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Kansas City Royals: Future rotation should be solid

By Leigh Oleszczak

NEW YORK, NY - JULY 28: Salvador Perez #13 and Brad Keller #56 of the Kansas City Royals talk during the game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on July 28, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. Kansas City Royals defeated the New York Yankees 10-5. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JULY 28: Salvador Perez #13 and Brad Keller #56 of the Kansas City Royals talk during the game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on July 28, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. Kansas City Royals defeated the New York Yankees 10-5. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
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The Kansas City Royals are in rebuild mode and are trying to acquire players who can help them win in the next four or five years. Their rotation in particular could be really good.

When the Kansas City Royals won the World Series in 2015, they did it behind strong defense and an even stronger bullpen. The starting rotation was one of the weaker areas for the Royals then, but all they had to do was make it through six innings and then the dynamic bullpen would come in and get the job done.

Things are a tad bit different now. For one, the bullpen is awful. That’ll be an area the Royals really need to work on improving, but the rotation should be pretty good, assuming everything pans out (which isn’t a guarantee).

As of now, the Royals have Brad Keller as the bright spot in their rotation. The 23-year old rookie has been sensational this year, twirling 82.1 innings with a 3.39 ERA. He’s had his ups and downs, getting rocked in certain games, but that’s typical for a 23 year old rookie pitcher.

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If Keller can finish this season off as well as he’s been all season long, the Kansas City Royals might have really stumbled onto something great with him. He could even be the future ace if things REALLY pan out.

Of course, Danny Duffy will still be around for the next few years, assuming he’s not traded between now and then. Duffy started off with a rough 2018 season, but has rebounded nicely. He still has an ERA over four, but it’s come down from an over six ERA, so Royals fans should feel good about that.

As for the rest of the future rotation, Jakob Junis is still someone to keep an eye on, despite his last few starts. His ERA is at 5.12 as of now, but he was throwing straight fire earlier on in the year. It’s just evident now that batters have figured him out, plus he’s been injured this season. Next year will be crucial to see what the Royals truly have in Junis.

Finally, the most recent draft, which saw the Royals draft five pitchers in the first round (including the supplemental draft). Brady Singer and Jackson Kowar were the first two picks in the draft for KC and should be very important for the rebuilding of the rotation. Both were standout pitchers at Florida and won a College World Series title with the Gators. The Royals need that kind of leadership during this next wave.

Throw in some under the radar names like Josh Staumont (who fans have been waiting to see for awhile now), Trevor Oaks, and Janser Lara, and the Royals could really have a nice group in the coming years. They also have three other first rounders in Daniel Lynch, Kris Bubic, and Jonathan Bowlan, all of whom could help the team when their call-ups come.

While rebuilds suck, it’ll be fun to watch the rotation start to gel and come together. It’s been awhile since the Kansas City Royals have had a truly dominating starting rotation and this is their chance to do just that.

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