Kansas City Royals: Takeaways from April of 2019 season

The first month of baseball is a wrap. With that, there are several questions to answer. What were the biggest takeaways from April? Also, where do the Kansas City Royals go from here?

As the calendar turns to May, the Kansas City Royals are firmly in last place with an eye sore of a record at 12-23. With the two wins in May, they are the third worst team in all of baseball. So, how did the Royals get into this mess?

For starters, the Royals’ team ERA is hovering at an ugly 5.10 . Royals starters have combined to throw a measly 5.13 ERA.

Two of pitchers with some of the highest ERAs on the team are Brad Keller (4.89) and Homer Bailey (5.70). These two were selected over other candidates because the represent both the future and the present of the team.

Brad Keller is a young controllable pitcher who if he succeeds, the team can build around. While Homer Bailey was brought in to be a bounce back candidate that if successful could provide some possible quality prospects in a trade.

So, why are they struggling? Brad Keller was struggling with 22 walks in 35 innings. Keller has also given up 30 hits in his 35 innings. These stats correlate to two innings that have given Keller the most trouble. They are the fifth (4.50 ERA) and second 6.75 ERA.

If Keller can work on keeping his pitch count down in his first trip through the lineup this could help drive down his ERA. To do this, he cannot fall behind hitters.

One of the toughest parts of baseball is keeping up with adjustments. Last year Keller was successful because the hitters at the MLB level hadn’t seen him. As they have seen him so far, they have adjusted while Keller needs to make a few adjustments.

If and when Keller makes these adjustments, his value will increase. He may become tradebait if the Royals see a package that makes too much sense or he can’t make adjustments.