22 to July 7...Recorded at least seven strikeouts in five straight starts from June 22-July 16, tied for the second longest such streak in Royals history, trailing only Zack Greinke (6 straight) from April 8-May 4, 2009...Set a franchise record with 16 strikeouts on Aug. 1 at Tampa Bay, surpassing the previous record held by Zack Greinke (15 on Aug. 25, 2009 vs. Cleveland)… didn't allow a hit until the first batter of the eighth inning and finished with 8.0 scoreless innings…joined Randy Johnson as the only left handers since 1913 to record at least 16 strikeouts and allow one-or-fewer hit...Tossed his first complete game on Aug. 11 vs. the White Sox, allowing seven hits and no walks on 98 pitches...it was first no-walk complete game by a Royal since Jason Vargas on Aug. 13, 2014...Went 11-1 with a 2.66 ERA (41 ER in 138.2 IP) through his first 35 appearances (19 starts) through Aug. 21…over his last seven starts, he went 1-2 with a 6.37 ERA (29 ER in 41.0 IP)...Finished the season with 9.21 strikeouts-per-nine innings (188 K in 183.2 IP), the second best rate in Royals history, trailing Zack Greinke (9.50) in his 2009 Cy Young Award winning season.
2015
Duffy spent a majority of the year in the Royals rotation, but was moved to the bullpen for the last two weeks of the regular season…posted a 7-8 record with a 4.08 ERA over 30 appearances (24 starts)...Did not allow a run in six relief appearances, spanning 8.1 innings…had a 4.35 ERA as a starter...Held left-handed hitters to a .239 batting average (26-for-109) with just six extra-base hits (five doubles, one triple) for a .303 slugging percentage…fellow lefties hit just .140 (7-for-50) against him over his final 17 appearances...Posted a 2-0 record and a 2.93 ERA (13 ER in 40.0 IP) in nine daytime appearances, including six starts...Won his first two decisions, posting a 3.45 ERA over his first five starts…struggled in three May starts (0-3, 13.03 ERA) before being placed on the disabled list...Missed 24 games with left biceps tendonitis, between May 25 and June 24...Went 5-2 with a 3.04 ERA over 11 starts in July and August...Tossed a career-high 8.0 innings in a 4-1 win at U.S. Cellular Field…did not allow a run until Tyler Saladino hit a solo home run to lead off the ninth inning...Recorded a season-high eight strikeouts in 5.0 innings of work at Camden Yards on September 11…did not earn a decision after the O's rallied against the KC bullpen...Collected his first Major League save on September 20 in Detroit, pitching the final 4.0 innings of a 10-3 triumph… it marked the first 4.0-inning save by a Royals pitcher since Kris Wilson on May 31, 2001...Made six relief appearances, going 1-0 with a 6.00 ERA (4 ER in 6.0 IP), allowing no walks and nine strikeouts...Picked up his second career postseason win in Game #2 of the ALCS vs. Toronto, pitching a flawless seventh in front of a five-run rally in the bottom of the inning...Appeared in three World Series games, surrendering just one run on a solo shot to Michael Conforto in Game 4 at Citi Field.
2014
Danny spent a majority of the season in the Royals' starting rotation, going 9-12 with a 2.53 ERA in 25 starts (31 overall appearances)...Recorded a career-high 113 strikeouts in 149.1 innings...Had a deceiving record as he ranked fifth in the A.L. in ERA (2.53), fifth in opponents' batting average (.209) and ninth in WHIP (1.11) among hurlers with at least 140.0 innings...His .209 opponents' average was the lowest by a KC lefty, and third-lowest in club history overall by a hurler with at least 140.0 frames...Especially tough on left-handed hitters, holding them to a .137 batting average (17-for-124), second-lowest in the Major Leagues by a pitcher that faced at least 100 lefties...Held left-handed hitters to a .121 average (7-for-58) over his final 10 starts...Held the opposition to a .185 batting average (43-for-232) at home, posting a 2-4 record and a 2.67 ERA (20 ER in 67.1 IP) at 'The K'...went 7-8 with a 2.41 ERA (22 ER in 82.0 IP) on the road...Recorded a 4-3 mark and a 2.23 ERA after the All-Star break...His post-All-Star break ERA ranked 10th among A.L. starting pitchers...Received the lowest run support in the American League (3.38 runs/9.0 innings) among pitchers that made at least 25 starts...Opened the year in Triple-A Omaha, but was recalled on April 11 making just one start for the Storm Chasers...His first six appearances came out of the bullpen as he went 1-1 with a 2.16 ERA, tallying 11 strikeouts in 8.1 frames as a reliever...Retired the first 20 hitters he faced on May 17 vs. Baltimore in a 1-0 win...His bid at perfection was broken up by Adam Jones' two-out single in the seventh...It was the second-most consecutive batters retired to start a game, one shy of Bret Saberhagen's club-record 21 on June 22, 1985 vs. Seattle...Tossed 6.0 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk, to help blank the Cardinals, 6-0 at Busch Stadium on June 2...he and three relievers combined for KC's first-ever regular-season shutout at St. Louis...Threw just one pitch in his September 6 outing at Yankee Stadium, before leaving with stiffness in his left shoulder, missing two turns in the rotation.
2013
Danny worked his way back from Tommy John surgery, making five Major League starts in August and September. Carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning on August 16 at Detroit, tossing 6.0 shutout innings in his first MLB win since May 3, 2012. His 1.85 ERA was second-best in the A.L. among pitchers that made at least five starts (Clay Buchholz, 1.74). Recorded a career-best 15.2 consecutive scoreless innings from August 16 to September 2, which spanned three Major League starts. Did not lose a decision after June 5, including 18 outings with Northwest Arkansas (AA), Omaha (AAA) and KC. Averaged 11.35 strikeouts per 9 IP over his 16 minor league appearances ... set a single-game record at Northwest Arkansas, fanning 13 over 5.1 innings, July 17 at Tulsa.
2012
Made six starts before injuring his left elbow on May 13 at Chicago...underwent ulnar collateral ligament replacement surgery (Tommy John) on June 13 and missed the remainder of the season...Struck out 9.11 batters per nine innings, the eighth-highest ratio in the A.L. among pitchers who made at least 6 starts...teammate Felipe Paulino was sixth at 9.32.
2011
After opening campaign with Omaha (AAA), had his contract selected on May 18 and made his big league debut that night vs. Texas, taking a no decision in a start...Struck out 87 in 105.1 innings for 7.43 K's/9, which is the third-best ratio among Royals rookies (min. 100 IP) in history...only trailed Bob Johnson (8.66 in 1970) and Tom Gordon (8.45 in 1989)...Earned his first big league win in front of over 100 family and friends in Oakland on June 14, 7-4...Struck out 9 Cardinals in 3.2 IP on June 19, becoming third pitcher since 1946 to whiff 9+ in less than 4.0 innings...Was shut down for the season due to an innings limit following a 7-4 win at Oakland on September 6...the win snapped a 4-game losing streak and six-start winless streak.
2010
Had an eventful 2010 campaign, taking a leave from baseball after informing the Royals on March 23...he returned to baseball activities on June 2 and made his first appearance of the season for Surprise (R) on June 28...Quickly worked his way through the system, making 2 starts with Surprise and Idaho Falls (R), then 3 more at Wilmington (A Advanced) before wrapping up the season at NW Arkansas (AA)...Helped the Naturals to the Texas League title, going 1-0 in a pair of postseason starts, recording a 1.69 ERA...he allowed 12 hits and 2 earned runs in 10.2 innings, walking 4 and striking out 15...Was one of a record six Royals farmhands to represent Team USA at the Pan American Games Qualifying Tournament... went 1-1 with a 2.89 ERA in 2 starts (9.1 IP, 11 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO) as Team USA finished tied for third and qualified for the 2011 Pan Am Games as well as the 2011 World Cup...Capped the year with 7 appearances, including 3 starts, with Surprise in the Arizona Fall League...was 1-1 with a save and an 8.04 ERA...struck out 18 and walked 9 in 15.2 innings.
2009
Pitched the entire 2009 season at High-A Wilmington as one of the youngest players in the Carolina League...Tossed 0.2 scoreless innings with a hit and a walk in the 11th annual XM Satellite Radio Futures All-Star Game in St. Louis on July 12...Ranked third in the Carolina League in strikeouts, fourth in ERA and seventh in wins...Similar to 2008, was lights out down the stretch in helping lead the Blue Rocks to the playoffs...was 1-0 with a 1.01 ERA in his final five starts of the season.
2008
Spent his first year of full-season pro ball entirely with the Burlington Bees of the Class A Midwest League...went 8-4 with a 2.20 ERA in 17 starts, striking out 102 and walking 25 over 81 2/3 innings, as he limited the league to a .193 average...was 2-3 with a 4.61 ERA (27 1/3 IP) before the All-Star break and a dominating 6-1 with a 0.99 ERA (54 1/3 IP) after...first win came in fourth outing June 4 as he shut out Clinton on one hit, three walks and a hit batsman with three strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings...had five other shutout victories, June 23 vs. Peoria (7 IP, 4 H, 0 BB, 8 K), July 20 against West Michigan (5 IP, 1 H, 3 BB, 5 K, 1 WP), in his next outing July 26 vs. South Bend (5 1/3 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 4 K), a hitless effort Aug. 7 against Peoria (6 IP, 0 H, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 WP) and in his final game, Aug. 18 against Quad Cities (5 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 HB, 7 K, 1 WP)...fanned a season-high eight on three occasions, a June 9 win vs. Wisconsin (5 IP), the June 23 shutout win against Peoria (7 IP) and an Aug. 13 no-decision vs. Clinton (4 IP).
2007
Made his professional debut and spent the entire season with the (Rookie-level) Arizona League Royals (Surprise, Ariz.)...went 2-3 with a 1.45 ERA in 11 games (nine starts), striking out 63 and walking 17 over 37 1/3 innings, as he limited the league to a .178 average and no home runs...ranked sixth in the league in strikeouts...allowed earned runs in just four appearances and no more than 2 ER in any outing...threw two hitless innings in his first appearance, June 28 vs. the AZL Rangers, walking one and fanning four...struck out a season-high nine twice, in back-to-back efforts Aug. 9, 14, both vs. the AZL Brewers, as he combined to allow one run on five hits with three walks and a hit batsman over 11 innings to go 1-0 in the pair of games.
