In this edition of the World Baseball Classic, there were players from the United States team who came in as the big stars of the tournament, but disappeared after playing one game. One of those players was Detroit pitcher Tarik Skubal. A similar case was that of Michael Wacha.
Wacha, Royals pitcher, returned to Phoenix, Arizona, for spring training. Kansas City and he followed in Skubal’s footsteps after just one appearance in the WBC. Wacha’s only involvement came after Logan Webb opened the first game against Brazil.
The Royals pitcher threw against the Brazilian team on Friday and left the following numbers:
- He worked 3.0 innings
- He allowed three earned runs on four hits
- He struck out five batters
- He threw 31 strikes on 39 pitches
Wacha’s numbers that Kansas City analyzed
Despite having played in a World Baseball Classic game, and based on information published by Royal Skeep, the organization monitored every movement and pitch of the pitcher to know what to improve or what to work on with him for the start of the MLB campaign.
Wacha recorded a total TJ Stuff+ of 99, with three pitches having a TJ Stuff+ of 100 or more. He relied heavily on his four-seam fastball and changeup, throwing those pitches 46.2% and 30.8% of the time, respectively.He was effective at generating swings outside the zone with both pitches, achieving a chase rate of 50% with the four-seam fastball and 71.4% with the changeup.
Wacha is the ideal starter for the Royals
He has been Kansas City’s most reliable starter over the past two years. He pitched 166.2 innings in 2024 and 172.2 innings in 2025, posting ERAs of 3.35 and 3.86 in 2024 and 2025, respectively. The 34-year-old veteran right-hander could produce another season in 2026 with an ERA below 4.00 and more than 150 innings pitched.
Read the full article here
