Do the Kansas City Royals Have the Arms to Make a Postseason Push?

The Kansas City Royals suffered an extreme blow to their hopes and dreams this season. Earlier this week, it was revealed that former Stanford standout, Kris Bubic, would miss the rest of the 2025 season with a rotator cuff strain-- ending the promising season from the rising star.

An All-Star for the first time this season, Bubic finishes the year with an 8-7 record, a 2.55 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP with 116 strikeouts.

But losing Bubic for the season could prove costly for a Royals team that is still very much alive in the postseason chase. The leader of the starting rotation for the entire season, the team will now need to figure out how to get through the season without their ace and will look to establish a core group of guys that they can rely on down the stretch.

So with Bubic out, here is the Royals' expected rotation for the rest of the season with each player's current statline.

Royals expected rotation

RHP Michael Wacha

4-9 win-loss, 3.53 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 90 strikeouts in 117 1/3 IP

LHP Noah Cameron

5-4 win-loss, 2.44 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 71 strikeouts in 81 IP

RHP Seth Lugo

8-5 win-loss, 3.03 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 104 strikeouts in 118 2/3 IP

Lugo signed a two-year extension on July 27 that guarantees $46 million, keeping him under team control through at least 2027. The contract also includes a mutual option for 2028. He will receive $21.5 million in both 2026 and '27.

RHP Thomas Hatch

Has not pitched in an MLB game since 2023, last appearing for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays. That season he finished with a 1-1 record, 4.08 ERA, 26 strikeouts and a 1.57 WHIP. He pitched for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of the Japanese League last season, before signing with the Royals this offseason.

The Royals added him to the active roster on July 29th and while he most likely will be a reliever, his experience as a starter will most likely mean that he will be used as a bulk reliever, eating multiple innings when needed and saving the key bullpen guys.

RHP Michael Lorenzen (currently on the 15-day IL)

5-8 win-loss, 4.61 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 85 strikeouts in 99 2/3 IP

Lorenzen has an oblique strain and is currently on the 15-day injured list, but the expectation is that he will return to action sometime in August.

LHP Bailey Falter

7-5 win-loss, 3.73 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 70 strikeouts in 113 1/3 IP

Falter was acquired by the Royals on trade deadline day in a deal with the Pirates, with Kansas City sending reliever Evan Sisk and 1B prospect, Callan Moss, over to Pittsburgh to bring in Falter.

In addition to Bubic, the Royals are also missing Cole Ragans, who has been one of the best pitchers in baseball at times over the past couple of seasons. The Royals certainly have the arms to make a run towards a postseason berth, but there will be some key series for them to win if they're going to make that push.

One of those is this weekend against the Toronto Blue Jays, who are tied with the Tigers for the best record in the American League. With Kansas City sitting 3.5 games back of the final Wild Card spot in the AL, those games against tougher opponents could make or break their season at this point.

Overall, their schedule the rest of the way is roughly average difficulty compared to other teams, with upcoming opponents holding a cumulative .499 winning percentage.