Kansas City Royals: Free Agent Signings In 2015
Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Chris Young (32) – Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Chris Young was a great pick up by the KC Royals. In my starting pitchers rankings, I put Young at second and he wasn’t even an original starter in the rotation.
A suspension for Yordano Ventura and an injury to Danny Duffy led to Young continuing his role as a starter and he has been pretty spectacular. In 14 appearances and eight starts, Young has posted 2.83 ERA and a 6-3 record. He has been a great addition to this Royals staff and should not be taken out of the rotation.
Before he headed to the big leagues, Chris Young played both baseball and basketball at Princeton, which prepared him for the majors for sure. After being drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the third round in the 2000 MLB Draft, Young spent a few years in the minor leagues before being traded to the Montreal Expos and then the Texas Rangers.
Chris Young has been phenomenal for the Kansas City Royals. No other team offered to sign him and he’s certainly proving them wrong by just how good he’s been this season.
Young spent two years with the Rangers before moving on to the San Diego Padres, where he spent most of his 11 year major league career. Young ended his time in San Diego with a 3.67 ERA in 97 starts and went 33-25.
The Padres didn’t pick up Young’s option after his fifth year with them so he signed with the New York Mets and spent two seasons there and continued to pitch well despite having a losing record (5-9 in 24 starts). His time with the Mets was cut short during the season due to injuries.
From there, Young spent time with the Washington Nationals’ minor leagues before signing a one-year deal with the Seattle Mariners. Young experienced great success in Seattle, winning multiple “Comeback Player of the Year” Awards and posting a 3.65 ERA in 29 starts and 30 games total.
As I mentioned above, Chris Young has been phenomenal for the Kansas City Royals. No other team offered to sign him and he’s certainly proving them wrong by just how good he’s been this season.
While he was brought to Kansas City as more of a long relief guy from the bullpen, there was no question who was going to step into the starting rotation when suspensions to Ventura and Edinson Volquez occurred earlier on in the season. Danny Duffy’s injury has kept Young in the lineup, and now with Jason Vargas out as well, it looks like Young will be spending the majority of the season in the rotation and for good reason!
Should the KC Royals make the playoffs, Chris Young should be the second starting pitcher for Kansas City. Not bad for a guy the team signed to a one-year deal and for less than a million dollars.
Next: Conclusion