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

STARTING ROTATION CANDIDATES – JESSE HAHN

The Royals added Jesse Hahn to their ranks when they sent Ryan Buchter to Oakland before the 2018 season began. He didn’t appear in a single inning for the Royals due to injury, but the hope is that he can go out there and compete in 2019.

Hahn was a good starter for San Diego and Oakland early in his career, notching two seasons with an ERA under four. He went off the rails a bit in both 2016 and 2017, but if the Royals can get anything from him, that should be considered a win in itself.

Hahn is 29 years old, so he’s not going to be a part of the rebuild long-term. If the Royals can use him as a reliever and maybe give him a few starts here and there, that’d be great.

The reason Hahn appears so high on this list is that he has previous starting experience. He started 50 games for the Padres an Athletics over four years (one in San Diego, three in Oakland)  and threw in 286 total innings. He’s yet to go over 100 innings, however, and as a starter, that’s not great.

Hahn will only get into the rotation due to his previous experience as a starter. Otherwise, he will mostly be a bullpen option.