Kansas City Royals: Five questions to answer in Spring Training

FIVE QUESTIONS TO ANSWER IN SPRING TRAINING

NUMBER 1 – WHO IS GOING TO BE THE FIFTH STARTER?

This and number two could be flip flopped, but both are the big looming questions as the Royals head to Surprise for the start of the preseason. Four of the five rotation spots are basically filled with Danny Duffy as the ace, Brad Keller, overpaid Ian Kennedy, and Jakob Junis who is hopefully going to be one of the vets in the rotation in the coming years.

That leaves one spot open. Who will win it?

I wrote a few weeks ago how Jorge Lopez deserves the fifth spot, but Heath Fillmyer is absolutely someone who could work his way up as the number five starter. Fillmyer showed he could eat innings last season and that’s vital for any starter.

The Royals are fortunate to have most of their rotation already figured out, but the fifth starter is going to be a lot more important than people think. Eric Skoglund would have been a nice choice to throw in there, at least to start the year, but he was popped with an 80-game suspension several weeks ago.

That opens the door for someone else to step up and win the five spot. While my money would be on Lopez or Fillmyer winning it, don’t be surprised if someone unexpected comes in and wins the job.