Kansas City Royals: Five bold predictions for 2019

Kansas City Royals Bold Predictions for 2019: Number One

Danny Duffy Places in the Top 10 in Cy Young Voting

Maybe this is going on too much of a limb here, but I’m expecting the Royals southpaw to break through in a big way in 2019. He’s shown flashes before, especially in 2014 when he posted a career-low 2.53 ERA over 149.1 innings pitched.

After his ERA ballooned to over four in 2016, Duffy again pitched well in 2017 when he threw a career-high 179.2 innings. That season, he went 12-3 with over nine strikeouts per nine innings. Overall, he fanned 188 batters and his WHIP was 1.14.

And yet, that season he also made 16 appearances out of the bullpen. In the last two seasons, he’s exclusively started, making a combined 52 starts. The results have been mixed: he posted a 3.81 ERA in 2017 before it jumped more than a run in 2018, settling at 4.88.

Duffy’s 30 now, no longer the young gun he used to be. He’s not quite the elder statesman of the rotation, either, but 2019 will be his ninth season. Over the next three seasons, he’s set to earn a total of $46 million.

For the Royals to have any chance to succeed between now and the end of his contract, Duffy needs to pitch like an ace, more along the lines of where he was in 2014 and 2016 than 2018.

He’s got the mentality to do it. He loves this team and this town. (Just scroll through his Twitter.) With his pitching repertoire, he’s got the stuff to make the jump, too. A dominant lefty can be almost unhittable.

If Duffy can lower his ERA while setting a new career high in innings pitched–something around 200 would be ideal–while getting back to striking out around one hitter per inning, then he can challenge Chris Sale and Blake Snell for the title of the best left-handed starting pitcher in the American League. He could also give the likes of Justin Verlander, and Corey Kluber a run for their money in Cy Young voting.