Royals: Pitchers that could start 30 games in 2020

Pitching was a struggle for the Kansas City Royals in the 2019 season. There may be some pitchers returning, though, that could eat some innings in 2020.

Anyone who watched the Kansas City Royals in 2019 knows that pitching was an issue. There were some pitchers who really showed up and had moments throughout the season that instilled some confidence, but overall, the Royals found their weakest spot on the team.

As there were some Royals that put together decent seasons, it is very likely that fans will see a lot of familiar faces in 2020, both in the rotation and in the bullpen. This may not be what fans want to hear, but it is likely the Royals will try to find a few reclamation projects in the free agency, instead of going after big names for an immediate fix.

Some of these could pay off for the Royals. Homer Bailey and Jake Diekman put together decent 2019 seasons and earned some respect on the mound, but many of the other free agency acquisitions didn’t pan out so well for the team.

If the Royals are going to continue using pitchers that are already on their roster, they need to focus on fixing some key issues. One of those issues is control. Royals pitchers gave up a lot of walks in 2019 and let the games get away from them quickly, giving their offense no chance to keep up.

Another issue the Royals must work on is having a set rotation and bullpen. The Royals saw a lot of movement in the bullpen and rotation in 2019 and while many of the pitchers kept struggling, if they continue to move around and get no consistent time, it’s likely the struggles will continue.

There are some players already on the roster that, as long as they can stay healthy, could give the team needed innings and play a full season, giving the Royals the needed consistency on the mound.

One young pitcher with the Kansas City Royals has been working to increase his innings and may just hit 30 starts in 2020.

Brad Keller is one of the most exciting pitchers in the Kansas City Royals organization. While it is likely that this is a one-sided opinion, it’s should be easy for most to see that Keller is a viable candidate to continue in the rotation for the future.

Keller has pitched in the major leagues for two years with the Royals, after coming to Kansas City through the Rule 5 draft from Arizona. In 2018, Keller was one of the most reliable bullpen arms the Royals had, and when they needed a starter, Keller answered the call.

Keller ended 2018 9-6, with a 3.08 ERA over 140.1 innings. While Keller did see an unfortunate increase in his ERA in 2019 (4.19), he also saw his workload increase, pitching 165.1 innings and starting 28 games.

Keller was able to keep his ERA under 3.00 through most of April, but his struggle with walks early in the season caused him to quickly jump up to a 4.07 by the end of the month. He continued to bounce around above and below 4.00 before finally settling at his 4.19.

It’s likely that Keller had some bad luck this year, but there were also some noticeable control issues. Keller did provide constant starts, though, and was able to consistently pitch to 100 plus pitches. It would be the first season with 30 starts for Keller, but the young starter isn’t showing any signs of slowing down.

If he can keep the injuries away, Kansas City Royals pitcher Danny Duffy may be able to finally put together a full season for the team.

Danny Duffy has unfortunately struggled with injuries during the past couple of seasons, making it difficult to really predict how he will do in 2020, and how many games he might start. In looking at previous seasons, though, Duffy seems like a candidate to “possibly” start 30 games.

Of course, if Duffy is going to have such a large presence for the Royals in 2020, he will need to do one major thing. Stay healthy. Duffy started the 2019 season on the injured list. He was finally able to make it back to the rotation at the end of April but found himself on the list again in August for a few weeks.

As far as his numbers look, Duffy did improve on his 2018 season, though he was also in 5 fewer games. He ended 2019 with an ERA of 4.34 over 130.2 innings and had his first winning record (7-6) since 2016.

Duffy had his share of the struggles, but he continued to improve over the season and returned from the injured list in September to pitch to a 2-0 record with a  monthly ERA of 2.37 over 30.1 innings.

Duffy has always seemed to struggle with consistency, but the injuries year after year don’t help. If he can stay healthy and continue to progress and show the success he showed at the end of 2019, Duffy could easily show up for 30 starts in 2020 and be a big part of the rotation.

After coming back to the Kansas City Royals, Mike Montgomery hopes to prove he is supposed to be in a starting role.

Mike Montgomery (uniform number 21), not to be confused with Jeff Montgomery (uniform number 21), found his way back to the Kansas City Royals in 2019. Montgomery was originally drafted by the Royals in 2008 but was traded and made his way to a few other teams, finally coming back to Kansas City through a trade with the Chicago Cubs.

It’s a stretch to put Montgomery on this list, but there is a chance that if he can prove he deserves a spot in the rotation, he could hit the 30 game mark. Montgomery was being used as a reliever in Chicago. He had seen time as a starting pitcher in years past but typically flipped back and forth between the rotation and bullpen.

Having been vocal about wanting to start, the Royals gave him a chance. In 13 games with the Royals, he held a 4.64 ERA, went 2-7, and pitched 64 innings with 51 strikeouts. While his ERA is a bit high, he did manage to increase all of his numbers from those he carried in Chicago as a reliever.

It’s possible that Monty will find himself back in the bullpen, but with the way his numbers trend when he is in the starting role, the Royals will likely give him another shot in the rotation. If he can continue to produce, it’s entirely possible he could hit 30 starts for the Royals in 2020.

It’s likely that all of the pitchers listed will be pitching with the Royals in 2020, but for some of them, the role they play could be a different story. Depending on what the organization does during free agency will determine who gets to start, and who moves to the bullpen.