Kansas City Royals: Top Ten Players To Watch In 2017
By Ben Almquist
Kansas City Royals Top Players To Watch: #6
Danny Duffy – SP
If the Kansas City Royals are going to get back to the postseason, they will need much better starting pitching in 2017. That begins with new team ace Danny Duffy. Duffy himself is not new to the Royals, but this will be his first stint at the top of the rotation. Things are a little different there than what he has been used to, but KC needs him to handle the load.
The Royals didn’t get anywhere near the kind of production they needed from the top of their rotation in 2016. That started with Edinson Volquez in the #1 slot. If Danny Duffy can improve that win-loss ratio, it will help the team over the course of the year.
KC finished 8 games out of the Wild Card race last year. Edinson Volquez went 10-11 in 34 starts. So there is plenty of room for improvement with Danny Duffy in that spot. I am fully confident in his ability to add five wins to that total (and maybe a few less losses). That will go a long way towards getting Kansas City back into the postseason.