The Kansas City Royals announced on Thursday that starting pitcher Alec Marsh has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a right elbow contusion. Marsh suffered the injury during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays when he took a comeback liner off his arm from rookie Addison Barger. Although X-rays came back negative, severe bruising and an imprint of the seams on his arm were visible. Marsh will be sidelined for a couple of weeks to allow the injury to heal before returning to the rotation.

Selected as the 70th overall pick in the 2019 draft, Marsh had won the Royals' fifth starter job over veteran Jordan Lyles during spring training. The 24-year-old right-hander has been solid this season, posting a 2.70 earned run average over five starts and 26 2/3 innings pitched. While his strikeout and ground ball rates are below average, Marsh has maintained a strong walk rate of 6.5%. However, it is unlikely that he will sustain this level of success without improving his ability to generate strikeouts and grounders, and his current home run-to-fly ball rate of three percent is expected to increase.

In the meantime, the Royals have recalled right-handed reliever Will Klein to take Marsh's spot on the roster. This will mark Klein's Major League Baseball debut when he makes his first appearance in a game. Klein was the final pick of the five-round 2020 draft, selected 135th overall by the Royals. He has made steady progress in the minor league system, recording a 3.38 ERA and an impressive strikeout rate in Double-A last year before struggling with a 5.66 ERA and high walk rate in Triple-A. However, Klein has started the 2024 season on a positive note in Triple-A Omaha, pitching 11 consecutive scoreless innings.

Klein, who was ranked 18th among Royals prospects by both Baseball America and MLB.com, is highly regarded for his powerful fastball, which consistently reaches the upper 90s and occasionally touches triple digits. He also possesses a plus slider/cutter and above-average curveball. However, his command has been a concern, as he has struggled with his control throughout his professional career, walking 16% of his opponents.

With his impressive arsenal of pitches, Klein has the potential to become an effective late-inning reliever if he can improve his command. For now, the Royals will rely on him to step up and contribute to their vastly improved rotation as Marsh recovers from his injury.