Kansas City Royals: Danny Duffy is off to a roaring start

Danny Duffy has pitched well for the Kansas City Royals in his first two starts of the 2021 season. 

Take the pressure of having to be an ace off and Danny Duffy can wheel and deal. That’s what looks to be the case right now for Duffy, who has been the highlight of the Kansas City Royals‘ rotation two weeks into the 2021 season.

Duffy wowed on Tuesday night against the Angels, pitching six innings while surrendering one run off of eight hits while striking out six and walking just one batter. Duffy now has a sparkling 0.75 ERA after pitching six scoreless innings last week against Cleveland.

This is what the Royals needed to start the 2021 season, especially with their other starters not having nearly as good of luck as Duffy. Brad Keller has been lit up to the tune of a 19.29 ERA through two starts, Mike Minor has a 4.50 ERA but hasn’t been the workhorse the team was hoping he’d be, and Brady Singer has a 6.48 ERA through his first two starts.

Duffy has had a reputation of not being able to stay healthy and not giving the Royals many innings when he is able to start, but he’s leading the team in innings pitched early into the season with 12 (six innings pitched in each start). Maybe once the ace label isn’t slapped on him, Duffy can truly thrive.

It’s still early in the Kansas City Royals’ season, but Danny Duffy is cruising.

The MLB season is a marathon, not a sprint, so there’s still a long way to go in 2021. Duffy could easily slip up and go downhill for the rest of the year, but two starts in, there’s no debating that he’s the best starting pitcher for the Royals.

The important thing now for Duffy is staying healthy and trying to give this team as many innings as possible. This wasn’t something that many thought would be asked of Duffy, but he’s been clutch through his first two starts, and considering there were rumblings of him eventually landing in the bullpen, Danny Duffy has proven that he’s deserving of staying in the rotation.

I included the tweet from Rany Jazayerli above because it really is true. The Duffy we’ve seen thus far gives us glimpses of what Duffy looked like early into his MLB career. No one expected him to be the highlight of the rotation and while yes, the season still has a long way to go, it’s fun seeing Duffman dominate.

Here’s to hoping Duffy continues to be clutch on the mound.