Kansas City Royals All Time Starting Rotation

Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

3. Kevin Appier (1993)

Kevin Appier was a promising young starter who really began to make his presence felt in the 1992 season. That year, he posted a career best 2.46 ERA with a 15-8 record, taking a step forward from being a good pitching prospect to a legitimately solid piece of a major league rotation.

In 1993, Appier truly arrived. He led the American League with a 2.56 ERA and allowed only eight home runs in his 238.2 innings of work. Overall, he posted an 18-8 record with a 1.106 WHiP, finishing third in the Cy Young vote despite somehow being snubbed for the All-Star team. Coupled with David Cone, he gave the Kansas City Royals an excellent top of the rotation.

Appier would go on to have a solid career in Kansas City, finally making the All-Star team in 1995. However, for as good as he was later in his career, Appier never quite touched that same level as he did in the early 1990’s when he appeared set to lead the Royals rotation throughout the rest of the decade.

Kevin Appier did manage to win a World Series ring with the California/Los Angeles/Anaheim/Glendale/wherever Angels in 2002, and was a part of the Kansas City Royals magical 2003 season when they finished over .500. He had a nice career, but was truly at his best in the early part of the 1990’s.

Next: How was he not an All-Star?