KC Royals: Who Should Be Named Closer in 2016

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Oct 27, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Danny Duffy throws a pitch against the New York Mets in the 7th inning in game one of the 2015 World Series at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /

Danny Duffy

Danny Duffy is the dark horse candidate for closer in 2016 in my opinion. He’s been extremely effective out of the bullpen although he has a very small sample size.

Duffy is another Royal who showed a lot of promise as a prospect and at times has showed promise as a starter. His inability to repeat his mechanics and tendency of offering free passes is often times his undoing.

He’s got very good ‘stuff’ as a pitcher, but when he has to take some off of it to prolong his outings, it may be just enough to let him get hit around the yard. If he can focus on an inning and throw his best pitches at their best, he has a good chance of being a lock down reliever and even the closer.

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When I say Duffy has a small sample size as a reliever, it’s almost non-existent. He has pitched 16.2 innings of relief in his career and carries a 1.08 ERA in that time. The impressive stat is his Ks/9 which jumps to 12.4 as a reliever, compared to 6.9 as a starter. He also walks people less frequently out of the bullpen. Part of his success may be the ability to run his fastball up to 98 MPH compared to an average of 92 as a starter.

Danny Duffy, if given the chance to close, could be dominate, but he should have a very short leash. While Duffy is the last person I expect to land the job, he’s an interesting candidate nonetheless.

Next: Who Should Close?

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