3 KC Royals young players near the end of the line

With an ERA of 6.34 in one and a half seasons with the KC Royals, this right-handed pitcher will need a big turnaround to keep his spot on the team.

Acquired from Milwaukee when the Royals traded Mike Moustakas in the summer of 2018, Jorge Lopez had a nice ERA with the Brewers in ten appearances.  It was a bit skewed, though, as in 19 2/3 innings pitched he has given up 16 hits and 13 walks.

The rest of the year in Kansas City, where he was utilized solely as a starter, did not improve.  The WHIP stayed roughly the same but the ERA+ fell from 151 to 69, a major drop.  Last year only improved slightly with a mixture of starts and relief appearances.

What is frustrating about Lopez is that he has great stuff at times which was made clear in a game in 2018 where he came within three outs of a perfect game.  Putting it all together over an extended period has been a challenge.

This spring has seen Lopez get off to a hot start although he did get beat around by Mike Trout and the Los Angeles Angels in his last game.  He has struck out ten batters in just under nine frames and the best sign is only two walks issued.

Lopez just turned 27 years old and with the young crop of big arms coming through the Royals organization, this may be the last chance he has to keep a role on the squad.  Whether it is as a starter or reliever, he will need to show vast improvement.