Wade Davis – A Possible All-Star for the Royals

The 2014 MLB All-Star Game will be played on July 15th this year. Each team will have at least one representative, due to the guidelines that assume each team has one player deserving of such a role. Can we say Mark Redman? Just the thought that he represented the Royals in the All-Star Game almost a decade ago makes me want to down a four pack of beer.

At least, for the Kansas City Royals, the days of struggling to find a token representative are far in the past, hopefully buried along with those millions of ET Atari cartridges. Barring an implosion of truly epic proportions, Greg Holland will likely represent the Royals at Target Field for the Midsummer Classic. Yet, if the Royals manage to climb up the standings in the American League Central, and remain in the race at the break, they may be able to get more than Holland in the All-Star Game.

When looking through the Royals roster, the two most obvious names that could find their way onto the roster would be Alex Gordon and Wade Davis. Gordon, unfortunately, has the unenviable task of trying to find his way into what would likely be a very crowded outfield group. Davis, however, may have an easier path to the All-Star Game. Now that the game has some sort of meaning, managers are actually bringing in setup men to round out the bullpen, giving Davis a chance.

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Davis has been one of the best setup men in baseball this year. His 5-1 record and 1.32 ERA entering tonight’s action are certainly impressive, but only tell a portion of the story with Davis this year. Through most of the first two plus months of the season, Davis has been virtually unhittable, giving up only 11 hits in his 27.1 innings of work, none of which have gone for extra bases. Thus far, opponents have a minuscule .111/.217/.111 batting line against Davis in 2014.

As impressive as those statistics are, perhaps the most amazing number for Wade Davis involves his strikeout totals. Dominating the opposition with his cutter and overpowering with his fastball, Davis has struck out 44 batters in those 27.1 innings, which translates to an excellent 14.5 K/9 rate.

Perhaps the second most consistent reliever behind Greg Holland, Wade Davis is certainly deserving of recognition. Perhaps that recognition will come in the form of an All-Star appearance this season.