Kansas City Royals: What went wrong in 2017 season

WHAT WENT WRONG IN 2017 – BULLPEN TOO INCONSISTENT

The bullpen in general was pretty bad in 2017, which was so painful after going through the H-D-H years in Kansas City. Back then, having a good bullpen is what got the Royals to two World Series and why they won 2015’s world title.

This season it was clear early on that this bullpen was a shell of its former self. The biggest issue with this bullpen was that no clear guy stood out as being dominant. In the past, the Royals had the likes of Greg Holland and Wade Davis shutting things down.

This season it was clear early on that this bullpen was a shell of its former self.

Kelvin Herrera just wasn’t meant to be a closer (though he did record 26 saves), as he struggled near the end of the year and was pulled from his closing duties. Herrera’s 4.25 ERA was something that was worrisome for sure.

The best names out of the Royals pen come season’s end were Scott Alexander (2.48 ERA), Mike Minor (2.55 ERA), and Ryan Buchter (2.67 ERA) and not many expected those to be the best relievers on this team. Alexander and Minor each spent time as the closer, but for the most part, the Royals pen was unreliable.

All of this was even more painful when we had to watch Wade Davis shut things down for the Cubs and Greg Holland getting things done in Colorado for the Rockies. The Royals could have had both of those guys, and the old H-D-H trio could have been reunited.

Alas, it wasn’t meant to be.