KC Royals: Yordano Ventura Agrees To Five-year Contract

KC Royals flamethrower Yordano Ventura has agreed to a five-year, $22 million contract extension with two option years, according to CBSSports.com’s Jon Heyman:

Ventura, Royals deal is 5 years guaranteed, plus 2 option years. Pending physical.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) April 4, 2015

The deal is pretty much as I reported earlier this morning, and will potentially tie up Yordano Ventura through his age 29 season in 2021.

This agreement looks like a good deal for both sides. Yordano Ventura gets financial security. The Kansas City Royals get a shot at a cost-controlled pitcher with ace upside through most of his prime seasons.

Congratulations to KC Royals general manager Dayton Moore. You’ve truly been on a roll the last couple of years.

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In short, Moore has transformed the Royals franchise from a sad sack outfit that caused young ace Zack Greinke to demand a trade after the 2010 season, to a team that can hold on to its top talent. That’s a world of difference, both in the clubhouse and among fans.

The next order of business for Dayton Moore might be a contract extension for 26-year-old lefty starter Danny Duffy.

Moore will probably want to see at least a half-season of regular starts before considering such a deal. With Duffy’s history of elbow problems and his inflated adjusted Fielding Independent Pitching stats (4.42) which suggest Duffy got a bit lucky in 2014, Moore will need to be cautious.

Dayton Moore, however, has completely shown up pundits who mercilessly ridiculed his “process” before last season’s playoff success.

The news of Yordano Ventura’s new contract comes just two days before the 23-year-old right-hander is poised to take the mound on Monday’s home opener as the Kansas City Royals new no. 1 pitcher.

Ventura earned the designation with his electric stuff that includes 100+ mph fastballs, a solid rookie season, (14-10, 3.20 ERA in 183.0 innings pitched), and seven shutout innings in game 6 of the 2014 World Series with the Royals facing elimination. Yordano Ventura finished 6th in Rookie-of-the-Year voting for 2014.

Chris Moran of website Beyond the Box Score even speculated that Yordano Ventura might be the hardest throwing starting pitcher in baseball history.

That’s a guy any team would want to invest in.

YORDANO VENTURA VELOCITY CHART (BROOKS BASEBALL):

YORDANO VENTURA CAREER STATS

Year	Age	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA+	FIP	WHIP	HR9	BB9	SO9	SO/W
2013	22	0	1	.000	3.52	3	15.1	13	6	6	3	6	11	120	5.33	1.239	1.8	3.5	6.5	1.83
2014	23	14	10	.583	3.20	31	183.0	168	70	65	14	69	159	125	3.60	1.295	0.7	3.4	7.8	2.30
2 Yrs	14	11	.560	3.22	34	198.1	181	76	71	17	75	170	124	3.74	1.291	0.8	3.4	7.7	2.27
162 Game Avg.	14	11	.560	3.22	35	201	184	77	72	17	76	173	124	3.74	1.291	0.8	3.4	7.7	2.27

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/4/2015.

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