Royals call up pitcher Walter Pennington

The Royals have promoted pitcher Walter Pennington from Triple-A Omaha and have activated Adam Frazier from the Injured List. To make room on the roster, Carlos Hernández and C.J. Alexander were optioned to Omaha. The Royals made room on the 40-man roster for Pennington by transferring pitcher Dan Altavilla to the 60-day Injured List for his oblique injury.

Pennington hails from Broomfield, Colorado, about 30 minutes north of Denver, where the Royals play tonight. He attended the Colorado School of Mines and signed with the Royals as an undrafted free agent. This year, at the age of 26, he was enjoying his best pro season with a 2.35 ERA for Omaha with 76 strikeouts and 19 walks in 53 ²⁄₃ innings. His 12.75 strikeouts-per-nine-innings are third-most in the International League among pitchers with at least 50 innings pitched.

Frazier had been out since injuring his thumb diving for a ball against the Rangers on June 23. In 57 games, he is hitting .211/.297/.299. Hernández has appeared in 12 games for the Royals with a 3.86 ERA but 8 walks in 11 ²⁄₃ innings, including three in his outing last night. CJ Alexander appeared in four games and went 1-for-8 with three strikeouts, and struggled defensively at third base.

The Royals’ bullpen has the lowest strikeout rate in baseball and the 4.39 ERA is the seventh-highest in baseball.