Spring training facilities across the MLB in Arizona and Florida are preparing to close down, and that can mean only one thing: it’s baseball season.
After a disappointing end to the 2016 season, the Kansas City Royals have made some big-time moves, giving the team a different look than the last few years. With these new moves also come new uncertainties. Here are the major questions surrounding the Royals entering the 2017 MLB season.
**What will the starting rotation look like without Yordano Ventura?**
The unexpected death of Yordano Ventura left a void both in the hearts of Kansas City fans and in the Royals’ starting rotation. In order to fill Ventura’s starting spot, the Royals signed ex-Cubs starter Jason Hammel. The projected starting rotation goes as follows: Danny Duffy, Ian Kennedy, Jason Vargas, Jason Hammel and Nathan Karns. It’s not a rotation that jumps off the page, nor does it compare with the rotations of the New York Mets or Boston Red Sox. But the Royals’ starting rotation has the ability to be a consistent and deep rotation that can be competitive throughout the season.
**How will the addition of Jorge Soler pan out?**
The Royals made two major trades this offseason. The first sent former closer Wade Davis to the Chicago Cubs for a young talent in outfielder Jorge Soler. The second major trade was made in order to create space for Soler to start. At December’s winter meetings, the Royals traded outfielder Jarrod Dyson to the Seattle Mariners for Karns.
The two trades essentially swap Dyson for Soler, a plus for Kansas City in every aspect except base-stealing. While Kansas City already had a good amount of power in its starting lineup, adding Jorge Soler to the mix could prove to be a huge plus.
This lineup is one of the best in baseball and could possibly rival Soler’s former team and last year’s World Series champions, the Chicago Cubs. With a pitching staff that isn’t exactly something you’d write home to your parents about, a lineup as strong as this one is a must if the Royals are to return to the postseason after missing out on October baseball last year.
**Will Mike Moustakas have a productive, healthy year?**
A knee injury cut third baseman Mike Moustakas’ 2016 season short, but this year he comes back looking to return to his form as one of the most productive corner infielders in the league. Moustakas has had a rough go of it thus far in spring training, hitting a paltry .204 with four home runs in 50 plate appearances.
Expect Moustakas’ season to start off slow as he shakes off the rust of an entire season missed but for him to progressively improve into the power-hitting, run-producing third baseman Royals fans have come to know. The addition of Soler also provides more leeway for Moustakas’ return, as Soler can carry his chunk of the offensive burden until Moustakas returns to form.
**How will Kelvin Herrera step in for all-star closer Wade Davis?**
The Royals restructured their bullpen in the offseason and made it considerably younger. They entered spring training with just five bullpen pitchers on the roster, leaving many questions to be answered. The most important of those questions: Will Kelvin Herrera be able to successfully fill Davis’s role? Davis’ performance last season is a tough act to follow, as his 2016 stats (1.87 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 9.8 K/9) put him among the MLB’s best closers, but Herrera himself posted some strong numbers in 2016 as well.
The 27-year old Dominican finished last season with a 2.75 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 10.75 K/9. Herrera possesses a fastball that reaches the high 90s and a diving changeup along with a slider and curveball. A relief pitcher, especially a closer, with that variety of pitches can be a tough matchup. But it is not Herrera’s overall skill that is in question but his ability to step into the closer’s role that will remain uncertain until the regular season hits.
**What are the odds the Royals make the playoffs?**
With the deadly lineup the Royals have this season, making the playoffs is a possibility if the pitching can step up. A real question mark for Kansas City this season will be its starting rotation. Most playoff teams don’t rely solely on hitting, and the Royals can’t do that this season if they are to make a run at the Wild Card or the AL Central. The AL Central will be a competitive division and a hard one to win for any team.
The team that will give the Royals the most trouble is the reigning American League champion Cleveland Indians. In the offseason, Cleveland added three-time all-star Edwin Encarnacion (42 HR, 127 RBI in 2016) to an already powerful lineup that took the Cubs to seven games in last year’s World Series.
The other AL Central team that could give Kansas City some trouble is the Detroit Tigers. Justin Verlander had a bounce-back season last year (16-9, 3.04 ERA, 254 K in 2016) and Miguel Cabrera is still one of the best all-around hitters in baseball. The talent level within the division, especially the Indians, will make a run at the division difficult but not out completely out of reach if the the Royals’ pitching comes together.
A realistic goal for the Royals is a Wild Card spot. The passion and chemistry that Kansas City plays with night in and night out could be the X factor that sends this team to the playoffs in 2017. But again, it all depends on the pitching staff this year.
The Royals open their season on April 3 against the Minnesota Twins.
_Edited by Eli Lederman | elederman@themaneater.com_