Kansas City Royals 2014 Plethora of Back-end Rotation Options

Kansas City Royals pitcher Luke Hochevar (44) Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

3. Luke Hochevar, RHP

If we are on the topic of players to struggle in a Royals uniform, Luke Hochevar has to come close to the top of this list. That is, until he flourished in his debut season as a reliever. Last year, he finished the year with a 1.92 ERA in 58 appearances as a reliever.

He earned his spot as one of the best bullpen guys that the Royals had last year, and ultimately became the main set-up man for Greg Holland. He changed his whole image around in Kansas City. Fans started trusting him with the game on the line. They started calling for him.

However, if you so much as mention Luke Hochevar as a starter, Royals’ fans cringe. In the five years prior to last season, Hochever had 128 starts for Kansas City and never eclipsed a 4.68 ERA in any of those seasons. He had two seasons with a 5.5+ ERA and one season with a 6.5+ ERA.

Those numbers are not made up. Unbelievably, he was able to make it 5 seasons in the rotation on this team (a few as the Royals ACE). And now, he will get a shot in Spring Training to prove he can start again. From me and the rest of the Kansas City fan base; let’s stay put in the bullpen, Luke.