After the Royals drafted Glenn Sparkman in 2013, Sparkman spent three years in the minors. During his time in the minors, he struggled with inconsistency and injuries. In 2016, Sparkman was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2016 Rule 5 draft. His stay with the Blue Jays didn’t last as long as the Blue Jays were probably hoping.In 2017, the Blue Jay’s returned him to the Royals. When the Royals added Sparkman to their active roster, he had a 63.00 ERA. I remember when the Royals called him up to the big leagues with that high ERA. It was an eye opener for me, and I bet many others. Since his call up, Sparkman’s ERA has gotten better. In 2019, Sparkman appeared in 31 games with the Royals. His ERA was above 6.00 as a starting pitcher last season. This offseason the Royals announced they will move Sparkman to the bullpen. Despite his fastball’s velocity, I still think he could be a dominant reliever. What would be his role in the bullpen you wonder? In my opinion I think he could be used as a long reliever if the Royals needed him to eat up some innings. I also expect the Royals to use Sparkman as an emergency starter if someone in the rotation goes down with an injury. If he doesn’t pan out in the bullpen, he could get a final look in the rotation. The 2020 season most likely Sparkman’s last shot with the boys in blue.
