Royals Report: 5 Things About Tampa Bay Sweep

1) Bullpen Is Again The Best In Baseball

Last winter, the Yankees and Red Sox attempted to build super pens to compete with the three headed monster in Kansas City by adding Aroildis Chapman (Yankees) and Draig Kimbrel (Red Sox).

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Well, guess who’s leading all of major league baseball with a 2.43 ERA? Yep. Our very own Kansas City Royals. They’re also 23-0 when leading after seven innings.

Despite some early bobbles, Joakim Soria has righted the ship and has lowered his ERA from over 6.00 in April to a perfectly respectable 3.20 ERA. Soria hasn’t given up a run in his last 15.0 innings, including last night’s seventh inning stint which saw him strand two baserunners with two consecutive strikeouts.

Meanwhile, Kelvin Herrera has become just as effective as Wade Davis ever since he added a devastating slider to his fastball/change-up combo.

Wade Davis is, well, Wade Davis. Davis notched his 16th save Wednesday night (against one blown save) and carries a minuscule 0.89 ERA. If he finishes the season at his current pace, he will become their first pitcher to throw 70 or more innings with an ERA at or below 1.00 each year.

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Add in fabulous depth pieces like fireman Luke Hochevar, funky throwing sidewinder Peter Moylan, and sinkerball pitcher Chien-Ming Wang, and the KC Royals enjoy great depth.

Bullpens are supposed to be inconsistent. But not in Kansas City.