Bubic's evolution lands him in Atlanta for All-Star Game

ATLANTA -- At the end of the 2022 season, Kris Bubic was searching for answers.

Bubic’s ERA ballooned to 5.58 that season on a 97-loss team. As the Royals went through organizational changes, Bubic knew he had to change, too, if he wanted to “have sustained success rather than just trying to survive,” he said.

Less than three years later, Bubic is a different pitcher. He’s an All-Star now, joining Bobby Witt Jr., Carlos Estévez and Maikel Garcia in Atlanta this week as they try to lead the Royals back to the postseason in 2025.

Bubic’s 2.48 ERA this season ranks sixth in the American League. His 3.1 fWAR eclipses the 2.9 fWAR he accumulated in the past five years combined.

“It’s been a long journey,” Bubic said. “Not saying I have it figured out now, but I have a better understanding of myself and my strengths.”

Getting there required an honest assessment and an open mind.

Naturally inquisitive, Bubic had a lot of ideas about how to change after 2022. He wasn’t giving up, and the Royals certainly weren’t giving up on him.

“Kris had that demeanor that resembled the good starting pitchers I’ve been around,” general manager J.J. Picollo said. “The way he talked about pitching, the way he worked -- he could explain it all in a very clear way. You just gain belief when you’re around those players.

“Nobody thinks they’re going to fail when they get up here. This game kicks you in the teeth. And it kicked him in the teeth pretty good. But he just kept pushing along.”

To start, Bubic believed he needed a wider repertoire, and one of his strongest convictions was adding a slider. Brian Sweeney agreed; when he interviewed to be the Royals’ pitching coach, he was tasked with breaking down how he would help Kansas City’s 2018 Draft pitchers.

“Why isn’t this guy throwing a slider?” Sweeney recalled assessing Bubic. “He struggles against lefties. Why doesn’t he have something that turns right?”

Bubic was the first pitcher Sweeney met that offseason. Over seafood at Pacific Catch in the Bay Area, they talked for three hours. Sliders were only part of a wide-ranging conversation.

“You have a couple hours of conversation, the trust is earned right from the beginning,” Bubic said. “It made the following conversations about pitch design and my mentality a lot simpler.”

By Opening Day 2023, Bubic was in a great spot, armed with new pitches and a better mentality.

Then came the elbow injury.

Tommy John surgery can be a devastating interruption, but Bubic flipped that mindset, instead wanting to build on the strides he had made in the offseason.

“Injuries are never fun, and there’s never a right time,” Bubic said. “But I’m thinking to myself, ‘When do you ever get an extended period like that to work on anything?’ I had time to explore different arm actions, different pitch types. I didn’t want it to go to waste.”

A few months post-surgery, Bubic presented a PowerPoint to the Royals’ pitching team, laying out his ideas on pitch design and his delivery.

“It was kind of nerve-wracking going in,” Bubic said. “I had only had one spring and a couple of starts for a sample with these guys. They were probably like, ‘Who the heck is this guy with his PowerPoint?’”

Sweeney loved it. While Bubic didn’t end up implementing everything, it laid the groundwork for when he was able to pick up a baseball again.

He could assess the results when he finally got back on the mound in ‘24.

With some delivery changes, his four-seam had more cut-carry than before. He tinkered with a sinker. He ditched his curveball and relied on the slider. His new changeup grip led to more depth.

The biggest change of all?

Intent.

“Regardless of who’s in the box, regardless of what team you’re playing, regardless of the kind of stuff you have that day, it’s like, ‘I’m going to get this hitter out. I’m going to throw my stuff in the zone,'" Bubic said.

Bubic returned as a reliever last July because there wasn’t a spot in the Royals’ healthy and humming rotation. His new mentality, paired with better stuff, thrived in short stints, and he emerged as a late-inning threat in a playoff race.

Back in the rotation this season, Bubic made small tweaks to his stuff but feels he benefited from the relief experience, trying to keep the same mindset in every start.

Change was what got Bubic here. Now he understands what will stick.

“I’m so proud of his journey,” Sweeney said. “He needed to go through some of that stuff to be the pitcher he is today.”