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KC Royals: James Shields Trade Carried High Cost

By John Viril

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May 31, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher

Jake Odorizzi

(23) pitches during the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

RHP JAKE ODORIZZI

The now 25-year-old Jake Odorizzi came to the Kansas City Royals in the Zack Greinke trade, along with Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar, and reliever Jeremy Jeffress (who had a nice season for Milwaukee last year).

By the winter of 2013, Odorizzi had already earned a call-up to Kansas City, but had not established himself in the rotation after only a 7.1 inning stint in 2012.

Jake Odorizzi earned a brief trial in Tampa in 2013, but blossomed in 2014. Odorizzi started 31 games for the Rays, finishing 11-13 with a 4.13 ERA in 168.0 innings pitched. After the season, Odorizzi finished 8th in rookie of the year voting.

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    • The big surprise came in his ability to miss bats. After posting mediocre K/9 rates of 4.9 and 6.7 in his first two major-league trials, Odorizzi’s K/9 zoomed to 9.3 in 2014.

    He’s been even better in the early going of 2015.

    Jake Odorizzi sports a 4-5 record, with an outstanding 2.47 ERA in 76.1 innings pitched. While his K/9 has dropped to 7.4, Odorizzi’s walk rate (BB/9) is now a minuscule 1.8, down from 3.2 in 2014.

    Many analysts believed Odorizzi to have a mid-rotation starter upside when the KC Royals acquired him from the Brewers in the Greinke deal. Today, Odorizzi looks like he could exceed those expectations by becoming a solid number two (or better) pitcher.

    Given the inconsistency of KC Royals starters through the first third of the 2015 season, Jake Odorizzi would be a welcome addition to the staff.

    But, Odorizzi wasn’t the only starting pitcher that the Royals gave up for James Shields and Wade Davis:

    Next: Mike Montgomery Looks Like He's Back

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