Kansas City Royals: Brad Keller not worth an extension…yet
The Kansas City Royals appear to have a solid pitcher in Brad Keller, but he is not worth an extension just yet.
The Kansas City Royals, just like every other rebuilding team, find themselves looking for building blocks for the future. They have potential pieces coming through the minors, particularly in the rotation, but prospects are always a risky proposition. The Royals need to find major league ready players that can be a part of the future.
In theory, they have one such piece as a member of their rotation already. Brad Keller, a former Rule V selection, has emerged as a viable starter for the Royals. He had a solid rookie campaign, posting a 3.08 ERA and a 1.304 WHiP over his 140.1 innings, using his ability to generate grounders to maximum effect.
While Keller was still a solid pitcher in 2019, his production took a step back. In 165.1 innings, Keller posted a 4.19 ERA and a 1.355 WHiP, striking out 122 batters with 70 walks. He appeared to tire towards the end of the year, as he posted a 5.13 ERA over his final 33.1 innings before being shut down at the end of August.
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Even with those struggles, Keller had an above average season. His 113 ERA+ was the best of any regular member of the Royals rotation. While he may not be a superstar, Keller appears to be a solid middle to back of the rotation arm, a ground ball generator who could be quite valuable.
In theory, that would make him a candidate for an extension. However, it might not be in the Royals’ best interests to begin those conversations just yet. While ground ball pitchers have a degree of variance in their performance based on the defense behind them and those grounders finding holes, Keller has yet to prove he can be a useful piece of the rotation over a full season.
That will not happen this season either. With an abbreviated schedule, Keller will not have the typical workload associated with a full season. The best case scenario will be for the Royals to find out in 2021 if he can handle taking the ball every fifth day. Until that happens, and with the slew of pitching prospects getting closer to the majors, extension talks should wait.
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Brad Keller may well be worth an extension for the Kansas City Royals. But the Royals should wait to see if he can handle a full season before making that type of commitment.