Even though the Royals had one of the majors’ least effective rotations in 2019, the rebuilding club has done little to nothing to upgrade that area of its roster. That could change before the season, though. Royals general manager Dayton Moore revealed over the weekend that the team’s still considering free-agent starters, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com writes.
Moore indicated he’s optimistic about the roster as a whole, but he admitted, “I’m not completely comfortable with our starting pitching depth,” in part because the Royals don’t want to rush some of their young arms to the majors. That said, Flanagan points to a few Royals starting prospects – Brady Singer, Daniel Lynch and Jackson Kowar – who could push for a spot in the team’s rotation during camp.
As things stand, the No. 5 role is the lone opening in KC’s starting staff. The Royals are otherwise committed to Brad Keller, Danny Duffy, Jakob Junis and Mike Montgomery from one through four. Keller’s a successful Rule 5er who has enjoyed a pair of respectable seasons since the Royals dug him up. Duffy was once a high-quality starter in his own right, but while Keller has ascended, he has declined of late, hurting his trade value in the process. Junis struggled to keep runs off the board last year (5.24 ERA), but he did manage his second straight season with at least 175 innings. Montgomery didn’t have an especially productive season between the Royals and Cubs, meanwhile, but he was at least somewhat better in Kansas City than Chicago.
Considering the Royals’ present options, there’s no doubt room for improvement. Whether they’ll make an earnest attempt to get better via free agency remains to be seen, but there does appear to be some interesting buy-low candidates on an ever-shrinking open market. Taijuan Walker, Danny Salazar, Matt Harvey and Aaron Sanchez may be the most intriguing choices left, owing to their relative youth (only Harvey’s older than 30) and past success.
Taijuan Walker and Aaron Sanchez
the twins should have been all over these guys instead of signing Bailey and Hill
No.
Bailey and Hill are 5x better options than these guys.
Taijuan is the only worthwhile option, but is more of an incentive type, prove it guy. Not someone a contending team should rely on.
Will be interesting to see what he fetches.
Bartolo.
Do we owe Harvey for that World Series? I mean we paid Duda back lol
Now look at both teams… royals in for a long rebuild and Mets getting ready for a fantastic season. Royals deserve that WS for always being pathetic.
Fantastic? Slow down there . I don’t see how they are any different now than the last three years , they always have great pitching but wellll while just see how things play out
Agreed. Still don’t understand the Mickey firing. Yes he made mistakes but the team responded for him and was one of the best clubs the second half. I guess BVW wanted to pick his own guy before Cohen takes over and cans him. At least his GM resume will show he hired two managers.
Lol flags fly forever buddy.
Difference is that they have a offense that has the chance to be elite this year. Something they didn’t have the last 3
Another difference is no ring in the last 3-5 for the Metropolitans. However I do remember a victory parade in KC since we want to talk $h!+ and all but I digress…
You certainly do digress. Everyone else is talking about this season and you’re talking about 5 years ago
Flags fly forever buddy…
Enjoy your 2020, 2021, and 2022 100 L seasons….
Talk about pathetic the Mets are the most pathetic big market team in any sport besides the knicks lol. And last time I checked the Mets haven’t won since 1986………
Mets are 3rd best in the division at best. “Fantastic season” lol
Ignorant comment by a clueless person
You’re welcome to Familia if you’d like to pay him back too.
Hey, let’s keep familia out of this. No need to get personal…
The sad sack Mets are the gift that keeps on giving. Thank you Wilpon-Madoffs!
sign walker and Sanchez. when the youngsters are ready hopefully they can move Duffy to a closer role I always like Sanchez and KC could be just what he needs to resurrect his career. Signing Walker could be huge if he gets healthy and get back o. track.
What’s the deal with Danny Salazar? I thought he was pretty good… what happened?
Well, Salazar had the illusion of looking good, but smart teams, rare as they are, knew how to play him. He didn’t throw nearly enough strikes. Batters would chase anyway. But his physical strike % was low. Teams that made him earn it lit him up
Salazar was at his best when he had a mid-to-high 90s fastball that allowed him to use his plus changeup and effectively and allowed his fairly average slider to play up.
In rehab starts last year he was barely getting to 92. When he got to the majors his fastest pitch was 88. He has had multiple shoulder procedures. At this point he’s damaged.
He doesn’t have the control to become the type of pitcher that can be effective at 88 mph. Basically his only hope is that if he rests long enough and does some outside rehab, his shoulder heals and he could end up coming back like Scott Kazmir. But he’s already essentially rested the last 2 years. At this point that is a long shot
Being out for the vast majority of the past 2 seasons is what happened .. in short.
Anything other than that is overanalyzing what is not there to analyze
correction
salazar is 30 + 17 days
harvey is 30 + 307 days
47 and 337 days is quite young.
I don’t see why there’s any confusion. Bartolo Colon just said he doesn’t want to retire yet. Problem solved. Who knows, he might break out this year.
Beat me to it
Call the Blue Jays and ask for Trent Thornton.
Why they suck? The Jays would want prospects for Thornton. The Royals don’t need to give any up.
Thornton fills a need for KC as a young pitcher with control, and getting rid of him opens the door to Pearson in late-April which is what the Blue Jays should be doing. If history has proven anything in the MLB it’s a trade can be made regardless of situation.
The Royals hitting prospects suck. Their P prospects are their strength. It doesn’t make sense to trade for one. Royals can’t afford to give up hitters and they really don’t need the pitching.
Yet four of the minor league affiliates won championships (One of them being a Dominican summer league) Mostly thanks to the pitching but also to some young hitters that aren’t in our top 30 prospect list.
And yet instead of leading with that or putting out a comment saying that, you decided to troll. Ok, so you believe the Royals have pitching prospects? Great. This is what I just read:
“Royals could add Starting Pitching”.
Could it be because their top prospects didn’t crack AA last year? Could it be because Singer needs some starts in the minors before a promotion? Could it be their pitchers are between 21-23 dominating A-ball and below? All answers are an emphatic yes.
They need a stopgap arm over the next year or two. Call the Blue Jays and inquire about Thornton.
Agreed. Never base a potential from a top prospect list. Whit Merrifield never made the Royals’ top 30 prospects and look where he is now?
Royalsfan – I watched the Jays trot out BS about their farm system in 2003-2005. All JP Ricciardi and his buddy Keith Law did was draft University players who’d dominate in Low-A at 21-22 years old and flame out by AA. By 2006 the ruse was up. KC’s prospect list might look much different midway through 2020.
Trent Thornton comes with 5 years of control and will cost as such. That’s not a stopgap. That’s you trying to defend your opinion!
You assume way too much.
Thornton would hold a spot until 5 better arms beat him out in the rotation. OR he’s traded in two years because he improves in KC while outside of the AL East and grows as a professional pitcher. OR he holds a spot for the duration of his contract. You assume 5 years with a guy posting a 1.406 WHIP and 4.84 ERA. That won’t hurt KC’s farm system.
You’re very close; you just need to think deeper next time.
Yes, never be wrong! Now we’re downplaying Thornton’s value for you to be correct! Alright, WAJGH! Alright! You are so very right!
Moore should be content with his roster. It’s a 60 win team. There’s nothing he can do about that. The farm has some arms on it. Doesn’t have any hitters though. He better hope his starters pan out because if they don’t it’s going to be a long way back up.
kyle isbel, brewer hicklen, khalil lee…But each of them is probably about two years away.
Kyle Isbel didn’t even hit in A ball. Every team in baseball has prospects like that. I hate to tell you…Khalil Lee has way too much swing and miss in his game too. The Royals are bare in positional player prospects. It’s really nothing but a fact. They’re going to be relying on that young pitching if this team is going to be successful in the foreseeable future.
Not all that dissimilar to what the Tigers have. Lots of arms, not a lot of bats. With the bust rate on pitching prospects it’s a scary proposal to bank on.
Is no one gonna mention Bobby Witt Jr.? He’s the #8 overall prospect last time I checked.
Is no one gonna mention Bobby Witt Jr.? He’s the #8 overall prospect last time I checked.
He’s also in rookie ball. And 3+ years off. The tigers have Riley Greene. Neither is even remotely close to the major leagues……And that’s only one player.
No thanks to Matt Harvey. Maybe Aaron Sanchez. I’d even consider moving Danny duffy back to the bullpen Sort of like how we transitioned Ian Kennedy to the bullpen.
Monkeys could fly out of my butt.
Speaking of the Royals, are they gonna get that new Wichita team as their AAA affiliate?
I sure hope not. Omaha has been home to their triple A farm club since their inception and they need to change the name back to Omaha Royals.
I feel like the Royals are a bit of a mess at the moment so looking for very low cost, one year guys is probably their best bet.
I’m a little baffled that T. Walker is still available at this point. It’s pretty clear he’s not going to command anything near significant money, so he’s a fit with any club in need of SP depth — which is essentially everybody.
Because hes going to cost a lot more than league min while not being a surefire source of production.
But also, its likely Taijuan waiting it out to find the best opportunity for him and best deal.
Royals should sign Walker and Sanchez if possible, and hope for a bounceback from either, them flip them for prospects/picks/international bonus money at the deadline.
I want to see them sign Bartolo Colon. A veteran leader to show younger guys how to be a professional. Who cares if his ERA is 15+. This season is a wash anyways.
Julian Edelman called the Royals, “do not take a flier on Matt Harvey”
Was really hoping KC would buy J.A. Halo from the Yanks to pick up a non-pitcher prospect or two with him. Fills a rotation spot and strengthens future on-field talent.