MLB: Fixing Holes on Struggling Contenders
By David Hill
Kansas City Royals: Starting Pitching
Last year, the Kansas City Royals won the World Series despite having the fewest innings of any team in the MLB from their starting rotation last year. The Royals bullpen had been a true asset, making up for those issues with the rotation.
Even though the Royals lost Johnny Cueto in free agency, the acquisition of Ian Kennedy was expected to be a suitable replacement. Yordano Ventura was being counted on to take that step forward and to develop into the ace that Kansas City needed, and Chris Young and Kris Medlen would be an upgrade at the back of the rotation.
While Kennedy and Edinson Volquez have been as expected, the rest of the Royals rotation has struggled. Medlen and Young are on the disabled list, and Ventura has lost his command of the strike zone. Those struggles have led to Royals starters posting a 4.71 ERA, 21st in baseball.
Currently 18-19, 5.5 games out of first, the Royals are likely going to need to have those improvements come from within. After depleting their farm system to acquire Cueto and Ben Zobrist, they do not exactly have much left to pursue an upgrade. If anything, they may need to hope that Kyle Zimmer can stay healthy and be that needed boost later in the season.
The Kansas City Royals need to get more from their starting rotation, but their options are limited. Any improvement from the Royals will likely have to come from within.
Next: American League West