Kansas City Royals: Matt Strahm, Starter Or Reliever?

How Strahm Put Up Those Numbers

What Strahm did to achieve this success was pretty impressive too. This year Strahm was in the top 10% among pitchers with at least 20 batted balls in lowest opponent exit velocity. He was also in the fifth of the majors in average distance on BIP, according to Baseball Savant.

And in Strahm’s limited time, he wasn’t pitching mop up innings. After being called up, he quickly settled into a setup man like role, even after the return of Wade Davis. Among 512 pitchers this year with at least 20 innings, Strahm had the 9th best FIP at 2.06. This could come into play this with Strahm being a possible setup man this year.

More from Kings of Kauffman

• KC Royals Roster Moves: 3 players added, 1 re-signed
• KC Royals News: Awards, a new coach, and more
• Why the KC Royals could reunite with this old friend
• 3 outfielders the KC Royals should consider protecting
• Should the KC Royals call this championship exec?

This leads me into my next discussion. What will Strahm’s role be going into the future? I think he can be a starter, based of his pitches. I think he would be mid-rotation starter type if he didn’t develop his third pitch (slider), but if he did, his ceiling could be frontline starter type. Something I did find very interesting was of his most effective games with his slider, was his longest outing of the year. He pitched 2.2 innings against a dangerous Boston Red Sox lineup, allowing no hits, one walk, striking out one.

When his slider was working, it was hard to get good contact off. Strahm generated a fair amount of grounders and pop ups in that game. I went to go look why his slider was working so well. According to Brooks Baseball, he generated more spin, a couple more inches in vertical movement, and had a higher release speed with his sider.  It’s a very small sample size, but that pitch is the key to him starting.

As for Strahm in the bullpen, I view him as an Andrew Miller lite. Tall, lanky, lefty. Miller was also a former starter that unleashed some velocity in the pen. As relievers, both Strahm and Miller sit in the mid-90s. The only difference is there second pitchers. Miller relies on a slider, Strahm on a curve. Anyway, I like the role Strahm can play. You can bring him in for one batter, have him setup, or pitch him in long relief. I love the versatility he could provide as a reliever.

Projections

Steamer Projections for Matt Strahm: 3-3, 55 IP, 18 BB, 55 SO, 3.36 ERA, 0.3 WAR

As for projections, Steamer sees Strahm going towards more of a relief role. PECOTA thinks the exact opposite. They project Strahm to split time between the bullpen and rotation this year and then step into a full time starter role by 2018. They give him comps of Scott Elbert, Jae Kull Ryu, and Antonio Bastardo.

Outlook

I think Strahm will be heading for the bullpen to start year. He will probably start out filling different roles, such as long relief, fireman, etc. Then I think later in the year, he will go into a full setup role. I expect him to perform well, so I think his future remains in the Kansas City Royals bullpen. My biggest concern with him starting is tall, lanky frame that could be susceptible to injury. I’d feel better about that with him not trying to good 180 innings every year.

Next: KC Royals Take On A Distinctly Cubs Flavor

Either way, as long as he is healthy, I think Strahm sets up nicely for a good career in the future.