Kansas City Royals: Pitchers who could make starting rotation in 2019

STARTING ROTATION CANDIDATES – DANNY DUFFY

Last, but not least, we have Danny Duffy. Like it or not, Duffy will be the number one starter coming out of Spring Training, unless he’s injured or someone just absolutely wows the staff in Surprise.

Speaking of injured, that’s been Duffy’s issue for his entire career. He landed on the disabled list twice last year and finished the year with an ERA of 4.88. He threw in 155 innings, which was the second most in his career behind the 179.2 he had in 2016.

Duffy is heading into year three of that big extension he signed after his nice campaign in 2016. While he’s made it clear he wants to be a Royal for his entire career, he is someone who could be traded at some point.

Duffy is a likable guy, but he needs to stay healthy and eat innings for this ball club. He’s the number one starter for a reason and we need to see number one type stats from him. He’s a lock to make the rotation though, barring something drastic.