KC Royals: Top Five Highest Paid Players In 2014

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie – Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Jeremy Guthrie isn’t the most dominating pitcher you will ever see, but he brings a toughness and professionalism to the mound that should be duplicated by some of the younger members of the Royals’ pitching staff.

2014 was the middle season of a three-year contract signed in late 2012 for $25.5 million. He earned $8 million last season. That money bought a very typical Jeremy Guthrie season.

• 32 Starts, 13-11 record
• 202.2 Innings
• 4.13 ERA
• 1.30 WHIP
• 124 K, 49 BB

These numbers are very similar to his 162-game averages for his career across the board, except for significantly fewer walks (60-49). You know what you are going to get with Guthrie. He is going to give you max effort, and sometimes, he is going to get beat up a little.

Guthrie was pretty good at limiting the bad outings in 2014. He surrendered more than four runs just five times, and he balanced that out by allowing 1 or fewer runs 11 times.

He seems to really rely on his control, and he is an effective back-end of the rotation pitcher when he is on. When he is off, he still manages to limit the damage more often than not. He is not a superstar, but he is a good role model for young pitchers because of his mentality.

In the post season, he was his typical self, earning a 4.05 ERA, and a very nice .975 WHIP. He got the nod in game seven of the World Series, and faltered a bit, going just 3.1 innings, and allowing three runs.

All in all, Guthrie is making about what he should be. The Kansas City Royals did not over pay for Guthrie’s services. If he can produce similar numbers for one more season, this signing has to be considered an overall success.

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