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KC Royals Must Fix Rotation At Trade Deadline

By Mike Courson |
Apr 14, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Ian Kennedy (31) reacts after Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve (27) (not pictured) hit a home run in the seventh inning at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 14, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Ian Kennedy (31) reacts after Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve (27) (not pictured) hit a home run in the seventh inning at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports
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Jul 20, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals pitcher Ian Kennedy (31) delivers a pitch against the Cleveland Indians during the first inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA Today Sports
Jul 20, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals pitcher Ian Kennedy (31) delivers a pitch against the Cleveland Indians during the first inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA Today Sports /

The KC Royals 2016 season hangs in the balance. Also hanging: way too many pitches from Chris Young and Ian Kennedy. The Kansas City Royals need to fix their rotation at the trade deadline if they are to have any chance to make the playoffs.

After giving up four home runs in the first five innings against Cleveland Wednesday afternoon, Kennedy has now allowed more home runs than any other big-league pitcher this year. Young sits in the No. 2 spot.

Pitching was supposed to be the KC Royals downfall this year. For a while, it looked like all the experts were wrong. Again. Back in April, I posted about the Kansas City Royals pitchers who were exceeding expectations.

At that time, some 10 games into the season, KC Royals pitchers were second in the American League and fourth in baseball with a 2.70 ERA. Perhaps the sample size was much too small.

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Entering Wednesday’s game against Central-leading Cleveland, the Kansas City Royals had dropped to 13th-best in the majors with a 4.20 ERA. That’s sixth best in the AL. Kansas City’s 73 home runs allowed on the road are second-worst only to Cincinnati’s 76 homers allowed. As the Reds have the third-worst record in all of baseball, it’s not a favorable comparison.

With the trade deadline looming, the KC Royals season may hinge on the ability to find a fifth starter. The Kansas City Royals take a day off Thursday to head to the White House, and that will mean avoiding that dreaded fifth spot in the rotation for a few days, but it will again rear its ugly head.

Let’s take a look at how the rotation has performed in 2016:

Next: The Rotation

May 27, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Danny Duffy (41) delivers a pitch against the Chicago White Sox in the first inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports
May 27, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Danny Duffy (41) delivers a pitch against the Chicago White Sox in the first inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports /

The Rotation

The top of the rotation has been decent. Danny Duffy has emerged as the squad leader with a 3.27 ERA in 88 innings of work. More importantly, at 5-1, Duffy’s winning percentage is easily the best on the staff.

Ian Kennedy has been surprisingly good minus his home run troubles. Young has allowed 26 home runs in just 61.2 innings of work this season, resulting in a 6.86 ERA. With his 24 home runs allowed in 109 innings, Kennedy has managed to keep his ERA under four and still ranks second among his starting teammates. [Note: Kennedy gave up two more home runs in Wednesday’s 11-4 debacle against Cleveland and his ERA is now 4.28 after giving up seven runs in 4.1 innings].

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Edinson Volquez has been respectable since the second-worst outing in MLB history on June 24, in which he allowed 11 earned runs while recording just three outs. Without that start, his season ERA falls to 3.92 on the season. Steady Eddie has allowed nine earned runs in 19 innings this month for a 4.26 ERA.

Yordano Ventura has been, perhaps, the biggest disappointment on this year’s staff. Coming in as one of the aces, he snuck through April with a 3.67 ERA. After a 6.59 ERA in the month of May, he’s slowed back down to a 4.66 in June, and a 4.86 so far in July. It’s still a far cry from what everyone expected.

The problem with Ventura is he’s a headcase. He has the stuff, but not the maturity, to dominate at the major league level. The KC Royals front office keeps hoping he will find himself like reliever turned starter Danny Duffy has in his age 27 season, but fans are losing patience. How long will the front office continue to believe in him?

Young and Chris Medlen have combined for a 3-11 record in 19 starts this season. Despite all of those home runs allowed, Young’s ERA of 6.86 is nearly a full point better than Medlen’s (7.77).

The Kansas City Royals rotation would be in a world of hurt without Danny Duffy. Slated to pitch out of the bullpen before the season began, Duffy joined the rotation in May when Kris Medlen and Chris Young went to the disabled list.  Duffy suddenly discovered that he no longer needed to nibble if he ramped up his fastball to 97 mph, and now is attacking hitters. As a result, he’s going deep into games and has emerged as the staff ace.

Next: Tough To Be Great Every Year

Jul 20, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals pitcher Kelvin Herrea (40) delivers a pitch against the Cleveland Indians during the ninth inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA Today Sports
Jul 20, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals pitcher Kelvin Herrea (40) delivers a pitch against the Cleveland Indians during the ninth inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA Today Sports /

Tough To Be Great Every Year

Watching the KC Royals on a nightly basis, and seeing the numbers above, it’s difficult to believe the Kansas City Royals have the 13th-best staff in baseball, or one of the best staffs in the AL. That’s because we’ve watched one of the worst staffs in all of baseball since July 1. Only Arizona, Texas, and those Cubbies have an ERA higher than Kansas City’s.

Let’s be honest here: expecting three-straight trips to the World Series is a lot to ask of any team, especially one that had not made the playoffs since 1985. Over the past three seasons, we’ve witnessed a near-miss, a Game 7 loss in the Series, and a World Series championship. It’s a great run for any team.

Still, no one is ready to throw in the towel quite yet. Even with all the injuries, even with all the pitching troubles, the Kansas City Royals are still keeping its head above water, if only barely. In recent years, the KC Royals have proven to be one of the best second-half teams. Late success this season will mean bringing in an extra arm, and even that may not be enough to undo the damage already done.

Next: Royals Will Do Everything To Improve At Deadline

The San Francisco Giants have it figured out: they have won in 2010, 2012, and 2014. At 57-37 through Tuesday night, they are the best team in baseball in yet another even year. KC Royals fans should not be ready to quit on the 2016 squad just yet, but there’s a lesson to be learned from those Giants. It’s okay to regroup and be great every two years.

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