Kansas City Royals: Kelvin Herrera settling down
By Ben Almquist
It was not a great start to the season for Kansas City Royals closer Kelvin Herrera. However, over the past couple of weeks, he looks to be in a groove.
During the first half of the season, there has been a lot of frustration regarding the Kansas City Royals bullpen. Specifically, fans have not been too happy with Kelvin Herrera in the closer role. However, over the past couple of weeks, Herrera appears to have settled down and found his groove.
Kelvin Herrera has converted his last five save opportunities, the longest stretch of the season for him. While that might not sound overly impressive, it’s a step in the right direction and that’s what is important. After all, you can’t put ten in a row if you never got to five, right?
More importantly, during this current stretch Herrera hasn’t allowed a single run. That is definitely a major step in the right direction. In fact, outside of his disastrous showing against Houston, Kelvin Herrera has allowed only a single run all month long.
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Can He Keep It Up?
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There is no denying that the bullpen has been a bit of a weakness for the Royals this season. A lot of that does have to do with Kelvin Herrera. Teams pay their closers to be a sure thing. That’s why there has been so much frustration with Herrera this year. That frustration is magnified when seeing what former Royals closer Greg Holland is doing for the Rockies.
However, there is always a way for a player to put fan frustration to rest…play better. Fortunately, that seems to be what Kelvin Herrera is doing right now. If he keeps it up, that can be a huge boost for the Royals as they continue to make a play for the AL Central.
With the trade deadline looming, it is especially important for Herrera to play well. If the Royals are going to make any additions this year, it would stand to reason that they will look for bullpen help. Moving Kelvin Herrera back to a setup role could absolutely be in the works. However, closers generally cost more money than setup men, so KC would definitely prefer Herrera step up.
The Kansas City Royals have drastically changed their fortunes this year. For whatever reason, this team has waited until June to start playing their best baseball. The team as a whole is stepping up, but Kelvin Herrera is certainly one of the more impressive turnarounds. If he can keep it up, things should get much easier for the Royals.