Aaron Crow Throwing Bullets for the Kansas City Royals

It’s not often a Kansas City Royals’ reliever not named Joakim Soria gets noticed. But I think it’s time we notice what Aaron Crow is doing out of the Royals’ pen.

After spending most of his minor league career as a starter, Crow made the Royals’ roster as a reliever and has really found a home so far. In 7.2 innings, Crow hasn’t allowed a run while allowing just six hits and striking out nine.

The biggest reason for Crow’s success besides his 94 mph fastball, has been his ability to harness his control. Throughout his minor league career, Crow had a propensity to be a little wild.

Though it’s a small sample size, Crow has shown some nice control in 2011. He is throwing 72.4 percent first-pitch strikes and only has walked two in those 7.2 innings. Crow’s control will be the key to his continued success in 2011.

The underbelly of Royals’ bullpen used to be a hot mess. But now with guys like Crow, Jeremy Jeffress, and Tim Collins setting up Soria, the Royals’ bullpen is no longer a joke.

Here are some other things you need to know about Aaron Crow…

Age: 24

Throws: Right

College: University of Missouri

Drafted: 12th pick of the first round of the 2009 draft

Minor League Stats:

Year	Lev	ERA	G	IP	R	ER	SO	WHIP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	SO/9
2008	Ind	0.00	1	1.0	0	0	0	1.000	9.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
2009	Ind	1.06	3	17.0	2	2	17	0.941	5.8	0.0	2.6	9.0
2010	AA-A+	5.73	29	163.1	118	104	143	1.506	10.0	1.0	3.6	7.9
2010	A+	5.93	7	44.0	32	29	53	1.295	10.4	1.2	1.2	10.8
2010	AA	5.66	22	119.1	86	75	90	1.584	9.8	1.0	4.4	6.8
3 Seasons		5.26	33	181.1	120	106	160	1.450	9.6	0.9	3.5	7.9
Ind (2 seasons)	Ind	1.00	4	18.0	2	2	17	0.944	6.0	0.0	2.5	8.5
AA (1 season)	AA	5.66	22	119.1	86	75	90	1.584	9.8	1.0	4.4	6.8
A+ (1 season)	A+	5.93	7	44.0	32	29	53	1.295	10.4	1.2	1.2	10.8

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/14/2011.

Keith Law Ranking and Analysis:

Ranking: N/A

Analysis: N/A

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg