KC Royals: Chris Young Experiment Is Over

The KC Royals dropped a winnable game to a listless Yankees offense and Chris Young is largely to blame.

The KC Royals are now 15-16 on the year as they fell below the .500 mark for the first time since July 23rd, 2014. Chris Young had a lot to do with the Royals losing another game that saw their starter get a quick hook.

Chris Young gave up five solo shots against the Yankees and left after only 2.2 innings. His longest outing of the season came against Baltimore and saw him get through six quality innings.

Young has now pitched in seven games for the KC Royals and has given up a home run in each of his seven starts. As much as I, and the rest of the KC Royals’ fans love him, it’s time for the Chris Young experiment to be over.

The Royals gambled big on Young last year, but they did so at a minimal expense to the team. This off-season, they rewarded Young for his efforts with a fairly hefty salary. Some of the salary was considered back pay for what he had done for the Royals in 2015.

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Last year, Chris Young had an ERA of 3.06 in 123.1 innings of work for the Royals. He gave up only 16 home runs on the season, which isn’t bad for a pitcher who’s prone to allow fly balls.

Young has an ERA of 6.68 on the short season, which is nearly three points higher than his career mark of 3.75. If he were to continue the season at this pace, it would be the worst season the 36-year-old pitcher has ever endured.

Perhaps the problem for Chris Young is that his fastball isn’t moving as much this season.

According to Brooks Baseball, Young’s fastball has an average velocity of greater than 88 mph this season. He never averaged that last year. Maybe that extra oomph is enough to let the batters get a good swing on it as opposed to being out on their front foot.

Brooks Baseball also shows that Chris Young is releasing the ball with a higher release point this season in comparison to last year. That could  mean the hitter is getting more of a look at the ball instead of it hiding behind his head and disappearing.

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Whatever the issue, trying to find the fix while the Royals’ bats are cold and the rotation is in need of some stability isn’t the answer. The Royals have a player on the team they can turn to and it’s time to take a look.

Dillon Gee saved the bullpen in a big way last night as he pitched 5.1 innings of one-run baseball. He gave up just three hits and a walk in his outing and also struck out three.

Dillon Gee isn’t going to strikeout the side every inning, but he’s going to keep the ball in the yard. At least he has in his outings so far. He’s got a 1.26 WHIP and an ERA of 2.61 on the season and does have four gopher balls to his credit. Two of them came in one outing to a team that took it to the Royals in a 13-2 loss to the Nationals.

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Chris Young has been great for the Royals at times, but recently hasn’t been one of those times. He can still be of value to the team, but he needs to find his confidence and his fastball location before he’s ready to help out again.