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After his pro debut, Royals’ Jackson Kowar welcomes expectations

Jackson Kowar spent his first recovery day as a professional athlete at a place one doesn’t find many baseball players — at an AAU basketball tournament.

Wearing a blue Hawaiian shirt and board shorts, the Royals second overall draft pick of the 2018 draft sat in the bleachers with some teammates as St. Louis’ Bradley Beal Elite faced the Oakland Soldiers in the under-16 bracket of the Peach Jam on Friday.

A night removed from his first professional start in baseball, Kowar kept to himself after his debut with the Lexington Legends went far from ideal.

The 6-foot-5 right-handed pitcher recorded just one out against the Augusta Greenjackets at the Single-A level and threw only 27 pitches before being pulled in the first inning.