Kansas City Royals Postseason Fourth Starter Candidates

Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

Even though the Kansas City Royals are limping towards October, their place in the postseason is all but assured. Barring a truly historic collapse, the Royals will take home their first American League Central title, and make the playoffs for the second consecutive year for the first time since the early 1980’s. Yes, there is plenty of cause for concern, but the final few weeks should culminate with at least one celebration for the boys in blue.

One of the biggest concerns for the Royals recently has been their starting rotation. While Yordano Ventura has been solid of late, Johnny Cueto has struggled, and has not looked like the ace the Royals had acquired. Edinson Volquez has been steady for most of the season, despite his recent slippage. We know that those three will likely head the Royals postseason rotation in some order.

However, the biggest question mark for the Royals is that fourth starter. While the back of the rotation has been in a bit of disarray for most of the season, especially after Jason Vargas was lost for the season, it was expected that spot would belong to Danny Duffy. However, Duffy has been pulled from the rotation for Jeremy Guthrie, who lost his spot to Kris Medlen. And let us not forget that Chris Young is still out there and performed well for a time as a starter.

So, who will actually emerge as the fourth starter for the Kansas City Royals this postseason? Let’s take a look at the candidates.

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