Royals' Breakout Starter Predicted To Make AL All-Star Roster

The Kansas City Royals have been struggling this season. At 42-48, they are 14 games back of the first-place Detroit Tigers in the American League Central.

Their Wild Card outlook is also starting to look bleak, as they fell to 5 1/2 games back with their loss on Saturday to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

However, not every aspect of their season has been a failure. While the offense has let them down at various points during the season, their pitching staff has mostly held up its end of the bargain.

While Cole Ragans has struggled, the team has received major contributions from left-hander Kris Bubic, who is having a breakout campaign with the Royals.

When predicting the final All-Star rosters for each league, which will be revealed late on Sunday, Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report had Bubic as one of the pitchers that could make the cut for the AL.

"Let the record show that neither Joe Ryan nor Kris Bubic is a "had to pick someone from that team" selection. Both the Twins and Royals are represented elsewhere, but those pitchers are playing quite the second fiddle to Skubal for dominance in the AL Central—while each receiving minimal run support," Miller wrote.

Bubic, 27, is 7-6 with a 2.36 ERA and 3.5 WAR in 17 starts. He is also averaging 9.3 strikeouts per nine innings.

It would certainly be a surprise if Bubic doesn't make the All-Star team. His stats certainly warrant a selection. We'll see if he makes the cut.

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