Royals’ pitching woes mounting
Dalton Vitt
Just as you think a major league team is sitting in good shape in terms of its starting pitching, the baseball gods smite you with a Hank Aaron-esque hammer.
A handful of days ago, Kansas City appeared in outstanding form. Yordano Ventura was preparing for his second start since returning from the disabled list, Jason Vargas looked like he would bounce back from flexor issues and Kris Medlen was activated from Class AAA Omaha to avenge his second Tommy John surgery.
Now, Kansas City officials prepared to wave goodbye to Ventura as he departed for whence Medlen came (before turning right around due to the next point), Vargas’ Tuesday night injury-shortened start looked all too familiar and Medlen may have to head to the rotation quicker than the front office hoped.
Oh, how quickly things change.
The luxury of having “too many” starting pitchers never lasts. As recently as Monday afternoon, the club was debating who among a stable of eight starters would remain in the rotation as three sulked off toward long-relief roles in the bullpen or designations for the minors.
Options on Monday for a rotation moving forward were: Edinson Volquez (lock), Danny Duffy (near lock, thanks to his Sunday performance), Jeremy Guthrie, Chris Young, Joe Blanton, Ventura, Vargas and, to a lesser extent, Medlen.
Ventura’s necessary demotion, although disheartening and short-lived, was nearly a no-brainer for a franchise gunning for its first division crown in … well, let’s not go that direction. The question with the young starter now is how many more opportunities he gets in the majors before another, predictably more lengthy demotion.
The injury to Vargas — a torn UCL, normally requiring Tommy John — blows a hole in KC’s quality depth, though it doesn’t leave the Royals aching as bad as it could’ve to other contenders. Still, more now than at any point in the season, it’s time to survey the trade market.
A team at the top of its division still clawing its way through July can’t merely lean back in its chair and hope that Ventura’s problems vanish in the next handful of starts. It also can’t afford to bank on continued surprising performances from Young and Blanton, each of whom must have a finite number of pitches left in the tank.
Young, at age 36, wasn’t intended to hold a spot in the rotation this long, if at all. If last season with Seattle is any predictor, he’s bound to breakdown sooner than later. In 2014, his first-half slash line against read .208/.277/.382, outstanding numbers en route to his AL Comeback Player of the Year designation. However, that line leapt to .282/.347/.526 in the second half of the season, showing that he simply ran out of gas as the summer droned on.
In short, Young is destined for either a bullpen role or exploding stats by the time the middle of August rolls around. By that token, Blanton filling his spot is a troubling proposition, leaving Medlen as the best bet to soak up innings in the rotation along with Volquez, Duffy, Guthrie and, if all pans out in the coming weeks, Ventura.
But until (and if at all) Ventura’s woes vanish, KC is left filling three rotation spots with some combination of currently subpar pitchers: Guthrie, Young, Blanton, Medlen and Ventura himself, in some order.
Medlen, who in six rehab starts split between Class AA Northwest Arkansas and Class AAA Omaha posted a 3.56 ERA, was signed in the offseason with the intent of being used out of the bullpen upon his return from injury. Slinging a two-time Tommy John survivor into the fire of a depleted rotation isn’t ideal for either the Royals or Medlen’s right elbow.
He’s better suited, at least for a couple of weeks, in a relief role as he re-acclimates himself to life in the big leagues, despite a handful of promising innings against the Pirates on Monday. Despite the evidence ushering Medlen toward finding more success in the ’pen, Kansas City may have no choice. His rickety right arm still provides more stability than piling too many innings on Young or Blanton.
There’s always the thought of Kyle Zimmer waiting in the wings, but he’s working in relief right now, and entrusting a rookie — especially one with injury woes, speaking of rickety arms — is as much a roll of the dice as hoping Young’s arm remains attached to its socket for 30-plus starts.
After the organization likely felt comfortable with its depth of quality arms just a few days ago, things have turned sour in a hurry. There’s not an obvious option readily available within the club, and acquiring a (potentially hurt) Johnny Cueto or intradivision David Price could cost Duffy, digging deeper into the well of inside help.
Starting pitching, season after season, remains a hot commodity at the deadline. For the first time in a while, the Royals are a major player with a gaping weakness.
