The Northwest Arkasnas Naturals bullpen is full of high octane arms. That is, guys who throw gas. At the beginning of the season if you mentioned gas in the Naturals pen, it was without question referencing RHP Will Klein. Klein and his triple digit heat moved to Omaha and then represented the Royals at the 2023 Futures Game in Seattle.

Currently, if you mention the gas in the Naturals bullpen, the question has to be which one? The Naturals pen is now full of guys who are described as “hard-throwers”. A lot of these guys were flyers who have found their way to AA in a roundabout way. Many times, guys with huge velo have huge control issues and many of these guys are not strangers to the base on balls. They are still learning to harnass their velocity, but they are improving each time out as the quest for triple digits continues.

The current ranking high velo champion is RHP John McMillon. On Friday night, McMillon hit 101 against the Tulsa Drillers in the 9th inning. He worked 99 routinely with the scoreboard showing 00 more than a few times. McMillon was a free agent signing with a high arm angle after the infamous five round draft of 2020. McMillon had been drafted twice previously and was destined to be drafted again but COVID restrictions changed the draft that year. McMillon has breezed through Columbia and Quad Cities this year with his fastball/slider combo. The way he looks on the mound, he won’t be in NWA for much longer. McMillon has thrown 43.2 innings across those three levels with a WHIP of 0.92, a 4.3 BB/9 rate, and 16.5 K/9 rate. Naturals fans, McMillon might be gone when the Naturals get back into town in two weeks on August 8 against Wichita so I hope you got a chance to see him last week or are willing to drive to Little Rock this week or Springfield next week.

RHP Anderson Paulino is right behind McMillon on the velocity ranking chart touching 100 mph last week against the Drillers. Paulino signed with KC back in 2017 as a 16-year-old from the Dominican Republic. Paulino has grown up in the system and is now touching triple digits while throwing a tough slider. Paulino has thrown 37.0 innings this season with a 1.32 WHIP, a 3.4 BB/9 rate, and a 9.2 K/9 rate. He looks good and will probably move to Omaha soon as well.

RHP Noah Murdock has mostly been a starter but has moved to the pen this season. The 6’8″ RHP touched 98 last week and has been working 96 and above. Murdock has more developed secondaries than a lot of pen guys because he’s worked so many innings as a starter and the secondaries are what get you through a lineup three or four times. He seems to be using mostly his slider at this point as a breaking ball but also has a change. Murdock was a 2019 seventh round pick for the Royals out of Virginia. He has thrown 51.1 innings this season with a 1.34 WHIP, a 5.6 BB/9 rate, and a 10.9 K/9 rate. Don’t be surprised if Murdock learns how to work out of the pen, cleans up his control, and makes it to the Show.

RHP Yefri del Rosario has seen a huge jump in his K numbers this year. But it’s not a surprise as he is almost up to 100 as well. With the increase from a 6.8 K/9 rate last year to an 11.1 K/9 rate this year, we’ve seen his BB/9 rate increase from 3.8 to 5.3 as well. There is a little bit of a trade off for him with the higher K rate. It’s worth it at this point and I think del Rosario will get better with his control around the zone cutting his walk rate and hopefully keeping his K rate high. This year del Rosario has thrown 40.2 innings with a WHIP of 1.37. Del Rosario was origionally signed by the Braves but was allowed to sign with any team when the Braves were found guilty of having violated international signing protocols.

Also up to 99 last week was RHP Jacob Wallace. Wallace joined the Royals organization in December when RHP Wyatt Mills was traded to Boston. Wallace left the Portland Sea Dogs and joined the Naturals roster. Wallace has been working 96 to 97 but has been fighting his control as well. He seems to miss glove side which means he is probably yanking the ball instead of staying through it. In 30.1 innings, Wallace has a WHIP of 1.75, an 8.3 BB/9 rate, and an 11.0 K/9 rate. Hopefully Wallace will get it figured out and be a force going forward for the Royals.

RHP Brett de Gues was picked up from INDY ball this spring where he was a member of the Spire City GhostHounds. De Gues might be a familiar name to you as he threw 50.0 innings between the Rangers and Diamondbacks during the 2021 season. He was a victim of a roster crunch at the end of the 2021 season. He stayed in the Diamondbacks system in 2022 but was released toward the end of the year. That’s when he tried out INDY ball and the Royals liked what they saw and gave him a chance this spring. De Gues was up to 97 last week against the Drillers and notched a save. So far this season, he has thrown 24.2 innings with a 1.30 WHIP, just a 2.2 BB/9 rate, and an 8.0 K/9 rate. You would like to see his K/9 rate increase but De Gues has exhibited good control for the Naturals and commanded the strike zone. Hopefully he can continue to do well and earn a call up late this season or next.

The final member of the high octane relief club is RHP Beck Way. Way came to NWA via the Benintendi trade with the Yankees last season. Way hasn’t had the success he has hoped for yet this season. Way is struggling with the strike zone and has allowed an astronomical 2.11 runners per inning this season. The Naturals started with Way in the rotation giving him 13 starts this season. He has been in the pen the last few outings trying to get things figured out. Way has posted a 7.9 BB/9 rate and has an 8.8 K/9 rate. That is 3.0 BB/9 above his career average and 2.0 K/9 below his career average. Something is obviously wrong and they haven’t figured it out yet. Way does have a fastball that works up to 96 so he does have the octane to be a member of the high octane club. Best of luck to Beck as he works to be the pitcher he was before coming to the KC organization.

Andrew McInvale is an honorable mention member of the club as he usually works around 93. McInvale was released by the Marlins on May 2 and found a home with the Royals on May 6 of this year. He has thrown 20.1 innings this season with a WHIP of 1.43, 4.9 BB/9, and 13.3 K/9. McInvale threw an immaculate inning back when he was with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos on 8/31/21 at Myrtle Beach.

These guys will come and go either up or down a level or two but the Royals have made an intentional effort to get high velocity guys into their bullpen. This is evident at NWA and will likely be a continued trend as the team goes forward. Guys that can throw hard always get a chance. If the Royals can get a few of these guys to get their control locked in and continue to develop, we could see several of them in KC (or on other MLB teams) over the next few seasons.