KC Royals: It’s too early in the season to be concerned about Brad Keller
Brad Keller had another rough outing on Thursday but KC Royals fans shouldn’t grow concerned just yet.
Heading into the 2021 season, Brad Keller was labeled as the ace of the Kansas City Royals, and for good reason. He looked dominant in 2020 and the hope was that he’d pick up where he left off last season when he toed the slab for the first time this year.
Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case.
Keller was rocked in his first outing last week and while he made it deeper into the game and showed improvements in his second start, he still didn’t have a great game. Keller lasted just 3.1 innings against the White Sox and was tagged with four earned runs while walking three and striking out three.
Keller wasn’t bailed out of this game by their offense either, as the group was shut out by Lance Lynn in a complete-game effort. Lynn allowed just five hits and the explosive Royals offense we saw last week was nowhere to be found.
That being said, it’s not time to panic about Keller. He’s only started two games this year and MLB seasons are a marathon, not a sprint. There’s still plenty of time for him to figure things out.
Brad Keller has struggled, but KC Royals fans should have faith that he’ll turn it around.
Aside from Danny Duffy and Jakob Junis in more of what was supposed to be an opener role, the rotation as a whole has struggled, so Keller isn’t alone here. Pitching is going to take a hit in 2021 due to the lack of a normal season last year so fans will need to be patient.
Even though Keller got hit hard, he did pitch his first scoreless inning of the season and did so by getting three batters to ground out. As silly as it seems to celebrate one scoreless inning, that was a win for Keller, who needed to know he could get through an inning without allowing any damage.
It’s unfortunate that things haven’t gotten off to a good start for Keller, but the season has a long way to go and that’s why I’d encourage Royals fans to relax a bit and let things play out. It might take a few starts for Keller to get back in the swing of things.
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When that switch does turn on for Brad Keller, the Kansas City Royals will be happy to have an ace on the mound.