Kansas City Royals: Can Miguel Almonte get over the hump in 2018
The Kansas City Royals haven’t gotten much out of Miguel Almonte. Can he step it up in the 2018 season or will he fade away?
Free agency is just a wee bit slow this winter, so it’s time to take a look at different players within the Kansas City Royals organization that don’t get discussed as much. One such player is pitcher Miguel Almonte, who the franchise has high hopes for, but he’s yet to really deliver much of anything.
Almonte is 24 years old (he’ll turn 25 just days into the regular season) and while that’s not old by any means, it’s time for him to make some noise on the mound for the Royals. Almonte has appeared in the big leagues just 11 times over the past three seasons (nine in 2015 and two in 2017) and has not done very well over that span.
As of now, Almonte’s ERA from those 11 appearances is a staggering 7.59 with a 1.969 WHIP and 0-2 record. He’s struck out just ten batters and walked nine guys in 10.2 innings of work. These aren’t encouraging numbers, but when Almonte has pitched in the minors, he’s looked significantly better.
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Last year, he had an ERA of 1.86 in Northwest Arkansas (Double-A) and struck out 35 batters while issuing six walks. His 29 innings of work in Double-A was impressive enough that Almonte was called up to the big leagues once Nate Karns went down with an injury.
Almonte got the start in Karns’ absence and that did not go well to say the least. Almonte yielded three runs in just an inning of work.
After that performance, Almonte was demoted to Triple-A Omaha, where he had a 1.50 ERA in 18 innings of work. His 17 strikeouts and seven walks were promising, but Almonte still hasn’t been able to make a splash in the majors.
To make matters worse, Almonte was injured in July and didn’t even get to close out the season. Hopefully the injuries aren’t a trend for Almonte, who has a ton of potential, but has to figure out his command on the mound. If he’s able to do that, the Royals will have a nice young firecracker to slot into their rotation in the future.
For what it’s worth, Baseball Reference projects Almonte will get some work in the big leagues, but only in 26 innings. He’s projected to go 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA while recording 25 strikeouts, ten walks, and even notching a save.
Hey, if the Royals can find a role for Almonte in the bullpen, that’d be great. I just want to see Miguel Almonte show some improvement at the big league level, which so far, he hasn’t been able to do. He’s still young though, which means anything is possible this year.