KC Royals: Chris Young Going Back To The Bullpen

The Royals have one too many guys in the starting rotation. One has to go, right?

The KC Royals proved that they’re all in as far as the 2015 season goes when they signed ace pitcher Johnny Cueto last weekend. With the addition of Cueto to the roster, the Royals’ starting rotation is now at six. Here are the six guys in the rotation at the moment (listed alphabetically):

It was announced on Friday afternoon by Ned Yost that Young would be the one headed back to the bullpen, but is that necessarily the right move? Fans basically knew it was going to come down to either Young or Guthrie as to who would be removed from the rotation.

Jeremy Guthrie will stay in KC's rotation, Ned Yost says. Chris Young will go to the bullpen.
— Andy McCullough (@ByMcCullough) July 31, 2015

Honestly, this was a tough decision, but I believe it was the right one.

Jeremy Guthrie

Guthrie has always been… well, Guthrie. He is very capable of heading to the mound and completely dominating the opposition. He is also very capable of doing the exact opposite of that, and that is what is scary about Jeremy Guthrie: his inconsistency on the mound.

CHECK OUT: WHAT THE ROYALS GAVE UP FOR JOHNNY CUETO

Guthrie had a decent stretch of starts for almost a month, but appears to be back to normal ol’ Guthrie. He is currently posting a 5.65 ERA and a 7-7 record as of the end of July. As much as we all like Guthrie and appreciate how passionate he is about this team, it might be time for J-Guts to take a back seat and head to the bullpen.

As we learned on Friday though, Guthrie will be given another chance to prove himself.

Chris Young

Sure, Chris Young might be the easier solution, considering he was originally a member of the Royals’ bullpen, but he has looked better than Guthrie this season. In fact, up until his last two starts, Young was looking terrific. Young jumped into the rotation when injuries occurred to Ventura, Duffy, and Jason Vargas.

In his last two starts, Young has only gone a combined 7.2 innings, allowing ten hits and five runs (four runs in one game, one in another). He has not been a reliable pitcher, and it looks like he is wearing down on the mound. He has a 3.25 ERA with an 8-6 record, but it hasn’t been pretty as of lately.

I agree with the move to remove Young from the rotation. He’s shown he can perform there and is obviously wearing down as a starter. No one is sure how well Guthrie would pitch out of the bullpen, and hey… Come playoff season, he won’t be in the rotation.

Next: World Series or Bust for Royals

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