The Kansas City Royals Projected 2022 Starting Rotation

The 2022 MLB Baseball season could be upon us any day, so what can we anticipate the Kansas City Royals starting rotation to be?

The Kansas City Royals are heading into the 2022 season with most of the same roster as last year. I recently wrote an article on why 2022 is so crucial for the Kansas City Royals, and this article will expand upon that thought. Before the lockout occurred, the Royals made minimal moves, if any, and I would anticipate minimal moves after the lockout ends. The reason is, is that Kansas City has built up a tremendous farm system, and the players are making their way to the big leagues. The starting rotation is a perfect example of that, as we witnessed Brady Singer, Kris Bubic, Jackson Kowar, Daniel Lynch, Carlos Hernandez, and others make their debuts in the past couple of years. Others are waiting in the minors, ready for that same opportunity. So what will the Royals starting rotation look like in 2022?

Brad Keller-RHP

On December 14th, 2017, Brad Keller made his way to Kansas City when the Royals selected him in the Rule 5 draft. Since being selected by the Royals, Keller has contributed to the rotation. In four years, he has started 83 games with 104 appearances. Keller has a record of 29-35 with a career 4.01 ERA. He has pitched 494 innings and allowed 484 hits, 220 earned runs, 42 home runs, 201 walks, 373 strikeouts. Baseball-reference projected Brad Keller’s 2022 season to be average. They have a 9-10 record with a 4.44 ERA, 142 innings pitched, 141 hits allowed, 70 earned runs, and 125 strikeouts.

Keller has shown flashes of success, and then other times, we have seen tremendous struggle. Many believe he should head to the bullpen, but I think the Royals will place him in the starting rotation. Because the Royals have depth at the minor league level, Keller could be used as a trade piece at some point in the season, of course, depending on how the season goes. If he gets on a roll and the team struggles to find wins, he could be shipped to a contender like Danny Duffy.

Brady Singer-RHP

The Royals drafted Brady Singer in 2018 with the No. 18 overall pick out of Florida. He climbed through the ranks quickly, making his major league debut on July 25th, 2020. Singer is another pitcher who has shown fantastic stuff but also struggled to find consistency. In 2021, Singer threw his sinker 1288 times (56.3%), his slider 873 times (38.2%), his changeup 89 times (3.9%), and his 4-seam fastball 37 times (1.6%). One of the biggest knocks on Singer is he has yet to establish a third pitch.

In two seasons with the Royals, Singer has a 9-15 record starting 39 games. He posted a career 4.62 ERA through 192.2 innings pitched. Singer has allowed 198 hits, 110 runs, 99 earned runs, 22 home runs, 76 walks, and 192 strikeouts. Baseball-reference projected Brady Singer’s 2022 season to be average. They have a 7-10 record with a 4.44 ERA, 142 innings pitched, 140 hits allowed, 70 earned runs, 144 strikeouts, and two saves. The fascinating thing about the two saves is many people believe, including ESPN’s Keith Law, that Singer will ultimately end up in the bullpen. I think the Royals will start Singer in the rotation to give him a shot at another season in its entirety. I wrote an article discussing Singer approaching “bust” territory. For the fan’s sake, I hope I am wrong.

Carlos Hernandez-RHP

Wow, Carlos Hernandez is a remarkable talent for the Kansas City Royals who showed flashes of ace material. Hernandez signed with the Royals on July 19th, 2016, as an amateur free agent. He made his major league debut on September 1st, 2020. His ability to light up the radar gun is thoroughly impressive. What makes it even more amazing is Hernandez averages 98-100 mph on his fastball. He also has an arsenal of pitches. Having the ability to throw five pitches also makes him more challenging to hit.

In two years with the Royals, Hernandez has pitched in 29 games, starting 14 of those. He has a 6-2 career record throwing 100.1 innings. Hernandez has allowed 88 hits, 45 runs, 43 earned runs, 11 home runs, 47 walks, and 87 strikeouts. Baseball-reference projected Carlos Hernandez’s 2022 season to be average. They have a 5-4 record with a 3.89 ERA, 88 innings pitched, 77 hits allowed, 38 earned runs, 84 strikeouts, and one save.

I anticipate Hernandez starting in the Royals rotation and remaining there unless injured. In 2021 he started cold and was sent down to AAA. Hernandez settled into the starting rotation upon returning to the majors and turned out a solid year.

Mike Minor-LHP

Mike Minor has a few reasons to be in the starting rotation. The first thing is he is a veteran left-handed pitcher. Minor is 34 years old and has been pitching at the major league level for ten years. Those two things are essential when the other pieces of your starting rotation are young. The second major contribution Minor provides is he eats innings. In his career, he has logged 1311 innings.

Minor signed as a free agent in Kansas City on February 19th, 2016. He was coming off of torn labrum and would rehab it after surgery. When the time came to pitch, he was utilized out of the bullpen and did well in that role. After leaving the Royals, Minor would return and sign a contract on December 1st, 2020. In his two years with the Royals, Minor is 14-18 with a 4.23 ERA. He pitched in 93 games but only started 28. He has logged 236.1 innings, given up 213 hits, 115 runs, 111 earned runs, 31 home runs, 63 walks, 237 strikeouts, and six saves.

Baseball-reference projected Mike Minor’s 2022 season to be average. They have an 8-11 record with a 4.68 ERA, 154 innings pitched, 147 hits allowed, 80 earned runs, 148 strikeouts, and one save. I am projecting Minor to be in the rotation to start the season. He is possibly traded after the MLB and MLBPA agree on a new collective bargaining agreement to give another young arm a chance at the starting rotation. He could move back to the bullpen and fill a role similar to what he did with his first stint with the Royals.

Daniel Lynch-LHP

The Kansas City Royals drafted Daniel Lynch in 2018 with their No. 34 overall pick out of the University of Virginia. He was regarded as a top prospect for the Royals and made his major league debut on May 3rd, 2021. Lynch has a five-pitch arsenal 4-seam fastball, slider, changeup, sinker, and curveball. In 2021 he threw his 4-seam fastball 512 times (40.7%), his slider 367 times (29.2%), his changeup 205 times (16.3%), his sinker 146 times (11.6%), and his curveball 27 times (2.1%). His slider is disgusting as opposing hitters have a batting average of .188 and a whiff % of 41.8.

In his first year with the Royals, Lynch posted a 4-6 record with a 5.69 ERA. He pitched in 15 games, starting all 15. He has logged 68 innings, given up 80 hits, 46 runs, 43 earned runs, nine home runs, 31 walks, and 55 strikeouts. Like many of the other young starting pitchers, Lynch was called up and then sent down to work on fine-tuning some skills. He returned to the big leagues and will look to have a better 2022.

Baseball-reference projected Daniel Lynch’s 2022 season to be average. They have a 6-6 record with a 4.79 ERA, 94 innings pitched, 95 hits allowed, 50 earned runs, 88 strikeouts, and two saves. I would anticipate an above-average year for Lynch as he looks to take that next step and become a top rotation pitcher.

Honorable Mention Starting Pitchers

Kris Bubic-LHP

Jon Heasley-RHP

Jackson Kowar-RHP

Angel Zerpa-LHP