Kansas City Royals: Rotation could be bright spot for 2018 Royals

The Kansas City Royals might not have a great 2018 season, but their rotation has the potential to be the highlight of the team.

It was announced on Thursday by Ned Yost that Danny Duffy would be starting Opening Day for the Kansas City Royals. There’s definitely no surprise there, as Duffy is head and shoulders the best starting pitcher on the roster.

Yost also said that Ian Kennedy would be the number two starter, but the other three spots are up for grabs. If the team went with what worked for them last year, the obvious three starters after Duffy and Kennedy would be Jason Hammel, Nathan Karns, and Jakob Junis in that order.

Kennedy needs to have a bounce back year after struggling mightily in 2017, but the Royals are paying him way too much money to not have him start. Hammel had a nice second half of the season while Junis stepped up big time as a rookie last year.

Karns only started eight games before missing the rest of the year with an injury. He’s struggled to stay healthy throughout his career, but fortunately, the Royals have some serious depth should any of these five either get injured or just not pitch well.

Even if some of these guys get injured or simply don’t pan out, the Royals have other options to slot into the rotation.

Looking back to last year, the Kansas City Royals’ rotation was actually pretty good throughout the year, but the lineup’s cold hitting and the inconsistent bullpen were the undoing of the 2017 Royals. That very well could be the same story in 2018.

We know what we’re getting out of Duffy. While he hit the disabled list twice last year, he still notched a 3.81 ERA. We should get similar production out of Duffy in 2018, but it’d obviously be nice if he could stay healthy.

Kennedy is the guy who makes me nervous. He was downright awful last season and for what the Royals are paying him, that’s unacceptable. Kennedy was brought to Kansas City to be an innings eater and he did anything but that a season ago. He has to step up in 2018 or this could go down as one of the worst contracts in Kansas City Royals history.

Jason Hammel is in the final year of his deal, so he’d be an easy player to trade if he performs well. His 2017 stats didn’t look all that impressive, but Hammel had a nice second half to the season. Let’s hope he picks up where he left off.

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As mentioned above, Karns wasn’t on the mound much last year. He pitched one game out of the bullpen (and got lit up) and then started eight games before landing on the disabled list. It’s not a question of Karns’ production, as his strikeout numbers are exceptional and he doesn’t walk many guys. Karns’ issue has always been that he can’t stay healthy.

Junis had a remarkable rookie season for the Royals, but can he follow that up in 2018? That’ll be the big question with the former 29th round pick.

Even if some of these guys get injured or simply don’t pan out, the Royals have other options to slot into the rotation. Trevor Oaks is a name to watch and it’s tough to imagine the Royals traded for him to NOT have him in the rotation. He’ll probably be the first one put into a starting role should someone be removed from it.

Jesse Hahn was a player I was excited for too, but he, like Karns, has been bitten by the injury bug frequently throughout his career. That’s probably why Oakland was willing to trade him despite him being just 26 years old. Hahn is on the disabled list as of this moment, so that’s not reassuring.

Some low key names to watch for are Ricky Nolasco, Wily Peralta, and Eric Skoglund, all of whom have starting experience. Skoglund is still young and it’d make sense for him to begin the season in the bullpen or in the minor leagues before he’s a permanent staple in the rotation.

When looking at the Kansas City Royals’ roster, the rotation is definitely the area where I feel the most confident. Hopefully the starting five come through and put the Royals in a great spot to contend.

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