Kansas City Royals: Ranking The Bullpen
Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Wade Davis (17) – Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
I mean, are you even surprised? You had to see this one coming right?
In a trade that brought James Shields to Kansas City, Wade Davis also came to town in a trade that will probably soon be remembered as the “Wade Davis trade” and not the “James Shields trade”.
At that time, Davis was used in the starting rotation, and was not what the Kansas City Royals were hoping for. After posting a 5.32 ERA as a starter and giving up 15 home runs, Davis was moved to the bullpen, where he’s remained ever since… and for good reason.
Last season, Davis had a 1.00 ERA with three saves and a 9-2 record in 72 innings pitched. This season he’s been even better, posting a 0.26 ERA (!!!!) with nine saves and a 3-1 record for the boys in blue. Davis has been clutch. It seemed like Davis wouldn’t be able to repeat that incredible success he saw in 2014, but he has done that and so much more.
When Greg Holland went on the DL in May, fans knew that Davis would slide into the closer role just fine and he did just that. Davis has easily been the best reliever in the rotation and when he even somewhat messes up, you find yourself shocked at Wade Davis making a mistake because he rarely does.
His most recent outing was a typical one that came in the tenth inning for the Royals. Davis pitched one inning without allowing a hit. It’s a thing of beauty really.
Highlight of 2015 season so far: It’s difficult to choose just one, it really is. I guess I would say the first “closer” appearance Davis had against the Angels early on in the season. He pitched a clean ninth with three strikeouts and only one walk, but it showed that Davis could prevail in the closer role if need be, and he later continued that role when Holland went on the DL.
Lowlight of 2015 season so far: Davis allowed his lone run of the season against the Cleveland Indians that was in huge thanks to the lovely guys at New York for screwing up a call. Had the call been reversed like it should have been, Davis might still pose his perfect 0.00 ERA. It’s tough to call this a lowlight for Davis because he showed he was human, but it was his one run so it was his ‘lowlight’ (I use that term loosely) of the season.
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