Royals: Pitchers that could start 30 games in 2020

The Kansas City Royals already have one pitcher that consistently gives them 30 starts, but they hope he can give them consistent wins in the future.

Jakob Junis is likely the least surprising Kansas City Royals player on this list. Junis has had his share of struggles but he has continued to be a pitcher the team can rely on to go out and give them some innings.

To go towards the argument for Junis starting 30 games in 2020, fans should look at both his 2018 and 2019 season. Junis started 30 games in 2018, and 31 in 2019. On a Royals team where pitching seems to constantly be in a state of unknowns, Junis has been one of the few consistent pieces every day.

Junis saw some difficulties during the 2019 season, but it is safe to say he will be seen in the rotation again. He ended the season 9-14, with an ERA of 5.24 and an FIP of 4.82. While the numbers aren’t too pretty, his month to month numbers show that he was showing some improvement. In April, Junis saw his ERA hit 6.26 and by August 17th he had it down to 4.78.

While this still isn’t the best ERA in the league by any means, it showed that there had been a season-long progression of getting better and better. Junis, unfortunately, struggled in his last couple appearances, driving his ERA up, but one can only hope he will be ready to go for 2020.