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 recognized 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 powerful debut in Rookie ball that 12 months, Cox started to appear on Royals prime prospect lists across the business. His 3.78 ERA in 9 begins was strong, however what actually turned heads was his 35.7% strikeout charge. As well as, he gave up only one house run in 33 1/3 innings of labor.
The lefty adopted up his sturdy first impression with an equally promising efficiency in 2019. Cox seemed 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 charge 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 dimension in opposition to harder competitors. On prime of that, he diminished his stroll charge and continued to restrict house runs. Coming into the 2020 season, each FanGraphs and Baseball America included Cox amongst their prime 10 prospects within the Royals system; Keith Regulation 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 reduce his slider from his pitch combine, giving him a much less imposing and fewer numerous arsenal. His strikeout charge continued to drop whereas his stroll charge rose, and he surrendered 11 house runs in simply 68 frames; that’s the identical variety of dingers he allowed the 12 months earlier than when he pitched nearly twice as many innings. Thus, it was hardly shocking to see Cox plummet down prospect rankings throughout the 2021-22 offseason. As soon as a promising back-end starter, he appeared destined for a task within the bullpen as a substitute.
Cox continued to start out at Triple-A in 2022 and ’23 however failed to enhance his outcomes. In Might 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 surrender successful 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 12 months: 21 reduction appearances and three brief 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 task in the beginning 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 12 months didn’t show adequate to earn him one other likelihood with the massive league membership, there’s clearly a robust relationship between pitcher and crew that each side are enthusiastic about carrying on.
