Kansas City Royals: Starting Pitching Options
By Scott Dillon
Miguel Almonte: Steamer Projection – Five Starts
Miguel Almonte had a rough debut in 2015 but shows a lot of promise for a young pitcher.
He’s capable of running his fastball up around 100 miles per hour and appears to have the durability to be a starting pitcher at some point in his career. Even if he’s relegated to the bullpen, another fireballer at the back-end isn’t a bad problem.
He’s very young at only 22 years of age and has plenty of time to develop. He’s a couple of years younger than Yordano Ventura and doesn’t become arbitration eligible until 2019.
Maybe being a mentor himself will help Ventura even more. Ventura could take a slightly younger pitcher like Almonte under his wing and it may help both of them mature.
That gives the Royals a player they can take time to develop over the next few years. He can potentially fill out the back-end of a rotation and gives the Royals a couple of flamethrowers in the rotation if he can stick there.
Almonte only saw time as a reliever for the Royals in 2015. It will be interesting to see how he performs as a starter if given the opportunity. He’s got the tools to be successful and may offer the Royals another hidden benefit.
Yordano Ventura benefited from the tutelage of Volquez last season. Maybe being a mentor himself will help Ventura even more. Ventura could take a slightly younger pitcher like Almonte under his wing and it may help both of them mature.
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