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KC Royals: Should Johnny Cueto Have Royals Fans Concerned

By Alec Tilson

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The panic meter for KC Royals pitcher Johnny Cueto reached season-high levels after the team’s ace lost his fourth consecutive game yesterday.

Cueto lasted just three innings in a 7-5 loss to the Chicago White Sox, and he’s now allowed four earned runs or more in four straight starts.

It’s a stretch to forget for Cueto, but it’s not something that should disturb Royals fans the way it has.

There’s reason to be concerned about Cueto, but the notion that he’s no longer an ace, that he’s not prepared to carry the Royals into October, is simply premature.

Working in favor of the idea that Cueto is just fine: He’s walked seven batters in 50 innings since joining the Royals.

This is a 3.24 ERA, 1.17 WHIP pitcher over 1,386 career innings. That sample size doesn’t lie. He’s earned the benefit of the doubt that this four-game slump is an aberration.

Find me a Major League Baseball player who doesn’t go through slumps and I’ll find a rainbow and a mountain of Skittles.

Angels outfielder Mike Trout just went 27 consecutive games without a home run before yesterday. He had seven RBI in 29 games in August. Mariners ace Felix Hernandez allowed a combined 23 earned runs in a four-start stretch from July 29 to August 9.

There’s not a simple explanation for it, but it’s an inevitability when playing 162 games in six months.

Of course, this assumes Cueto is healthy, his elbow is fine, his legs are underneath him, and he’s doing all the right things to prepare himself to pitch.

We have to assume he is. He’s due to become an unrestricted free agent after this season, and he’s doing his pocketbook no favors by failing to perform down the stretch.

His velocity seems to be fine. ESPN Stats & Info suggests Cueto is struggling with a particular pitch:

Cueto’s cutter seems to be a pitch he’s been finding his feel for in his last four starts, and that certainly could be part of the issue.

Working in favor of the idea that Cueto is just fine: He’s walked seven batters in 50 innings since joining the Royals. While he’s not getting results, specifically in this four-game stretch, he owns a 17/3 K/BB in those four losses.

There still seems to be times when Cueto and catcher Salvador Perez aren’t on the same page, but that’s to be expected when you add such a high-level pitcher to a moving train. Cueto brings a range of pitches and deliveries to the table, and perhaps he and Perez are still figuring each other out.

Remember, before Cueto’s struggles began in Boston on August 21, he’d thrown 30 innings of six-run baseball for the Royals, striking out 21 and walking 4. He didn’t allow a home run in his first four starts with Kansas City.

As long as he’s healthy, expect a quick turnaround from the Royals’ number one starter.

Next: NEXT: Odd Man Out Of Playoff Rotation

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