Seth Lugo Eyes Bounce-Back Season as Royals Anchor Rotation and Navigate New Dimensions
KANSAS CITY - Seth Lugo’s 2025 season was a tale of two halves - and not in the poetic, feel-good kind of way. It had flashes of brilliance, like his dominant June stretch where he posted a 1.26 ERA across five starts, reminding everyone just how valuable he can be when he’s locked in. But it also came with frustrating lows, including two stints on the injured list and a rough August that saw his ERA balloon to 9.11 before a September shutdown.
Now, as the Royals gear up for a pivotal 2026 campaign, Lugo is focused on rediscovering the consistency that made him a Cy Young runner-up just two seasons ago. That 2024 version of Lugo - the one who logged over 200 innings with a crisp 3.00 ERA - is exactly what Kansas City needs if they want to make a serious push back into postseason contention.
“Finished the year not the way I wanted to,” Lugo said during Royals Rally this past weekend, “but I relate it to a career - there’s ups and downs, stuff you got to work through.”
That kind of perspective is key for a veteran like Lugo. He’s not just looking to bounce back - he’s breaking down what went wrong and attacking it head-on.
One of the biggest adjustments he’s focused on this offseason? Re-establishing his fastball.
Lugo’s known for his elite breaking stuff - few pitchers in the league can spin it like he can. But with an arsenal heavy on curveballs and sliders in recent years, hitters have started to sit on spin, knowing the fastball wasn’t coming as often. In 2025, he threw his fastball just 49.8% of the time - his lowest usage since 2018, back when he was still working out of the bullpen for the Mets.
“I think over the past couple of years, all the breaking balls that I like to throw, it kind of gave me a reality check - we’ve got to use your fastball,” Lugo said. “We’ve got to command the fastball.
Get up when I need to. So that’s been my focus.”
That’s not just talk. Lugo’s commitment to fastball command is part of a broader effort to bring balance back to his pitch mix - something that could make him even tougher to square up, especially if his velocity and location are where he wants them to be.
But there’s another wrinkle this season: the Royals’ home ballpark is getting a facelift. Kauffman Stadium’s fences have been moved in by about 10 feet in most areas (center field excluded), and the wall height has been lowered. The move has been framed as a boost for the Royals’ offense, but it inevitably raises questions for the pitching staff.
Lugo’s reaction? A mix of humor and pragmatism.
“When I heard the news, I was like, ‘Here we go again,’” he said, referencing the growing trend of teams tweaking their park dimensions. “I’d like to play on the biggest field possible, of course.”
Still, Lugo isn’t sweating the change. He’s done the math - with some help from the Royals’ analytics team - and the numbers suggest the new dimensions won’t drastically impact his results.
General manager J.J. Picollo shared some data with Lugo, and the takeaway was clear: over the past two seasons, only one hit - a double - would likely have turned into a homer under the new dimensions. That’s across more than 350 innings of work.
“That’s not bad,” Lugo noted. “It’s not something that I have any control over, so like I said, keep the balls out of the gap, keep it to the big part of the field or keep it to the ground. That’s our gameplan, anyway.”
He’s got a point. For pitchers like Lugo, who thrive on weak contact and command, the key isn’t necessarily the size of the park - it’s executing pitches that avoid barrels and limit damage. That approach isn’t changing, regardless of where the fences sit.
Lugo pointed to one specific example: the Giancarlo Stanton double in Game 4 of the 2024 ALDS - a 114.1 mph rocket that traveled 406 feet and clanged off the top of the wall in left-center. Under the new layout, that ball might have left the yard. But outside of that, Statcast data suggests only three balls Lugo allowed in 2024 would have cleared the new fences: a 366-foot double by Gunnar Henderson, a 369-footer by Yainer Diaz, and a 391-foot flyout by Logan O’Hoppe.
“Gappers, whether they’re going out or fly balls, they’re extra-base hits,” Lugo said. “That’s where they made an adjustment to the fence.
It’s already part of my gameplan to not let hitters get the ball to the gap. If I can eliminate that, it shouldn’t be an issue to think about.”
That mindset - focused, self-aware, and grounded in data - is exactly what the Royals need from their veteran right-hander. With Cole Ragans and Michael Wacha also anchoring the rotation, Kansas City has the makings of a solid top three. But if Lugo can get back to his 2024 form, he’s not just a piece of the puzzle - he’s a tone-setter.
And in a season where the Royals are looking to take a big step forward, that kind of presence on the mound could make all the difference.