KC Royals: Ian Kennedy Helping Dayton Moore

The KC Royals have had some great luck with reclamation projects in the past and Ian Kennedy is looking to bolster Dayton Moore’s reclamation success.

Dayton Moore has hit it big on some reclamation projects in the recent past and Ian Kennedy is shaping up to be no exception to that rule.

He’s had a couple of rough outings this season, but so far I think he’s been more than impressive for the Royals. He’s been one of their most consistent starters this year, though that’s really not saying a whole lot.

He’s going to have to keep exceeding expectations this season for this to really pay off, but so far he’s been worth the money. I know a lot of people don’t agree with that assessment, but there are others getting paid far more for far worse results.

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Below is a list of pitchers who signed contracts with a larger average annual value than Kennedy prior to the start of the 2016 season and their results.

• David Price: 48 innings, 32 earned runs, 65 strikeouts, 6.00 ERA – $31/year
• Zack Greinke: 49.2 innings, 29 earned runs, 44 strikeouts, 5.26 ERA – $34/year
• Johnny Cueto: 57.2 innings, 19 earned runs, 53 strikeouts, 2.97 ERA – $21.66/year
• Jordan Zimmermann: 48 innings, 8 earned runs, 28 strikeouts, 1.50 ERA – $22/year
• Jeff Samardzija: 56.1 innings, 18 earned runs, 47 strikeouts, 2.88 ERA – $18/year
• Mike Leake: 48.1 innings, 25 earned runs, 30 strikeouts, 4.66 ERA – $16/year
• Wei-Yin Chen: 43 innings,  21 earned runs, 36 strikeouts, 4.40 ERA – $16/year
• Scott Kazmir: 46 innings, 25 earned runs, 43 strikeouts, 4.89 ERA – $16/year
• Ian Kennedy: 44.1 innings, 16 earned runs, 41 strikeouts, 3.25 ERA – $14/year

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All contract amounts courtesy of Spotrac.com (all dollar amounts in the millions)

David Price and Zack Greinke are two of the biggest offenders in terms of letting their teams down this season. David Price has benefited from some great offensive support, but he’s getting blown up this season.

Those pitchers on this list not named Ian Kennedy are averaging $21.83 million per season. They’ve also averaged 49.2 innings, 22.125 earned runs, 43.25 strikeouts, and an ERA of 4.01.

Kennedy had two outings that saw him give up 12 of his 16 runs on the year. Both of those outings were on the road so it’s better for him to pitch within the friendly confines of Kauffman Stadium.

Ultimately, Kennedy is looking like he’s going to pay dividends for a KC Royals rotation that has struggled to hand things over to the bullpen this season.

Next: Dayton Moore's Best Reclamation Projects

He’s going to have a tough test on his hand against the Red Sox later tonight. They’ve been arguable the hottest hitting team in baseball this month. Hopefully the cool temperatures are enough to cool off the red-hot Red Sox.