Ángel Zerpa

Ángel David Zerpa (born September 27, 1999) is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2021.

Career
Zerpa signed with the Kansas City Royals as an international free agent in 2016 for a $100,000 signing bonus. Zerpa made his professional debut in 2017 with the Dominican Summer League Royals, going 3–4 with a 1.84 ERA and 39 strikeouts over $63 2/3$ innings. He spent the 2018 season with the Arizona League Royals, going 3–6 with a 3.88 ERA and 34 strikeouts over $48 2/3$ innings. Zerpa split the 2019 season between the Burlington Royals and the Idaho Falls Chukars, going a combined 6–3 with a 3.40 ERA and 55 strikeouts over $55 1/3$ innings. He did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Minor League Baseball season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On November 20, 2020, Zerpa was added to the Royals 40–man roster. Zerpa split the 2021 minor league season between the Quad Cities River Bandits, the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, and the Omaha Storm Chasers, going a combined 4–4 with a 4.58 ERA and 108 strikeouts over $88 1/3$ innings.



On September 30, 2021, Zerpa was recalled to the active roster to make his MLB debut as the starting pitcher versus the Cleveland Indians.

In 2022, Zerpa made 3 appearances (2 starts) for the Royals, logging a 2-1 record and 1.64 ERA with 3 strikeouts in 11.0 innings pitched. In 19 starts split between Northwest Arkansas and Omaha, Zerpa posted a 2-5 record and 4.02 ERA with 69 strikeouts in 71.2 innings of work. He was placed on the 60-day injured list on August 2 with a small tear in his patellar tendon, and missed the remainder of the year.

On March 15, 2023, Zerpa was placed on the 60-day injured list with left shoulder tendinopathy. He was activated on July 14, and subsequently optioned to Triple–A Omaha.