Kansas City Royals: 2020 bullpen prediction pre-Spring Training
By Cody Rickman
Mid-season prospect help
- Tyler Zuber RHP
There is a lot to like with Zuber and his plus fastball/slider combination. He is a non-roster invitee to spring training and is nearly MLB ready. His stuff was lights out in the Dominican Winter League and his numbers in A+ and AA for 2019 were consistent with his dominant performance in the Dominican Winter League.
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Zuber could be the closer of the future for the Royals and there’s a chance we could see him this season after June rolls around.
- Daniel Tillo RHP
Tillo had a solid showing in the Arizona Fall League participating solely as a reliever, which is a role that suits Tillo, as he saw a spike in his velocity and his fastball and slider were more effective. Tillo is an incredible athlete and has a promising future as a late inning reliever with the Royals.
He still needs more time to develop and will be a non-roster invitee at spring training. There is a slight chance we see Tillo in Royals uniform this year, but most likely he will make his debut in 2021.
Arnaldo Hernandez was a late season addition to the Royals 40-man roster in 2019 and deserved a call-up in September. He didn’t ultimately receive the call, but he’s a good candidate to see some time with the Royals in 2020. He was removed from the 40-man roster this offseason and is a non-roster invitee for spring training.
With a good performance this spring, he may warrant a call-up later in the season. Hernandez has shown a jump in velocity when he’s worked out of the pen and his heavy sinker could be an excellent weapon in the bullpen.
- Carlos Hernandez RHP
Carlos Hernandez is a recent addition to the 40-man roster and has all three of his minor league options remaining. He features a big fastball (topping out at 97 mph) with solid off-speed offerings (curveball, slider, change-up).
He hasn’t pitched above A ball and needs more seasoning against upper level talent, but he’s a candidate to be a fast mover in the system for the 2020 season. Hernandez is possible September call-up for the 2020 season.
- Tad Ratliff RHP
The undrafted Ratliff has been nothing but consistent, moving steadily through the Royals farm system. He had a dominant performance in the Arizona Fall League in 2019 and should be able to build on that performance starting out in AA for the 2020 season.
If Ratliff continues his consistency and success, he is a long-shot candidate to make a September call-up with a more likely outcome of being added next offseason to the 40-man roster and debuting in 2021. Ratliff has shown the ability to be a late inning high pressure reliever.
Next. 2020 Rotation Prediction Pre-Spring Training. dark
Conclusion
The bullpen will be better in 2020 and the Kansas City Royals should have a more respectable record at the end of the season. The Vegas betting line for the Royals currently sits at 65.5 wins for 2020.
With an improved bullpen, the Royals could push that number and end the 2020 season closer to 70 wins. Unfortunately this could cost the Royals a chance at drafting a potentially generational talent in Vanderbilt’s Kumar Rocker in the 2021 amateur draft.