Kansas City Royals: Starting Pitching Options

Kris Medlen: Steamer Projection – 23 Starts

Kris Medlen was another sneaky signing by Dayton Moore in 2015. Coming off his second round of Tommy John‘s surgery, Medlen was going to miss at least half of the 2015 campaign and there was no guarantee he’d be any good when he came back.

Medlen didn’t quite live up to his previous dominance, but he was still pretty good in 2015. He pitched just over 58 innings and posted a 4.01 ERA. That’s not great, but it’s not bad for someone who was trying to get a feel for pitching again.

Medlen now get’s a full off-season to prepare for a campaign without having to go through months of rehab prior to in-game action. With the Royals’ training staff and pitching coach extraordinaire Dave Eiland at his side, Medlen could turn into the staff ‘Ace’ in 2016.

If Medlen can pitch even remotely close to his 2013 numbers, the Royals will be in excellent shape.

He’s kind of the forgotten piece of this staff so far. It seems like a forgone conclusion that there are three pitchers locked into the rotation but Medlen seems to fall to the wayside sometimes. If his full off-season of preparation is effective, he’s the dark horse among the Royals’ starters.

If Medlen can pitch even remotely close to his 2013 numbers, the Royals will be in excellent shape. In 2013, he put up a 3.11 ERA in just under 200 innings of work. If he can get his strikeout and walk rates back to career norms, he has a good shot at duplicating that success.

He’s got a lot to prove in 2016. He does have a mutual option in 2017, but if he has a big year he’s probably earned a big payday in the 2016-2017 off-season.

Next: Grin And Bear It