Royals right-hander Jackson Kowar would have preferred not to get to a 3-0 count against D-backs prospect Alek Thomas, ranked No. 18 overall by MLB Pipeline, in the second inning of Sunday’s Cactus League outing at Surprise Stadium.
But the way that Kowar got out of it speaks to the strides the right-hander believes he made heading into 2022.
Kowar threw two more strikes to get back into the count against Thomas, then dropped in a changeup that froze the left-handed batter for a called strike three. Kowar threw two-plus innings and yielded one run on three hits to go with four strikeouts, in Kansas City’s 11-10 win over Arizona.