Kansas City Royals: Five bold predictions for 2019
By Cullen Jekel
One candidate is last year’s surprising incumbent, Wily Peralta, who will turn 30 in May.
Last season, the former 17-game winner with the Brewers slid into Herrera’s spot rather seamlessly, finishing 30 games and collecting 14 saves. 2018 was Peralta’s first season primarily out of the bullpen.
Along the way, his numbers all improved over his previous three seasons. Granted, he only pitched a shade over 34 innings. If he pitches well, it becomes more likely that the team picks up their end of his mutual option for 2020.
Another candidate is Kyle Zimmer, the team’s former fifth overall draft pick in 2012. The oft-injured right-hander was released by the Royals after last season, but re-signed last month.
A reclamation project if there ever was one, Zimmer first has to make the major league squad. But with his injury history, he’s most likely slotted for the bullpen as opposed to the rotation. Whenever the Royals actually find themselves out of it, giving Zimmer a shot as the team’s next closer may be worthwhile.
One last in-house candidate to keep an eye on: prospect Richard Lovelady. Aside from having a killer name, Lovelady was recently named by MLB’s Jeffrey Flanagan as the Royals prospect to watch in 2019.
Drafted by the Royals in the tenth round of the 2016 draft out of Kennesaw State, the 23-year-old southpaw has a career minor-league ERA of 2.02 to go with a 9-6 record and 28 saves.
Exclusively a relief pitcher, Lovelady spent all of 2016 in Rookie Ball before rocketing up the organizational ladder, spending the entirety of 2018 with the Omaha StormChasers. Hopefully, his ascent continues in 2019, culminating with him taking over the Major League squad’s closer role for years to come.