Kansas City Royals Survivor: The Rotation Edition

Mandatory Credit: Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports

Edinson Volquez

The sign of a good general manager is knowing when to walk away from a player and bring in the right replacement. Dayton Moore lost James Shields, and in his place, went out and signed Volquez for a what seems like a bargain, but fans were still displeased with the loss of the Kansas City Royals nominal ace.

Shields is no doubt a solid pitcher, but was not worth the price tag. Although not quite as flashy, Volquez has come in and filled a gap in the rotation. In his 19 outings, Volquez has posted an 8-5 record with a 3.28 ERA, striking out a team best 83 batters in his 112.1 innings of work.

Volquez wasn’t asked to replace Shields was the spearhead of this rotation when he was signed this past offseason. In fact, many viewed Volquez was the middleman, sitting third in the rotation behind young guns – Ventura and Duffy. Yet, Volquez has been without a doubt the best pitcher in the rotation this year. In fact, if the Kansas City Royals had to play in a Wildcard game this year, I would make the argument that Volquez deserves the ball. Therefore it’s safe to say Volquez is the least likely to get bumped from the rotation.

Next: The struggling Ace