Danny Duffy may be the next ace for the Royals

James Shields is definitely the ace of the Kansas City Royals, and the pitcher that the team should want on the mound in any truly important game. However, as we watch, Danny Duffy may be turning into that type of pitcher right before our eyes.

Despite not breaking camp with the Royals this spring, Duffy may well be their most consistent pitcher this season. His 9-11 record belies how effective Duffy has truly been, as he has posted a 2.32 ERA and a 1.09 WHiP this season. If he qualified for amongst the pitching leaders, Duffy would be third in ERA and fifth in WHiP, ahead of such pitchers as Max Scherzer and Jon Lester.

That type of performance would certainly appear to indicate that Danny Duffy is developing into the type of pitcher that the Royals had envisioned when he was considered one of the Royals top prospects prior to the 2011 season. Now, following a detour due to Tommy John surgery, Duffy is beginning to truly live up to that promise.

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As this season has progressed, there have been several changes in Duffy from how he had been previously. First, Duffy had been notorious for losing his focus when things were not going his way. This season, he has seemingly been able to channel that into his pitching, using his emotions positively as he focuses on the batter. There was no truer example than last night, when Duffy found himself in a bases loaded jam with no outs in the bottom of the first. Instead of imploding, Duffy calmly got Carlos Santana to pop up, struck out Yan Gomes and got a fly out to end the inning.

That moment also encapsulated another difference for Danny Duffy this season – he appears to have learned how to pitch. Instead of being a hard thrower looking for strikeouts, Duffy has gone down to striking out just 6.9 batters per nine innings. However, that has been a result of allowing hitters to put the ball in play rather than a decrease in velocity, as Duffy is still within 0.2 MPH with both his fastball and sinker compared to last year.

With that confidence in his stuff and his ability to get outs if hitters make contact, Duffy has also seen his walks dramatically decrease. Having walked almost 4.7 batters per nine innings over his career prior to this season, Duffy has walked just 3.2 hitters per nine this year. It is amazing as to how much of a difference that confidence has made.

Originally, when he was recalled, Danny Duffy was expected to remain in the rotation for as long as Bruce Chen was injured. After all, Chen had a solid first outing before imploding, and it was thought the injury was to blame. Instead, Duffy seized the opportunity and has not looked back.

Should James Shields depart from the Kansas City Royals, it was expected that either Yordano Ventura or Kyle Zimmer would eventually develop into the Royals next ace. As it turns out, we may be seeing the evolution of Danny Duffy into the next ace for the Royals, ready to step in and headline the rotation as soon as next year.