Kansas City Royals: Brad Keller deserves Opening Day start

The Kansas City Royals have made their decision regarding who will start on the mound for them come Opening Day. The lucky guy is Brad Keller! The 23-year old is more than deserving of this nod.

The Kansas City Royals‘ 2019 season opens up on Thursday, March 28th, and the team has already made a decision as to who will be their starting pitcher for that afternoon. The winner is Brad Keller.

Keller was a Rule-5 draft pick last year via Arizona and went on to become a huge impact player for Kansas City in his rookie year. The right-hander threw 140.1 innings last year with a 3.08 ERA and 1.304 WHIP.

Keller’s rise to dominance was pretty surprising, as he started off as just a guy in the bullpen. After becoming the most reliable reliever out of the pen, Keller was moved to the starting rotation when injuries started to pile up.

Keller never did go back to the pen after his promotion. He became one of the best players on the team and honestly – a strong argument could have been made for him to be the Royals’ representative in the All-Star Game last year. He was that good.

More from Kansas City Royals

• This Plus-Money Bobby Witt Jr. Prop Bet is on Fire (Hit in 15/21 Games)!
• The Royals Need to Extend Bobby Witt Jr. Immediately
• DraftKings + FanDuel Kansas Promos: INSTANT $150 Bonus Plus Two Chances to Win!
• 3 Royals Players Who Won’t Be on the Roster Next Year
• LAST CHANCE to Claim $250 GUARANTEED Bonus With FanDuel and DraftKings Kansas Promos!

While Keller hasn’t been as dominant in Spring Training, his 2019 projections per Baseball Reference would definitely be acceptable for the Royals this year. Those projections have him throwing 112 innings with a 3.38 ERA.

Obviously fans want to see the inning total higher, but injuries happen quite a lot when it comes to MLB pitchers. A 3.38 ERA in only his second MLB season would be a great sign for what’s to come with the Royals as they rebuild and try to get back to the top.

When looking at the rest of the potential starters in the Royals rotation, it makes perfect sense that Keller was chosen for this role.

Danny Duffy will be on the shelf for a bit with an injury. Ian Kennedy is Ian Kennedy. The only other logical choice would be Jakob Junis, but Keller was definitely the better option between the two. That left 23-year old Brad Keller as the man on the mound come Opening Day when the Kansas City Royals open their 2019 season against the divisional rival Chicago White Sox.

While no one is surprised about this announcement, it definitely signifies how close Opening Day is and even though the Royals might not be all that competitive this season, this time of year is a thing of beauty for baseball fans.