We have officially reached September, and the Royals are looking to make their final push into the postseason. As part of September expanded roster, the Royals brought up reliever Luinder Avila. Here’s what Avila can bring to the bullpen as the Royals head into the home stretch.
Avila made his Major League debut earlier this season when the Royals called him up after Hunter Harvey went back to the IL. On August 13th, Avila made his debut, throwing a perfect inning with one strikeout, but was sent
back down on the 16th. However, with the team now having two more open roster spots, Avila is back in Kansas City, likely for a longer stay, and he will get a chance to prove that he is here to stay.
Avila first joined the Royals in 2018 when they signed him at just 16 years old out of Venezuela. The team took their time with Lou, and he didn’t make his first A-Ball appearance until 2021, and worked his way into AAA late in 2024. The Royals added Avila to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft this offseason, and now he is with the major league team and will hold a relief role for the foreseeable future.
Since day one, Avila had major league stuff; it was just a matter of harnessing the command before he would find the success everyone knows he’s capable of. The primary pitch for Avila is a power four-seam fastball that sits in the upper 90s with great spin (2450 RPM) and cutting action through the zone. His best secondary pitch is a power curveball that sits in the mid-80s, but can get upwards of 3000 RPM. He mixes in a two-seamer with lots of arm-side run, and he has used a changeup in the past but may steer away from it now that he’s in the bullpen.
Avila has the stuff you cannot teach, and the Royals staff always knew that if he could get a feel for his command, he would have a very successful professional career. The Royals have used Avila as a starter in the minors, but many people felt his skill set would be better suited for the bullpen in the major leagues. With the Royals having a full rotation, Avila will come out of the bullpen, and with the depth of pitching prospects the Royals have in the minor leagues, he will likely stay in that role for the next few seasons.
Out of the bullpen, Avila could see his velocity tick up even more as he won’t need to manage the workload of a starter, and his fastball could touch 100. Avila has the strikeout stuff to be incredibly successful out of the bullpen in a leverage role, and as he gets more experience, he could earn bigger and bigger roles. With time, I think we could see Avila take over a high-leverage role with RISP when the team needs a strikeout to take some of the pressure off Lucas Erceg in the future.
The biggest steps for Avila’s development will be experience, so that he can see what works and what doesn’t against the world’s best hitters. He can get away with poor command because of his incredible stuff, but still needs to be in control of his offerings, as he won’t be able to get away with a high volume of walks.
The Royals staff will work with Avila, trying to make sure that he can control his impressive pitch mix, as well as trying to build his confidence in higher leverage situations. Avila should make an immediate impact in Kansas City and give the Royals bullpen a power right-handed pitcher they have needed since losing Steven Cruz to injury. If Avila can find some early success and build confidence in his pitches, he will be in Kansas City for quite some time, and his name is one you will want to know going forward.
