Taylor Clarke Has Been the Unsung Hero of the Royals’ Bullpen

Clarke wasn’t guaranteed to make an impact at all for Kansas City this season, let alone emerge as an integral arm in the Royals’ bullpen.

Before 2025, Clarke last pitched in the majors in 2023, where in 59.0 innings of work with the Royals, he threw to a dreadful-looking 5.95 ERA, 5.07 FIP, 1.61 WHIP and .297 batting average against.

He essentially pitched his way out of the organization (and the majors in general). He spent 2024 in the Brewers’ system with Triple-A Nashville, where he looked only marginally more palatable than the underwhelming major-league arm he was the year prior.

In 68.0 innings across 22 appearances, Clarke threw to a 4.90 ERA, 4.91 FIP, 1.32 WHIP and .267 BAA with the Sounds.

But after signing a minor-league contract to return to the Royals this winter, he was given a shot at redemption when they selected his contract on May 1. Clarke hasn’t looked back since.

An Impressive Bounce-Back Story

Now, it hasn’t been an immaculate season in its entirety for Clarke. After an other-worldly 0.75 ERA in the month of May, he followed that up with a 7.20 ERA in June and a 4.95 ERA in July.

However, the Royals stuck with him and they’ve been rewarded for doing so. Clarke has now become one of the more trusted arms in the ‘pen.

Similar to his team in general, Clarke is coming off a bad week, in which he allowed four runs off six hits and two walks in his last three outings combined. But the fact that he can have a week like that and still have the stat line that he does is a testament to the incredible year he’s crafted.

In 50.0 innings across 46 outings, the 32-year-old holds a 3.60 ERA, 0.82 WHIP and .191 BAA. Heading into last week’s aforementioned nightmare performance, we’re talking about an arm who was pitching to a 3.02 ERA and 0.69 WHIP on the year.

Clarke has achieved such success in his own unique way. He’s doesn’t induce high strikeout rates (22.0% strikeout rate and a 22.6% whiff rate), nor does he limit hard contact (43.1% hard-hit rate and 8.8% barrel rate). However, he’s gotten away with it by being a master at limiting walks (3.8% walk rate) and keeping the ball on the ground at an above-average clip (44.5% groundball rate).

He’s also seen some elite results on a majority of his pitches. Rather than relying on his fastball, Clarke’s four-pitch arsenal has been carried by the success of his pitches with movement:

Clarke has also been a product of pitching to his ballpark’s strengths. While Kauffman Stadium might sit in the upper half in terms of hitter-friendly ballparks, ranking 11th with a 101 park factor rate according to Baseball Savant, it hasn’t been a homer-friendly environment by any means.

Using park factor metrics again, Kansas City sits 26th out of the 28 major league ballparks (excluding Tampa Bay and the Athletics’ temporary parks) when it comes to hitters being able to belt the long-ball.

So, when a pitcher finds ways to keep balls on the ground or in the air via the flyball 80.3% of the time, rather than allowing line drives to fall in the expansive outfield confines of Kauffman Stadium, success will be easier to come by.

Now, whether or not Clarke can use this season as springboard to create a longer and more triumphant MLB career remains to seen. After all, the expected metrics aren’t necessarily in his favor, with a 4.12 xERA and .260 xBA.

That being said, Clarke has been nothing short of the ultimate pleasant surprise for Kansas City this season. He has certainly earned the benefit of the doubt to get plenty of looks around the open market this winter, hopefully getting a well-deserved payday in the process.

Stats were taken prior to play on September 16.