Royals giving Cameron extra rest as Kolek steps in for Saturday start

KANSAS CITY -- As the Royals make a push for the postseason, they will have to do it without one of their most reliable starters on Saturday.

The club announced on Friday that rookie starter Noah Cameron will have his start skipped, citing fatigue as the 26-year old, who will likely receive American League Rookie of the Year consideration, has pushed past his career high in innings. Taking his turn will be Stephen Kolek, who was recalled from Triple-A Omaha on Friday.

In a corresponding move, Michael Wacha was placed on the paternity list as he and his wife, Sarah, welcomed their second child on Thursday. Wacha is expected to make his scheduled start in Sunday’s series finale against the Tigers at Kauffman Stadium.

It was a move a few days in the making when the Royals didn’t originally list Saturday’s starter on Wednesday as the team looked to give Cameron some rest after allowing a career-high-tying six runs on a career-high eight hits against the White Sox on Monday.

“His workload is as high as it’s ever been, really,” general manager J.J. Picollo said. “We’ve asked a lot out of Noah going every fifth day. It’s something, unfortunately, in the Minor Leagues, they don’t get to do except once every fifth time around because they go Tuesday-Sunday, so that added workload is quite a bit on a young pitcher.

“He’s handled it great, but just evaluating his last outing, a little bit of command, a little bit of velocity. When the ball starts being up in the zone, it’s a pretty good sign a guy is fatigued, and it may have been the best time to give him a rest.”

Cameron has logged 140 2/3 innings this season between the Majors (108) and Minor Leagues (32 2/3). His previous high was 128 2/3 just one season ago, but with a month remaining and the Royals relying on Cameron to be a big part of their run to October, the club felt this was a good time to give the rookie a break.

Despite six runs over five innings in his last start, Cameron’s still pitched to a 2.92 ERA. He had five straight quality starts to begin his career, but he has tossed just two in the 14 starts since.

“Cameron, we will basically just skip a start for him,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “I mean, he’s near or at a career high in innings with several more starts to go. So we’re hoping to have him sprint through the finish line, and then hopefully into the postseason. He’s been, as we know, great for us.

“So we just want to keep him strong and going. He feels fine, but it’s our decision to just skip him once and take advantage of the paternity list with Wacha not being here, having Kolek start. Give [the Tigers] a different look, somebody they haven’t seen, but also somebody we think highly of.”

Kolek was acquired from San Diego in the Freddy Fermin July 31 trade that also brought Ryan Bergert to Kansas City. While Bergert joined the Royals’ rotation immediately and has been a steady presence, Kolek has gotten off to a slower start with the Storm Chasers. The 28-year-old righty pitched to a 6.63 ERA across five starts with Omaha.

Kolek began his big league career as a reliever, but he moved into the starting role this season. In 14 starts with the Padres this season, he had a 4.18 ERA, striking out 56 batters over 79 2/3 innings.

Kolek’s arsenal includes a sinker (26% usage), four-seamer (25%), slider (17%), cutter (17%), changeup (9%) and sweeper (6%).

“He’s extremely well spoken, he’s confident in what he does. He’s got a great pitch mix,” Quatraro said. “We really like what he has to offer on the mound. He’s conscientious about the game planning. He’s shown good stuff in Triple-A, so there’s a lot to like.”

Kolek was told just a few hours before his start on Wednesday for the Storm Chasers that he would be throwing just one inning -- an unusual limit -- before being told Thursday of making his Royals debut against the first-place Tigers.

“All of that day I felt bad for our bullpen, really, because Omaha just had a bullpen day the day before,” Kolek said. “And then I come in, ‘Hey guys, sorry but I’m only going one [inning] today.’ So I was looking forward to having a good quality start there, but I’m even more looking forward to having a quality start here.”