Kansas City Royals: What Can Go Wrong In 2014
By Joel Wagler
Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Greg Holland (56) is congratulated by catcher Salvador Perez (13) Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
THE BULLPEN CRACKS
The Royals had the best bullpen in baseball a year ago, and it has been pretty darn good the last few years.
In general, it will be hard for this group to repeat the numbers from a year ago. Do you really expect Luke Hochevar a 1.92 ERA and a WHIP of .825? Can Louis Coleman (if he even makes the team) match his minuscule .61 ERA and .843 WHIP?
Do you really think Greg Holland can match, let alone top, maybe the greatest season ever by a Royals closers?
Don’t count on it folks. All of these players had career years they will probably never match again.
Not all is lost though. These three could regress and still be pretty terrific. Tim Collins, Aaron Crow, and Kelvin Herrera were all fairly average last season. There is certainly room for improvement with all three. Wade Davis has been terrific as a reliever in his career, so the Royals have yet another power arm option.
There is even a chance that Danny Duffy will start the season in the pen.
The Royals are loaded in the pen, but bullpens are tricky things. You seldom see a bullpen dominate as a unit year in and year out. If this bullpen cracks, the Royals will be in trouble.