Royals prospect Zimmer Has Added Urgency to Realize Potential

The Major League Baseball Postseason is in full swing, and judging by the increase in viewership, fans are loving it—the American League Division Series aren’t doing as well, but viewership is up overall:

While baseball fans are enjoying baseball’s playoffs in all their splendor, here at GotC we’re still looking toward the future. Jason Burke analyzed Twins’ outfielder Byron Buxton’s chances to break out in 2016, and I looked at whether 2016’s rookie class of hitters or pitchers will have more impact next year.

Of the teams currently in the playoffs, the Kansas City Royals have one of the murkiest futures. The core of the team is locked up through the 2017 season and there are talented prospects in the minors, but the Royals paid a heavy price in prospects to trade for rentals Johnny Cueto and Ben Zobrist, and the Royals are still on the verge of elimination.

Even though the Royals were able to trade for those two players without completely gutting the farm system, it put much more urgency on the players left in the system to pan out, especially pitcher Kyle Zimmer. Zimmer is the Royals’ No. 3 overall prospect according to MLB.com, and he is the closest pitching prospect to making an impact in the majors.

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Zimmer only pitched 64 innings in 2015 due to injury—he’s been plagued by injuries ever since he was drafted in the first round in 2012—but they were quality innings. The Royals eased him into the season in a reliever’s role, where he pitched to a 1.39 ERA, 41 strikeouts and 12 walks in 17 appearances. Zimmer then made seven starts where he posted a 3.41 ERA with a 31/8 K/BB in 31 innings. Those numbers aren’t dominant, but they are productive and provide a solid base from which to jump into 2016.

With Sean Manaea, Brandon Finnegan and John Lamb pitching elsewhere, if the Royals need a hole in their pitching staff filled in the near future, Zimmer will likely be called on to fill it. The Royals have plenty of options for their rotation as Yordano Ventura, Edinson Volquez and Kris Medlen will all be back next year, as will a post-Tommy-John surgery Jason Vargas, but with the latter two having nightmare-inducing injury concerns, the Royals need Zimmer to stay healthy and become at least a middle-of-the-rotation starter.

The pressure on Zimmer to become a starter could be alleviated by signing a free agent pitcher or two, much like the Royals did this past offseason with Volquez. If that’s the remedy the Royals choose, then the pressure on Zimmer then shifts to him becoming a dominant reliever. The Royals’ esteemed bullpen has been the driving force behind their playoff runs the past two seasons, and members of the bullpen will march into free agency over the next few years. Zimmer, as shown in the stats above, could become a dominant reliever if the Royals’ need him there.

Either way, with a large chunk of the pitching depth gone, there is added urgency to see Zimmer realize his potential, whichever role that may be. Other pitching prospects like Miguel Almonte, Christian Binford and Jonathan Dzeidzic could fill smaller roles, but none have the potential Zimmer does. Still other pitching prospects, such as Ashe RusseLl, Foster Griffin and Nolan Watson, are likely too far away to make an impact in either 2016 or 2017.