Zach Greinke
Afterwards, he played for the Wilmington Blue Rocks and Wichita Wranglers, where he was named the Royals Minor League Pitcher of the Year, and The Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year, with a 15–4 record and 1.93 ERA.
Major league career
Greinke made his major-league debut on May 22, 2004 against the Oakland Athletics, starting the game in which Reggie Jackson's number was retired by the A's.
He ended the 2004 season with a record of 8 wins and 11 losses (second-highest on the team, after Jimmy Gobble) and a 3.97 ERA. However, Greinke's 2005 season was not as successful, as he went 5–17 with a 5.80 ERA.
Pitching in the American League, Greinke rarely bats due to the designated hitter rule.
Greinke's first major league hit was a home run off Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Russ Ortiz in a 12–11 loss on June 10, 2005.
Greinke left the Royals spring training camp for personal reasons in late February, 2006. It was later revealed that he was suffering from social anxiety disorder and was having trouble working with others. He reported back to the Royals' spring training facility in Surprise, Arizona, on April 17, where he has been undergoing pitching sessions. He was placed on the 60-day disabled list due to psychological issues and took time away from baseball entirely until returning on a rehab assignment with Wichita.
In 2007, Greinke succeeded in staking his claim of the inside portion of the plate and was dominant throughout spring training.
He returned to the Royals rotation at the start of the season, but was sent to the bullpen in early May after alternating good starts with bad ones and compiling a 1–4 record with a 5.71 ERA. After the 2007 season he signed a one year contract to stay in Kansas City and to avoid arbitration.
Greinke's 2008 saw him return to the rotation and put up a good year, starting in 32 games with a record of 13 wins and 10 losses and an ERA of 3.47.
On January 26, 2009, Greinke agreed to a four-year contract with the Royals worth $38 million.
Greinke started off his 2009 season by not allowing a run in his first 24 innings. Greinke's 2008 ended with 14 scoreless innings, which meant that for 38 innings in a row, he hadn't given up a run.
On April 25th, Greinke pitched his second complete game in a row, winning 6-1 over the Detroit Tigers after having pitched a complete game shutout against the Texas Rangers in his previous start. Over those two starts, Greinke pitched 18 innings, allowed one unearned run and collected 20 K's.
This streak was broken on April 29, 2009 as the Blue Jays scored 1 earned run in the first inning. However, Greinke was beginning to attract national attention for his play, appearing on the cover of the May 4, 2009 cover of Sports Illustrated.