KC Royals: Projecting the Starting Rotation for 2016

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Oct 23, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Yordano Ventura (30) reacts as he is relieved in the sixth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays in game six of the ALCS at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports /

The Ace and Opening Day Starter: Yordano Ventura

Yordano Ventura started off with a bang in 2015 and gave Royals’ fans a scare in each of his outings over the first month. Either he was writhing on the ground in pain or trying to test Mike Trout‘s boxing ability.

By the end of April, Ventura had national media talking about the Royals in a way that Royals’ fans weren’t comfortable with. They were labeling them the ‘bad boys’ of baseball, and Ventura was the catalyst.

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Everything went downhill from there for Ventura. His confidence was visibly shaken and it was apparent on the mound. He looked far removed from the confident young man who had taken the mound in game six of the 2014 World Series. A game that saw him shut down the eventual World Champs.

Things got so bad for Ventura that he was sent down to the minors mid-season. The staff ace had been demoted and Royals’ fans wondered if they’d ever see him return to any sort of success. He didn’t even step on the bus to Omaha as an injury to Jason Vargas forced his return to the rotation.

He was downright dominate over the last 13 starts of the season striking out 11 batters on three separate occasions.

No one is really sure what happened to Ventura at that time, but something clicked. Ventura didn’t put up a dominate second half posting only a 3.56 ERA, but it was much better than his first half which saw him pitching to a 4.73 ERA. He was downright dominate over the last 13 starts of the season striking out 11 batters on three separate occasions. He kept improving as the season went on posting a 3.14 ERA over his final seven starts.

If Ventura comes to camp with the same confidence that he ended the season with, he should be in line to be the staff Ace again in 2016. Will he be able to keep his composure and live up to the hype? Hopefully he has learned from past mistakes and will come out in April ready to do some damage. Hopefully this year the damage is to the other teams instead of the Royals.

Next: Wrap It Up Already

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