Royals Pitchers Exceeding Preseason Expectations

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Apr 9, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Ian Kennedy (31) delivers a pitch in the fourth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports /

The Royals were supposed to be unable to repeat due to weak starting pitching, according to many pundits and projection systems. Instead, the rotation has been a strength in April.

How does Dayton Moore do it? He’s gambled on players like Kendrys Morales and Chris Young, both of whom paid off big in 2016. We’ve questioned trades that brought in players like Alcides Escobar, Lorenzo Cain, and Wade Davis. After winning a world championship, Moore rolled the dice again to sign Ian Kennedy to a five-year, $70-millon contract. When will we fans learn to stop questioning Moore?

The season is young and Kennedy’s contract is still in its infancy, so there is no way to know if the move will be a good one in the long run. It seems premature to toot our horns on Ian Kennedy’s behalf after two good outings, but the former San Diego Padre, Arizona Diamondback, and New York Yankee pitcher has been outstanding so far this sesson.

Kennedy truly was an unknown commodity by the numbers. He went 21-4 with a 2.88 ERA in 2011, but that was five years ago. From 2012 through 2015, he posted a meager 51-60 record. While wins/losses can be attributed to a team, his best ERA in that stretch was 3.63 in 2014. He moved back up to 4.28 playing in San Diego in 2015.

Through two starts in 2016, Kennedy ranks No. 2 in the American League with a 0.66 ERA. Only Detroit’s Jordan Zimmerman is better without an earned run this season in his two starts. Kennedy actually has better numbers across the board – he’s allowed seven hits to Zimmerman’s eight, walked three to Zimmerman’s five, and has two more outs under his belt. The difference is one bad pitch that resulted in a Jose Altuve home run in the Houston series. By the way, Kennedy has a 0.92 ERA in his last three starts in that ballpark.

Next: Kennedy Isn't The Only Pitching Success Story

Apr 10, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Edinson Volquez (36) delivers a pitch against the Minnesota Twins in the first inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports /

Kennedy is hardly alone in his early-season dominance. The White Sox have jumped out to an 8-2 start behind an MLB-best 2.02 ERA. Kansas City is second in the American League and fourth in the majors with a 2.70 ERA. With home runs flying out at a record pace, pitching has proved to be huge early on: the top four MLB teams in ERA have a combined 32-7 record. The next three teams, all with ERAs over 3.15, are a paltry 15-16.

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Chris Young earned his spot on in the rotation this season with his outstanding performance in 2015, but only time will tell if he can hang on to his spot. Young is the outlier among Royals starters with a 7.90 ERA and 0-3 record in three starts. Perhaps it was just a mistake to throw him in a hitter-friendly park like Houston – the Astros torched him for nine hits and six runs in less than five innings. With Saturday’s loss to Oakland, Young now has all three Kansas City losses on his record.

Joakim Soria has been the other questionable pitcher, but his outings have improved each and every time. After one outing in which he allowed three runs and recorded just two outs, his ERA skyrocketed to 40.50. Since then, he’s thrown five innings, allowing four hits and just one more run. In two of his last five innings, he’s thrown hitless innings. On April 13 against Houston, he needed just five pitches to retire the side.

Beyond that, the Royals pitchers have been outstanding. Steady Edinson Volquez has allowed just four earned runs in 17.2 innings in his three starts. Yordano Ventura has allowed just three runs in his first two starts. Even more impressive, he’s allowed just six hits in 11 innings. His downfall so far has been nine walked batters.

Kris Medlen also looked good in his only start of the season against Houston last week. Medlen only lasted five innings, but struck out seven and gave up two runs to notch the win. More importantly, Medlen’s stuff looked live and similar to the guy who dominated as a top-of-the-rotation starter for Atlanta before suffering a torn UCL that forced him to miss the 2014 season. He finally looks fully recovered in 2016.

Next: The Bullpen

Apr 8, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Wade Davis (17) is congratulated by catcher Salvador Perez (13) after the 4-3 win over the Minnesota Twins at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports /

Out of the bullpen, Davis continues to dominate, allowing just one hit in his 5.2 innings of work. Uncharacteristically, he’s already walked four. He’s up to five saves in just 10 games and ideally Kansas City’s offense will pick up and save his arm for another post-season run.

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Meanwhile, set-up man Kelvin Herrera looks almost unhittable after adding a slider to his prior two-pitch repetoire of a fourseam fastball and change-up.

Luke Hochevar and Danny Duffy are trending the wrong way, but both are capable of throwing more than one inning late in games. Hochevar’s numbers are a bit skewed because of a home run he gave up against Minnesota, but he’s allowed just four hits in five innings of work.

The one thing the Royals hurlers need to improve on is walks. Entering Saturday’s games, the Kansas City Royals were third in the league in walks allowed with 48. That could be a pivotal stat: teams that have walked 39 batters or more have a combined 38-48 record. That figure falls to 30-46 with the KC Royals taken out of the equation.

Next: Edinson Volquez Pitches KC To 4-2 Win

Bottom line, the season is young. Hitting tends to pick up as the temperatures begin to rise and hitters get more at-bats. But the big question for the Kansas City Royals entering the 2016 campaign was starting pitching. So far, so good for the boys in blue.

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