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Kansas City Royals: Ground Ball Starter Needed

By Charles Lam

Jul 3, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Kyle Gibson (44) throws a pitch against the Texas Rangers during the first inning at Target Field. Choo hit a solo home run on the pitch. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 3, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Kyle Gibson (44) throws a pitch against the Texas Rangers during the first inning at Target Field. Choo hit a solo home run on the pitch. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Kansas City Royals desperately need  a ground ball starting pitcher. The home run rate is ridiculous. A ground ball starter should help the total home runs be lower and in turn may bring more wins.

As a unit, the Kansas City Royals pitching staff has allowed 107 home runs half way through the 2016 season. A couple of pitchers stand out among the rest. Chris Young and Ian Kennedy gave up a total of 42 home runs by themselves. Young’s give up 22 and Kennedy has let 20 home runs fly out of the ballpark.

These two guys are dragging down the overall starting pitching in terms of the long ball. Chris Young has done even more to hurt the Kansas City Royals. He’s carrying a plus six earned run average through 12 games started (6.24). Young’s home run per nine statistic is a dreadful 3.4. He also allows 4.5 walks per nine innings making most of the long balls given up become more painful since guys are on base.

Ian Kennedy isn’t out of the blame game. The Kansas City Royals gave him good money this off-season to come in and help solidify this rotation. He’s done an okay job for the Royals but I was expecting a little more from him.

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I didn’t expect the home run ball to play much of a factor when he became a Kansas City Royal. I thought Kauffman Stadium would hold most of his fly balls. He’s given up four home runs at home but 16 on the road. It seems as if “the K” is working. He’s got a 2.11 ERA at home in six starts compared to an awful 5.37 ERA on the road in 10 starts.

Kennedy has allowed at least one home run in his last six starts. In the first four games of the stretch he allowed 10 home runs four of which came in one game at the Chicago White Sox on June 10th.

Unbelievably, Kennedy’s ERA isn’t too high. His total ERA during the season is 4.04. Unfortunately, his home verses away split numbers are hard to look at. If only he could pitch at Kauffman Stadium each game. Then he could have ace like numbers.

The Kansas City Royals need to find a ground ball pitcher to help even these absurd home run totals. Unfortunately, it’s a bit too early to know who will and won’t be available on the trade market but we can take a look at horrible teams for a ground ball pitcher that could he the Royals win.

The Kansas City Royals might want to take a look at Kyle Gibson of the Minnesota Twins. I know they are inside the division but his ground ball percentage is too good to pass on. He’s got a 54.1 ground ball percentage through 52 1/3 innings pitched this season according to Fangraphs. He’s carried an over 50 percent ground ball rate for the past three seasons and continues that trend this season.

The Twins are 27-54 and are going no place anytime soon. Last season was an anomaly. The team should be looking to rebuild with young guys. The Royals have a few young guys the Twins might like.

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Hunter Dozier, Brett Eibner, Reymound Fuentes and others could be possible trade pieces to acquire Gibson. It may not take those guys either. The Royals might be able to package some young guys from A or AA to get Gibson.

Gibson is a former Missouri Tiger. He’s a tall right hander at 6’6″ and looks even taller on the mound. He’s 28-years-old and doesn’t become a free agent until the 2020 season. His salary this season is $587,500. These numbers maybe too good for the Twins to trade him but it’s worth trying.

If the Kansas City Royals can get a reliable ground ball pitcher in the rotation that should help the team win more games. The Royals infield defense is something special to watch with guys like Alcides Escobar, Cheslor Cuthbert, Whit Merrifield and Eric Hosmer making highlight reel plays every night. Gibson would be able to use this great defense to his advantage and get through innings quickly saving his arm and most importantly the bullpen arms.

The Royals may not want to give some of their pieces to an inner division foe but if it helps bring home another World Series Championship they need to do it. If not him they need someone like him. A guy that’s under team control for a while and is cheap salary wise.

Next: Kansas City Royals: Ten Best Closers Of All-Time

I think the Royals will acquire a starting pitcher before the August 1st trade deadline. I hope it’s a ground ball pitcher. Only time will tell. Now the waiting game begins.

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