Three potential starting pitchers the KC Royals could target in Pittsburgh

General manager J.J. Picollo has made no secret that this off-season he must find pitching depth. As a recent article by Matthew LaMar of Royals Review highlighted, Kansas City has the lowest surplus trade value in the majors, a fact that hinders trading in this modern market. The KC Royals simply do not have the assets to trade for pitchers; other franchises might consider them starters right now. While they may be able to obtain pitches on the free agent market, they only have about $30 million available. That is not going to buy them much.

Therefore, in order for Kansas City to improve its pitching depth, it will have to mine the ranks of the minors as well as search through cast-off veterans, perhaps even stocking up on injured pitchers in order to build a team that can compete in 2025 and after. This means identifying teams that have a large number of minor-league pitchers or are carrying a lot of injured veterans. Could Pittsburgh be that team?

The KC Royals could dive into Pittsburgh's deep pitcher pool

Former Royals manager Ned Yost once joked about the third base tree in Kansas City or the lack thereof. Well, unlike Kansas City's third base tree, Pittsburgh does have a large pool of pitchers. MLB's 2023 Prospect Rankings of the Pirates featured 12 pitchers among their top 15 prospects. Pittsburgh has called a few of these prospects up, such as starter Mike Burrows, but most of their top prospects remain in the minors following the season.

In the Royals' favor, Pittsburgh has taken some hits to their major league roster due to Tommy Johns injuries. One of these injured pitchers could be a potential trade target for the Royals to stash with eyes on competing in 2025. Pittsburgh, in need of starting pitchers now, could consider Brady Singer a viable 2024 option. Singer is entering his second arbitration year and will be progressively more expensive over the next three seasons. The Pirates could be a good landing spot.

Michael Kennedy throws like a veteran college pitcher

If sustainability is truly their goal, the Royals must prepare for a competitive window that extends well past 2025. The Royals have drafted poorly for years, leaving the cupboard bare. Even in recent years, the draft has not been their friend, as very few draft picks have resulted in major league starters. Taking advantage of young players identified by other teams' scouts is one way they might add to their depth. One young prospect who fits that mold is 19-year-old Michael Kennedy.

Kennedy is currently in Low-A ball at Bradenton. The Pirates drafted him 110th overall in the 2022 draft. He has quickly climbed the ranks to the position of the Pirates' 11th-rated prospect, and for good reason: this kid can pitch. Kennedy wrapped up his debut professional season with a 1.11 WHIP, starting seven games.

He's young and needs time, but he has college-level command and a workman-like approach, similar to Royals' starter Kris Bubic. He possesses three very good pitches that all generate bad contact, and like Bubic, Kennedy could be a pitcher who makes the majors very quickly due to his simplistic style and solid command. Kennedy would be a great tack-on if the Royals were able to convince the Pirates to trade a young pitcher.

The Royals could take a flyer on Johan Oviedo.

Picollo has already shown this offseason that he is not averse to risk. On Nov. 16th, he traded pitcher Jackson Kowar to the Atlanta Braves for Kyle Wright, a pitcher who just had shoulder surgery and is about to sit out all of 2024. If we're reading between the lines of this move, Picollo wants to be competitive in 2025, when his young positional core reaches its prime. With that in mind, the Royals should consider taking a flyer on Johan Oviedo. Oviedo, like Wright, has hit the injured list and will require Tommy John's surgery.

Why Oviedo? Kings of Kauffman recently covered the importance of innings pitched and WHIP in a recent installment of Buck the Trends. In order to win games, teams must limit baserunners. Oviedo finished 2023 with a solid 1.37 WHIP over 177.2 innings pitched. Meanwhile, the Royals finished the season with a team WHIP (1.41), which ranked 23rd in the majors. Eight teams allowed a team WHIP higher than 1.4, and not surprisingly, those teams were the top eight in runs allowed.

But WHIP and IP aren't the only reasons the Royals should look at Oviedo. Oviedo has done a terrific job of limiting walks, allowing a 1.86 BB/9. The Royals did a terrible job of limiting walks this year, finishing the season 22nd overall with a 3.53 team BB/9. In order to improve, the Royals must find pitchers who don't issue walks.

Oviedo does a good job of keeping balls in the ballpark: a characteristic that the Royals highly value. He relies heavily on a fastball (96 mph) which is noted for its sinking action that results in a high GB% that would play well to the Royals' defensive strategy. Oviedo also throws a slider (88 mph) and curve (82 mph) which produce a lot of flyballs. Despite the flyball rate, these breaking pitches have resulted in a very low. 96 HR/9. Oviedo allowed only 19 home runs in 32 starts this season. He's someone the Royals should consider taking a flyer on for 2025.