The Royals have signed Austin Cox to a different minor league contract. After electing free company in November, the left-hander will return to the one MLB group he’s identified all through his seven-year professional profession. The crew introduced the signing this afternoon.
Cox, who turns 28 on Opening Day, first signed with the Royals as a fifth-round draft choose in 2018. After a formidable debut in Rookie ball that yr, Cox started to appear on Royals high prospect lists across the trade. His 3.78 ERA in 9 begins was strong, however what actually turned heads was his 35.7% strikeout fee. As well as, he gave up only one dwelling run in 33 1/3 innings of labor.
The lefty adopted up his robust first impression with an equally promising efficiency in 2019. Cox regarded sharp at each Single-A and Excessive-A, pitching to a 2.76 ERA and three.48 FIP in 130 2/3 innings throughout each ranges. His 24.2% strikeout fee wasn’t practically as excessive because it was at Rookie ball, nevertheless it was nonetheless fairly good, and it came to visit a a lot bigger pattern measurement towards tougher competitors. On high of that, he decreased his stroll fee and continued to restrict dwelling runs. Getting into the 2020 season, each FanGraphs and Baseball America included Cox amongst their high 10 prospects within the Royals system; Keith Legislation of The Athletic ranked him at no. 12.
Sadly, Cox was unable to pitch in 2020 because of the misplaced minor league season, and he struggled at Double-A and (briefly) Triple-A in 2021. His fastball velocity fell and he minimize his slider from his pitch combine, giving him a much less imposing and fewer various arsenal. His strikeout fee continued to drop whereas his stroll fee rose, and he surrendered 11 dwelling runs in simply 68 frames; that’s the identical variety of dingers he allowed the yr earlier than when he pitched nearly twice as many innings. Thus, it was hardly shocking to see Cox plummet down prospect rankings through the 2021-22 offseason. As soon as a promising back-end starter, he appeared destined for a task within the bullpen as an alternative.
Cox continued to begin at Triple-A in 2022 and ’23 however failed to enhance his outcomes. In Could 2023, he made his MLB debut out of the Royals bullpen. Though he had restricted expertise as a reliever, his massive league profession couldn’t have gotten off to a greater begin. He didn’t quit a success till the fortieth batter he confronted. Sadly, his work was much less spectacular after that. Cox would in the end pitch in 24 video games for Kansas Metropolis that yr: 21 aid appearances and three quick spot begins. His numbers had been serviceable however unspectacular for a lower-leverage swingman. He pitched to a 6.10 ERA and 4.71 FIP in 10 1/3 innings as a starter and a 3.91 ERA and three.33 FIP in 25 1/3 innings out of the bullpen. A knee harm ended his season early, and the Royals designated him for project firstly of the offseason. He subsequently elected free company.
Cox rejoined the Royals on a minor league contract shortly thereafter and spent all the 2024 marketing campaign with the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers. He exercised an opt-out clause in his contract in July however signed one other minor league pact with the group later that month. Thus, his new cope with the Royals is the third minor league contract he has signed with the crew previously 14 months. Presumably, he’ll proceed to do precisely what he did in 2024: present depth as a left-handed swingman at Triple-A. Whereas his efficiency this previous yr didn’t show ok to earn him one other probability with the large league membership, there may be clearly a powerful relationship between pitcher and crew that each side are enthusiastic about carrying on.
