KC Royals: Can Danny Duffy Stay Healthy For An Entire Season?

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Oct 21, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals pitcher Danny Duffy prepares to take the mound in relief in the fourth inning during game one of the 2014 World Series against the San Francisco Giants at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports /

Duffy Finally Logs A Full Season In KC Rotation

2014 was a productive season for Duffy as he posted a season ERA of 2.53 and the lowest walk rate (3.19 BB/9) of his career. However, in early September of 2014, Duffy sustained an injury in New York which kept him off the field for the rest of the month, and only sparingly used in the 2014 post season.

Reports later came that Duffy was injured all the way through the 2014 post season

Reports later came that Duffy was injured all the way through the 2014 post season, which explained why pitchers like Jeremy Guthrie and Jason Vargas were selected to start despite Duffy having had a MUCH better season than either of them. In fact, Duffy’s 2.53 ERA in 2014 was the lowest of any starter on the 2014 KC Royals, and a full 2.5 runs better than Guthrie. Duffy pitched 4.2 innings in the 2014 post season yielding 2 runs on 3 hits and 4 walks.

Fully healthy, Danny Duffy was projected to be a key piece to the 2015 KC Royals rotation with Yourdano Ventura headlining the staff. Following a decent start to 2015 with a March/April ERA of 3.45, Duffy fell apart in May giving up 14 runs in only 9.2 innings over the course of 3 starts before being placed on the DL with yet another injury.

Duffy was activated June 24th, 2015 and had an excellent July with an ERA of 2.51, and kept his ERA below 4 for the remainder of the 2015 season. However, Danny Duffy found himself the odd man out in the post season yet again when the KC Royals went to a 4 man rotation with newly rented Johnny Cueto, Yourdano Ventura, Chris Young, and Edison Volquez rounding out the starting staff. Duffy’s 2015 post season performance was a bit of feast or famine where he had a few scoreless innings while also giving up 4 runs on 7 hits and 2 home runs in 6 total innings pitched.

Next: Duffy Starts 2016 In Pen

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