The defending World Series champions are once again competing for the playoffs with a core that will be around for at least one more season. One of baseball’s greatest small-market success stories was built through astute drafting, ambitious trades, prioritizing athleticism, and power pitching earlier than many other organizations. That being said, the biggest hole in the Kansas City Royals’ organization is obvious three games out of five, sometimes even more. Their glaring weakness is starting pitching.
It’s an exceptionally interesting weakness considering the men in charge within the organization. General Manager Dayton Moore came from the Atlanta Braves, who built a 14-year postseason streak on starting pitching. Moore always refers to starting pitching as “the currency of baseball.” But here we are, and the Royals are on pace to finish in the American League’s bottom third in both rotation innings and ERA for the second consecutive season. The Royals are one of only four teams whose starting staff has an ERA over 5.00, which ranks just ahead of the Oakland Athletics’ 5.06 ERA.
Dayton’s Dilemma
Moore will have a tough decision coming in the next month. He’s going to have to determine if the 2016 Royals have what it takes to win in October. On one hand, you have a club that has overcome a significant string of injuries to both starting pitchers and two regular position players. On the other hand, you have a team that has scored more runs than only one team in the American League but whose starting pitching too often seems to be throwing batting practice. Of course, Dayton doesn’t want to throw away the rare chance to win another title. At the same time, you don’t want to strip an already thin prospect pipeline chasing after it.
The Royals are a team that is trying to overcome significant injuries with experience. The starting pitching has been atrocious. Innings eaters like Ian Kennedy rely on the defensive to make plays. But when the ball keeps flying over the wall, defense won’t help very much. They need starting pitching. It’s worth noting that Moore does have help on the way coming in the form of Mike Minor and Kris Medlen, both on injury assignment in the minor-leagues. However, it wouldn’t be exactly wise to rely on either former Atlanta rotation centerpiece, especially since they’re both trying to re-establish themselves as feasible starters after suffering serious injuries with the Braves.
Supply and Demand
One glaring problem is that the market for starting pitchers is awfully grim due to a lack of supply. Stephen Strasburg was the only reliable top-notch pitcher available, and now he’s off the market. So what is a real solution for a ball club desperate for starting pitching? A possible answer for the Royals predicament is a pitcher like Julio Teheran of the Braves. Starting to see a connection? The organization has to recognize that the market is arid, and to make your move sooner than later. That would require sending a cache of prospects over the wall. But in doing so, it opens up a line of new possibilities. Not only does Teheran become an option, but Jake Odorizzi and Jimmy Nelson also become potential suitors.
It would certainly cost the Royals. It also begs the question of how confident the organization is with any of those pitchers starting game 3 for the club, much less game 1. Before the deadline, outfielders will be exchanged and relievers will go for a high price. Infielders are a little more scarce, but a clever team will find a way. Bearing that in mind, the Royals will have to beware of the market for starting pitchers. It’s a seller’s market to an extreme the likes of which have not been seen before. If the Royals want quality on a short-term deal, they’re fighting over a player like Rich Hill, pitcher for the Athletics. The problem with that is, Hill was just recently placed on the DL. If they want quality pitching on a long-term deal, the Royals are looking at ditching about half of their top-prospect list. The next few days could prove to be quite conundrum for Moore and the Royals front office.
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