The Royals have acquired 23 year old right hander Kyle Davies. Who is Kyle Davies?

Did someone call for a starting pitcher?

Kyle  Davies Career Stats

Video: Kyle Davies

Hiram Kyle Davies is from Decatur, Georgia, and was drafted in the fourth round of the 2001 draft by the local Braves, long been known to draft local guys. He stands at 6'2'', 205. Davies was impressive in his first pro season, with a 2.25 ERA in 56 innings and 53 strikeouts in 8 walks at age 17. He continued to pitch very well throughout the minors, posting a 3.50 ERA at age 18 in low A ball and a 2.89 ERA with over a strikeout per inning at age 19.

He got even better in 2004 at age 20 with 168 strikeouts in 137 innings with a 2.49 ERA between high A ball and AA. In 2005 he was promoted to AAA and had a 3.44 ERA in 73 innings with 62 strikeouts. This earned him his first taste of MLB action and he pitched well with a 4.93 ERA in 87 innings, although he had his first signs of control issues with 49 walks. He was named the #2 prospect in the Braves organization by John Sickels ahead of guys like Brian McCann and Jeff Franceour. He was the #4 prospect in the Braves system by Baseball America.

In May of 2006 Davies left a game against Florida with a groin injury. It was later revealed to be torn, and Davies missed ten weeks. 2006 turned out to be a wasted year as Davies posted a miserable 8.38 ERA in Atlanta.

This year at age 23 Davies has had mixed results in Atlanta as their fifth starter. He started strong the first week against the Mets, allowing just two runs in just under seven innings of work. He followed that by failing to get through the sixth in each of his next three starts. Since then, he has had four games where he has gone at least seven innings allowing just one run. He's also had four games allowing over five runs, including an eight run game on May 27 against Philadelphia. He did miss one start due to a strained left oblique muscle.

"We think the world of him," said manager Bobby Cox "He's just got to find a way to get it going again. He should be a 15-game winner."

On July 16 Davies was demoted to the bullpen. He gave up three walks and two hits without retiring a batter against the Reds. On July 19 he was demoted to AAA Richmond.

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution just a few weeks ago:

"Kyle Davies has a good arm," was the first thing from the scout, when I asked him what he thought after watching Kyle pitch a couple nights ago.

Not, "Kyle Davies is a mess," or "Kyle Davies' confidence is shot," but "Kyle Davies has a good arm."

"He's not throwing as hard as he did before he hurt his groin," the scout said. "But he's got a good arm."

"So there are teams that believe Davies will be a good major league pitcher?" I asked him.

And he replied without hesitation, "I'd take him."

Davies throws a fastball in the low 90s, generally between 92-94. He throws a changeup in the low 80s and a big curveball. Baseball America at one point said Davies had the best changeup in the system. He has worked hard on his curveball, but it has still been a weakness for him after he abandoned a slider. It sounds like Davies has always done a good job commanding his fastball, its his off-speed stuff that gives him issues.

Interview with Kyle Davies