Kansas City Royals have something special with Brad Keller
The Kansas City Royals slotted Brad Keller into the rotation over two weeks ago and the 22-year old righty has done well in his three starts so far.
Originally the Kansas City Royals rotation consisted of Danny Duffy, Ian Kennedy, Jason Hammel, Jakob Junis, and Eric Skoglund. Skoglund is on the disabled list at the moment and that’s how reliever Brad Keller got to prove himself as a starter.
Out of that original rotation, only Junis has been worth watching. Now that Keller has joined him as a starter, however, there are two young pitchers on the rise for the KC Royals.
Keller was good out of the bullpen, but the Royals might have something special in him as a starter. He’s thrown 12.2 innings and has allowed four runs total in three starts. He’s slowly been able to throw more and more pitches and on Sunday went 5.1 innings while only surrendering two runs to the Athletics.
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The Royals showed that they have a strong focus on pitching over this rebuild, picking up 24 pitchers over the past week, both through the draft and the Jon Jay trade. Junis has been clutch this year and Keller, in his small sample size, has also pitched incredibly well so far.
Just imagine this: It’s two or three years into the future and the Kansas City Royals rotation consists of Danny Duffy (likely in the last year of his deal), Jakob Junis, Brad Keller, Brady Singer, and Jackson Kowar. That could be pretty lethal.
Four of those five pitches are youngsters and that’d give the Royals a deadly rotation for years to come. Now, of course, Singer and Kowar have yet to throw a pitch in the Royals organization, but let me have my moment, okay?
Back to Keller, he’s been a great addition to the rotation. While it’s a long season and he’s bound to have some struggles at some point, he’s shown early on that he’s a viable starting option for the Royals moving forward.
Even when Eric Skoglund comes back, it’d be foolish to remove Keller from the rotation if the Royals see him as a legitimate option. He’s dealing right now and with this being a rebuild season, it’s the perfect opportunity to see what the guy can do in low-pressure situations.
In a season where there haven’t been a lot of positives, Brad Keller has been a bright spot for the Kansas City Royals. Let’s hope he can continue to look this good on the mound and be a big piece for the Royals moving forward.