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Kansas City Royals: Young pitchers need to show progress for future

By Leigh Oleszczak

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - MAY 18: Pitcher Jakob Junis #65 of the Kansas City Royals pitches in the first inning of the MLB game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on May 18, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - MAY 18: Pitcher Jakob Junis #65 of the Kansas City Royals pitches in the first inning of the MLB game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on May 18, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images) /
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The Kansas City Royals aren’t a good team in 2019, but their starting pitching has especially hit a wall as of late. In order for the rebuild to be considered a success, fans need to see more out of this starting pitching staff.

When looking at the future of the Kansas City Royals, the starting rotation in the contending years has the potential to be pretty exciting.

That starting rotation could potentially consist of Brad Keller, Jakob Junis, Jorge Lopez, Brady Singer, Jackson Kowar, and Daniel Lynch. Obviously there won’t be six guys in it, but that’s a good looking group of pitchers, don’t you think?

Three of those aforementioned pitchers are in this year’s starting rotation and none of them are really wowing Royals fans at the moment.

Keller had a nice outing in St. Louis the other day, twirling seven innings of two-run ball, but for the most part, he’s been a disappointment this season. In Keller’s defense, it would have been difficult for him to do as well as he did during his rookie year in 2018.

Keller currently leads the Royals in innings pitched with 65 through 11 starts. He has a 4.43 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, and boasts a 3-5 record thus far. The eyesore on Keller’s stat sheet is that he has 45 strikeouts and a whopping 41 walks. That won’t cut it in today’s MLB.

Junis impressed fans in 2017 as a rookie and has looked like a four or five starter throughout his time in the majors. He’s currently posting a 5.69 ERA and 1.50 WHIP with a 3-5 record while striking out 47 and walking 21 batters. Junis is second in innings pitched with 55.1 through ten starts.

Finally, there’s Jorge Lopez, who was acquired in a trade with the Brewers last summer.

Lopez showed promise with the Royals in 2018, but it’s been a rough go of it for the former Brewer early on in 2019. He’s third in innings pitched with 50.2 and has an ERA of 6.04 and a WHIP of 1.46. Lopez has struck out 48 batters while walking 20. He’s yet to win a game, sitting at 0-5 on the year.

When looking at these three pitchers, the biggest stat that jumps out is how they lead the team in innings pitched. That’s a sure sign that they can be the future of the rotation, but improvements will have to come.

With Singer, Kowar, and Lynch all doing well in the minors, they’ll be options to have in the rotation when the Kansas City Royals are contending again. If Keller, Junis, and Lopez want to ensure their spots as starters, their 4.43, 5.69, and 6.04 ERAs respectively won’t cut it.

Keller had a strong case to be the Royals All-Star representative last year and his follow-up season has been a disappointment to say the least. He’s still probably the best pitcher in the rotation (okay, maybe Danny Duffy, but will he be with the team when they’re in contention?), but hopefully Keller figures it out and becomes that same pitcher Royals fans saw in 2018.

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Junis is an innings eater, which is great, but when push comes to shove, he won’t be anything more than a four starter. Assuming the three minor league prospects all pan out, Junis could be the easy option to move to the bullpen in the coming years, maybe as a long reliever.

Lopez was an exciting pitcher to watch last year. He had a complete game and almost a no-hitter near the end of the season, but we haven’t seen that guy in 2019 to this point. He was used in a relief role in St. Louis in game two and looked solid through two innings, not allowing a hit. Perhaps that will be the role the Royals opt to use him in moving forward.

Keller started his career in the pen and the Royals promoted him to a starting role when he dominated as a reliever. He’ll likely stay a starter barring something crazy.

Junis and Lopez, however, could be bullpen options assuming Singer, Kowar, and Lynch are all future starters. Lopez looked really good the other night as a reliever, so him becoming a bullpen option might not be the craziest of ideas honestly.

Next. Early Season Trade Scenarios for Four Royals. dark

To sum up, the Kansas City Royals need to see these three young pitchers step their games up if they want them to be three of the five starters during the contending years. Starting pitching (along with the bullpen and defense) was a big part in why the Royals won the World Series in 2015.

They need to have good pitchers to help get them back to the top of the Major League mountain.

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