Royals lose two pitchers to Tommy John surgery

The Kansas City Royals announced that pitchers Stephen Kolek and Luinder Avila will both undergo Tommy John surgery.

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Stephen Kolek was placed on the 15-day injured list with a right flexor strain.

The Royals place Kolek on the IL

Although fantasy managers might want to pump the brakes before throwing Stephen Kolek to the wolves. Fast forward to this season, and he had a 4-1 record with a 2.68 ERA and 3.15 xERA heading into his June 21 start. A subsequent bad start has inflated his ERA and made him look like a fantasy liability.

The Royals right-hander gave some encouraging thoughts about the Royals.

With the rotation decimated by injuries, the right-hander's latest quality start is exactly what Kansas City needed.

Stephen Kolek scattered five hits while pitching into the eighth inning, Maikel Garcia had three hits and three RBIs, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Houston Astros 4-0 in their series finale Sunday to snap a four-game losing streak. Kolek (4-1) struck out four and walked one.