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KC Royals: 5 Reasons Why KC Pen Is Shutting Out Opponents

By John Viril |
May 4, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; A general view of a bag of baseballs in the bullpen prior to a game between the Washington Nationals and the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports
May 4, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; A general view of a bag of baseballs in the bullpen prior to a game between the Washington Nationals and the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports
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May 4, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; A general view of a bag of baseballs in the bullpen prior to a game between the Washington Nationals and the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports
May 4, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; A general view of a bag of baseballs in the bullpen prior to a game between the Washington Nationals and the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports /

The KC Royals bullpen continues to dominate opponents in August. They’re riding a 38.2 inning scoreless streak after crashing to a 5.96 ERA in July. How did Kansas City’s relievers turn it around?

On August 10, I wrote that the Kansas City Royals bullpen was completely broken after Kelvin Herrera gave up a two run shot in the 10th to lose 7-5 to the White Sox. The following night, reliever Chien-Ming Wang gave up a run in the top of the 11th inning against Chicago in what looked like would be yet another bullpen failure.

Instead, the KC Royals scratched out the tying run in the bottom of the inning and won 3-2 in 14 innings.

Not only did the late-inning win continue KC’s “RallyMantis” momentum, that 11th inning run triggered their current 38.2 inning stretch in which the Kansas City bullpen hasn’t given up an earned run.

Oh, yeah, that’s after reliever Luke Hochevar and Wade Davis went on the DL at the end of July. So just how did the KC Royals bullpen recover from their awful July while losing two of their best arms?

I believe the following five reasons are the keys to the Kansas City Royals franchise-record scoreless streak from their bullpen:

Next: Reason No. 5

Aug 6, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost (3) makes a pitching change against the Toronto Blue Jays in the seventh inning at Kauffman Stadium. Kansas City won 4-2. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 6, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost (3) makes a pitching change against the Toronto Blue Jays in the seventh inning at Kauffman Stadium. Kansas City won 4-2. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports /

5. Ned Yost Switched Bullpen Roles

On August 15, KC Royals manager Ned Yost attributed his bullpen’s improvement to players adjusting to new roles.

To be honest, that sounded like coach-speak the first time I heard it. However, there is something to it. Especially if you consider that Yost started using his bullpen differently than he has in the recent past.

In 2014, Yost became famous for using a set player for each inning. With three historically dominant relievers in Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis, and Greg Holland, Yost assigned each of them to pitch in a particular inning. Herrera was the seventh inning guy. Davis was the eighth inning guy. And Holland closed out games in the ninth.

One reason Yost could make such an arbitrary decision without regard to the player at the plate, is that all three relievers were effective against both right and left-handed hitters. As a result, he could ignore match-ups and expect his “Three-Headed Monster” to rule the late innings.

When Holland went down with a torn ACL last September, Yost inserted former Phillies closer Ryan Madson into Herrera’s seventh inning role and moved the other two “monsters” back an inning. This new trio carried the KC Royals through the 2015 post-season (and a World Series win).

In 2016, Madson left in free-agency. General manager Dayton Moore re-acquired former Royals closer Joakim Soria to replace the departed Madson. The intent was to create a another three-headed bullpen monster.

However, Soria flopped in the first half of the season. His ERA ballooned to 4.50 on August 4. Doctors diagnosed Luke Hochevar with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and he was lost for the year. Then Wade Davis’ forearm acted up and he too had to go to the DL.

The End Of The Three-Headed Monster

Rather than continue the “Three-Headed Monster” approach, Yost had to play match-ups like most other managers in major-league baseball. He brought in sidearm specialist Peter Moylan if the bases were jammed and the KC Royals needed a ground-ball double play. He matched rookie Matt Strahm against tough lefty hitters.

In short, the days of simply handing the seventh, or eighth inning, to the designated “monster” ended. Note that Yost still pretty much assigns the ninth to closer Kelvin Herrera.

In the end, it worked better than anyone expected. No bullpen in Kansas City Royals history has enjoyed such a streak.

Next: Reason No. 4

Aug 7, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Chris Young (32) delivers a pitch in the ninth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals won 7-1. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 7, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Chris Young (32) delivers a pitch in the ninth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals won 7-1. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Chris Young Dominating In Long-Relief

Chris Young opened the season as the Kansas City Royals no. 5 starter. In a word, he was awful. Young gave up 26 home runs in 56.0 innings pitched until his ERA bottomed out at 6.90. 

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Ned Yost finally pulled the plug on July 5 and moved Young to the pen. He hasn’t given up a home run in 16.1 innings since.

Oh, and after giving up four earned runs in a 13-0 blowout against the Angels on July 26, Young hasn’t allowed an earned run in his last 11.0 innings.

What seemed to be happening was that teams looked for the high fastball when he was a starter. Given a chance to prepare, and the mindset to look for his deceptive, but slow, 88 mph “fastball”, hitters were crushing it. But, when following an inevitably harder-throwing pitcher with a more typical delivery, the 6’10” Young regained his mojo.

Suddenly, the worst starting pitcher in baseball became an effective reliever.

Next: Reason No. 3

Aug 12, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Joakim Soria (48) pitches in the ninth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. The Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins 7-3. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 12, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Joakim Soria (48) pitches in the ninth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. The Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins 7-3. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Joakim Soria Found His Command

As I pointed out above, Joakim Soria got rocked through August 4. Hitters particularly mashed him in July with an outrageous .759 slugging percentage and a 1.273 OPS.

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Uh, yeah. That’s an arsonist.

The biggest problem was that Soria just wasn’t locating his pitches. Soria walked five hitters in 7.0 innings in July, as well as giving up three home runs. He had an awful 9.00 ERA despite striking out 12.9 hitters per nine innings.

In August, Soria is both throwing harder than he has in years AND locating his pitches. His average fastball velocity is up to 93.88, which is a season high but not out of line with the rest of the year. That’s different than his prime when his fastball averaged around 91 mph.

The difference is that he’s filling the strike zone. He’s walked a mere 3 batters in 11.1 innings in August for a nifty 2.38 BB/9. Combined with his 10.3 K/9, and his Strikeout to Walk ratio (K/BB) is an excellent 4.33. Hitters are slashing a mere .205/.255/.318 against him in August.

Unsurprisingly, Soria’s ERA for this month is a tidy 2.38. He hasn’t surrendered a run in his last 10 appearances and 9.1 innings pitched. Overall, his season ERA has dropped to a tolerable 3.74.

I’m not quite sure that Jack is Back for good. But, he’s been getting the job done lately.

Next: Reason No. 2

Aug 13, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Matt Strahm (64) before the game against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 13, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Matt Strahm (64) before the game against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Matt Strahm Is Blowing Away Major League Hitters

When the KC Royals called up 24-year-old Matt Strahm from AA NW Arkansas to replace Wade Davis, it looked like a desperation move. While Strahm’s prospect stock had zoomed since 2015 when he recovered from Tommy John surgery, he didn’t look like a guy ready for major-league baseball.

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Score one for the Royals scouts.

Moving to the pen in major-league baseball after starting in AA, Strahm’s fastball sits in the mid 90’s and touches 99. He also throws a nasty, tight slider that is his out pitch. Pretty soon after the lefty Strahm arrived in Kansas City, he started blowing hitters away.

You heard me. Strahm isn’t just surviving. He’s not just showing that he belongs in the big leagues. He’s flat out blowing away major league hitters with 19 strikeouts in 10.2 innings pitched (16.0 K/9). His K/BB ratio is a ridiculous 6.33, and his ERA is a minuscule 0.84.

Heck, when he came up I just hoped he might be a useful bullpen LOOGY. Instead, he’s been freaking Cyborg 2 for the last 26 days.

At this point, he’s earned manager Ned Yost’s trust for pitching his way out of some sticky situations. And, on Thursday night, he even unveiled a change-up when he had trouble locating his fastball. The result was another scoreless inning with two whiffs.

Second baseman Whit Merrifield looked like a star for about a month before pitchers found the holes in his swing. So, we had better not jump to conclusions about Strahm. But, he has given the KC Royals production when the desperately needed it.

Next: Reason No. 1

Aug 11, 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
Aug 11, 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 /

1. The Starters Are Eating Up Innings

The biggest reason for the bullpen’s improvement has been dominant starting pitching.

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In the first half of the season, the KC Royals starters compiled a 4.99 ERA and averaged a mere 5.37 innings per start. In August, Kansas City starters are averaging 6.34 innings per start with an outstanding 2.65 ERA.

One inning might not seem like much, but that works out to 23.0 fewer innings so far in August. They’re also getting in trouble far less, which means that relievers don’t have to warm up nearly as much. By reducing the pitching load, and adding a fresh arm in Matt Strahm, the bullpen is dealing with much less pressure than in their awful July.

The key is that not only are they rested, but the weaker players like Chien-Ming Wang and Brian Flynn don’t get exposed. Ned Yost can use them in spots to their best advantage rather than having to use them in non-optimal situations.

Heck, with Danny Duffy averaging more than seven innings per start, they’re almost getting a day off once every five days.

Next: Four Possible August Trade Targets For KC Royals

Right now, the bullpen is looking better than ever. And, with September 1 less than a week away, the KC Royals will get fresh arms up from the minors to help.

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