Royals v. Indians – Pitching Matchups Preview

Saturday: RHP Ian Kennedy (3-2, 2.61 ERA) v. Cody Anderson (0-1, 7.65 ERA)

We are still just five starts into the season, but it would seem that Dayton Moore hit the nail on the head with Ian Kennedy.

Although he has went at least seven innings in just one of his starts, he has struck out at least six batters in four of those five starts.

During that span, he is giving up less than a home run per nine innings and is already halfway to his 0.8 fWAR mark from 2015.

What is exciting about Kennedy is that he exceeding our expectations in every area but the area that we expected, which was the innings column.

It should be expected that the bulldog will eventually surface and we’ll get some serious innings out of Kennedy and once that happens, his value will really be seen.

Oh, but did I mention he has a 2.61 ERA? Sorry, I forgot about that one. If he threw 150 innings with a 2.61 ERA, I would be just fine.

Coming over from the National League, he is facing a lot of teams that haven’t seen a whole lot of him, and Cleveland is no exception.

Opposing Kennedy will be 25-year old sophomore Cody Anderson, who has struggled out of the gate in 2016 with a 7.65 ERA and a whopping 1.90 WHIP through 20.0 IP.

To contrast the two starters, Anderson has given up eight more earned runs than Kennedy (17 to 9) in 11 fewer innings (20.0 to 31.0)

Must-See Matchup – Ian Kennedy v. Indians Lineup

As noted earlier, Kennedy has been facing a bunch of American League teams that haven’t seen him a ton, at least with their current rosters.

The Indians are a team that have been seemingly frustrated for much of the last two seasons, with under-performing squads each year.

After being swept by the Phillies and scoring just seven runs over three games, the Indians proceeded to sweep the Tigers and score 20 runs over three games, to jump back above .500

We obviously know the Indians for their starting rotation, but their lineup features the likes of Michael Brantley, Jason Kipnis, and Francisco Lindor and are in the middle of a hot homestand.

Next: Eddy Remaining Steady