Royals Midseason Grades – Starting Rotation

Ian Kennedy Base Grade : B- | Contract Inflation Grade : C-

For the duration of this season, Kennedy has been the Royals most reliable starter.

He trails only Volquez with 93.2 IP, leads Royals qualified starters with an 8.94 K/9 and a 4.04 ERA.

Those numbers were even better before a rotten June to the tune of a 5.83 ERA bloated his ERA up to over four. Despite the rough month, Kennedy has still been a solid starter in a Royals rotation that has been limping since April.

However, what really hurts Kennedy is the huge five-year, $70 million he was given by the Royals in the offseason.

We already knew this a little bit going in, but the Royals gave serious money to a middle-tier free agent with a iffy track record. He has responded by being stable, which the Royals desperately needed, but at the same time unspectacular.

In fact, his fWAR of 0.3 is the exact same as Yordano Ventura, while his FIP 5.21, higher than any Royals starter not named Chris Young. As we discussed in the last slide, the Royals are hanging around and could maybe gain some ground if the rotation started performing.

Kennedy had a rough June, but if he could rediscover the April and May version of himself, it would certainly go a long way towards the Royals playoff hopes and Dayton Moore’s contract conscience.

Next: Danny Duffy