KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Top pitching prospect Yordano Ventura will make his major league debut for the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night when he takes Danny Duffy’s place in the rotation against Cleveland.
Duffy has been experiencing some inflammation in his surgically repaired left elbow, and the Royals decided to give Ventura the start in a critical series with playoff implications.
The Royals were 312 games behind Texas in the AL wild-card standings entering Monday night’s series opener against the Indians. Cleveland began the day a half-game back.
Ventura was 5-4 with a 3.74 ERA this season at Triple-A Omaha, helping the Storm Chasers win the Pacific Coast League championship. The hard-throwing right-hander also has pitched in the past two Futures Games during All-Star weekend.
