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Stephen Kolek Reinstated and Starting on Thursday
The Kansas City Royals announced that they reinstated right-hander Stephen Kolek from the family medical emergency list and optioned right-hander Jose Cuas to Triple-A Omaha in a corresponding move. Kolek will return to start against the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday, and he'll be pitching on 10 days of rest after originally being placed on the paternity list. The 29-year-old will be sufficiently rested, but it also means he could be on a strict pitch count. The former 11th-round pick by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2018 out of Texas A&M University is 4-2 with a 4.15 ERA (4.55 FIP) and 1.19 WHIP with 34 strikeouts and 11 walks in 52 innings across nine starts in his first full season with the Royals. Kolek has been a decent deep-league streamer based on matchups, but we wouldn't suggest him here against the first-place Rays after skipping two turns in the Royals' rotation. In his last outing, Kolek allowed a season-high nine earned runs on nine hits (three homers) while walking one and striking out none in 1 2/3 innings in a loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
Source: Kansas City Royals
Source: Kansas City Royals
