Kansas City Royals All Time Starting Rotation

Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

For the past two and a half months, we have looked back at the all time greats at each position in Kansas City Royals history. Over the course of their tenure with the Royals, these players had come to establish themselves among the best players that Kansas City had to offer.

When going through the Royals all time starting pitching list, it was interesting to see how many of those players owed their ranking due to their excellent consistency as opposed to having a truly dominant season or two. Of course, there were pitchers like Bret Saberhagen, who was truly dominant at times during his time in Kansas City, which helped his place on the all time list.

But what about those other pitchers in Kansas City Royals history? What about those pitchers who posted excellent seasons, but did not pitch long enough to be recognized in the career lists? In fact, these excellent seasons may be a better indication of what the Royals all time starting rotation would be.

So, with that in mind, let us go back and look back upon the five greatest seasons in the history of the Kansas City Royals. Since we would be building a hypothetical pitching staff, each player will be used only once if they appear on the Royals top ten list for greatest seasons.

Let us know if there is a pitcher who had a season that you feel would have been good enough to make the list, or if you would choose a different season than the ones listed.

Next: They made the same mistake twice

5. David Cone (1994)

David Cone was just not destined to remain with the Kansas City Royals for any length of time. Originally traded to the New York Mets in the ill-fated move to acquire Ed Hearn, Cone was signed as a free agent following the 1992 season. He lasted two seasons in Kansas City before being sent to the Toronto Blue Jays prior to the start of the 1995 season, as the Royals received two minor leaguers and Chris Stynes. Yup.

During those two full seasons that Cone spent with the Royals in the mid 1990’s, he was the top of the rotation starter that they had hoped for. During those two seasons, Cone was a combined 27-19 with a 3.17 ERA and a 1.182 WHiP, striking out 323 batters in 425.2 innings of work.

His 1994 season, shortened due to the strike, was truly special. That year, Cone posted a 16-5 record with a 2.94 ERA and a 1.072 WHiP, striking out 132 batters against 54 walks. Cone not only made the All-Star game, but also earned his only career Cy Young award and finished ninth in the MVP vote. If the season had not ended due to the strike, Cone would have had a legitimate chance at his second career 20 win season.

David Cone was an excellent pitcher for much of his career, and posted two great seasons with the Kansas City Royals. Slotting in as the fifth starter, he would be a tremendous part of the starting rotation.

Next: The career year

4. Mark Gubicza (1988)

When he first came to the majors, Mark Gubicza was a talented pitcher with an excellent fastball and slider, but poor control. His first four seasons were quite inconstant, as he produced a 49-48 record with a 3.94 ERA and a 1.362 WHiP, walking over four batters per nine innings. He certainly had the talent, but it did not translate to the expected results.

Everything came together for Gubicza for the 1988 season. Instead of throwing as hard as he did in the past, Gubicza took a bit off his fastball and slider to improve control. Coupled with an improved change, he posted a career best 20-8 record with a 2.70 ERA and a 1.187 WHiP, walking only 83 batters in 269.2 innings. He made his first All-Star game, and finished third in the Cy Young vote that season. At age 25, Gubicza appeared destined to take that leap to stardom.

Unfortunately, that never happened. Gubicza followed up his breakout 1988 campaign with another All-Star season, but shoulder and arm injuries derailed his career after the 1989 season. Gubicza would only have one more season where he pitched over 200 innings, and while he retained his new found control, just was not able to be that same effective pitcher again.

For one amazing season, Mark Gubicza appeared set to be another ace for the Kansas City Royals. As it turned out, that just did not happen to be the case.

Next: He had the best career of any Royals starter

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?

Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports

1. Zack Greinke (2009)

Prior tot he 2009 season, Zack Greinke was a promising pitcher who tantalized with his potential, but there were questions as to whether or not he would ever be able to put everything together. He had left baseball in 2006 after suffering a mental breakdown, leading him to seek treatment for depression. Just the fact that he was able to come back at all is a testament to his mental toughness and desire.

After posting two solid seasons in 2007 and 2008, everything came together for Greinke in 2009. He dominated from the outset of the season, posting an 8-1 record with a 0.84 ERA in his first ten starts. While he was unable to continue at that same pace, Greinke was one of the few bright spots on the 2009 Kansas City Royals, posting a 16-8 record with a 2.16 ERA and a 1.073 WHiP on a team that won a total of 65 games that year.

Greinke’s performance was enough to earn the Cy Young award by a surprisingly large margin. It had been expected that, despite his dominance, Greinke would be penalized due to his low win total. However, the emergence of Greinke as the Cy Young winner signified a definite shift away from traditional statistics as the only measure of success.

That 2009 season may well be the best in the history of the Kansas City Royals. It was certainly enough to make Zack Greinke the ace of the Royals all time starting rotation.

Next: Kansas City Royals Top Five Relief Pitchers