KC Royals News: Ian Kennedy Is The Real Deal
By Scott Dillon
Today’s KC Royals news is focused on the gamble taken by the Royals on Ian Kennedy. So far he looks like the ‘Ace’ up their sleeve.
It is very early into the season, but so far Ian Kennedy looks to be worth every bit of the money he received in the off-season.
Through 13.2 innings of work he has given up seven hits and three walks. He’s also only given up one earned run that came on an opposite field home run by Jose Altuve. It wasn’t even a bad pitch.
It was low in the zone but Altuve has the benefit of having low fastballs be right in his wheelhouse. There are some perks to being one of the shortest players in the league.
He’s got a 0.73 WHIP and a 0.66 ERA to go along with 14 strikeouts on the young season. Maybe Dave Eiland is just a wizard.
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Right now, among pitchers to pitch at least 13.2 innings of work, Ian Kennedy trails only Vincent Velasquez in ERA. He’s the only Royals’ pitcher to have a WHIP under 1.00 currently. If that trend continues, he could turn into the Royals’ ace and make Dayton Moore look like even more of a genius.
Last year, Kennedy’s first 13.2 innings went much differently. It took him four starts to reach the 13.2 inning mark, though he hit it after completing the first inning of his fourth game. His results were nearly the opposite of his start this season.
He left his first start of the season with a hamstring injury after only 2.1 innings and wouldn’t make his next start until April 25th. In his first 13.2 innings he gave up 16 hits, six walks, five home runs, ten earned runs, and only struck out ten. He also put a man on by hitting him with the baseball.
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So far Kennedy has exceeded the expectations of most people. There were a lot of media outlets and Royals’ fans who were down on the signing (Myself included). At least early he has, a lot like Edinson Volquez last season, started to turn some heads.
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As of now, the Royals are 7-2 on the season. The last time the Royals started a season with a record of seven wins and two losses, they would go on to win the World Series.
Well what do you think KC Royals’ fans? Is Kennedy going to be a great pitcher for the Royals this season? What were your expectations for him coming into the season? What are they now? Is it a fluke so far? Let me know your thoughts in the comments’ section below.