KC Royals: It’s good to have Brad Keller back on the mound

The KC Royals started the season with a gap in their rotation, but now the starters are back in full and things will hopefully trend upwards.

The KC Royals couldn’t catch a break to start the season. Whether it was due to injury, or COVID related issues, players have been moving on and off the injured roster, creating a musical chairs type situation in the dugout.

The biggest area hurt, though, was without a doubt the starting rotation. Brad Keller and Jakob Junis found themselves out because of COVID, and Mike Montgomery only made a very short appearance before being out with injury.

Luckily, the Royals began their youth movement and added some names like Brady Singer and Kris Bubic to the rotation to help out the remaining veteran Danny Duffy. Still, though, the Royals were having to turn to the bullpen for games and hope that they could hold up for enough innings.

Now, things are getting back on track and Brad Keller is off to a great start. In his first start, Keller faced off against the Cubs, a team that had given the Royals some trouble. Keller didn’t seem to be worried though.

In his first start of the year, he recorded 5 innings, gave up 3 hits and 2 walks, struck out 7, threw 75 pitches, and didn’t give up any runs. It was a good pick up for the Royals who had lost any steam they may have gained, and good enough for Keller to pick up his first win of the season.

Keller was back on the mound last night and looked even better than before, though he had a shaky first inning. This was likely due to an unforeseen delay after only 6 pitches from Keller, when a foul ball hit the home plate umpires hand, causing him to bleed and leave the game for some time.

After the long delay, Keller got off to a rocky start but finished the first inning without giving up any runs. After this, he managed just fine.

Keller put together 6 innings of scoreless baseball, walking 3 and striking out 3, giving up only 2 hits and throwing 90 pitches. He was backed up by the defense with 2 double plays, and the great defense continued through the night, helping to hold onto the lead to give Keller his 2nd win of the season.

There is plenty of season left, but so far, Keller is off to a great start. There was no telling how he would come back into the season having been on the injured list for so long, but it’s great to see that he hasn’t missed a beat.

Keller has a great ability to keep his mind out of the game and pitch through trouble. He is a great example, even though he is still one of the younger pitchers in the Royals organization. With the youth movement out in full force, it looks like Brad Keller could be leading the pack.

Brad Keller is finally back for the Royals and has started the season well. While there will likely be some tough games ahead, Keller is known for his ability to stay in the games and not let things get out of hand. He should be an interesting pitcher to watch during this short 2020 season.