That's alot of Meche!!

Kansas City Royals

Team Analysis Part I

Starting Pitching

Starting Pitching. Two words that strike distain into the heart of any Royals fan. No team in the last decade has had worst starting pitching then the Royals. Last year the Royals pitching staff were literally at the very bottom of every pitching category. The most troubling stat was the team ERA of 5.65. A 5.65 ERA is abysmal, bad, terrible and the worst in team history.

The best part about a terrible pitching staff is that there is plenty of room to grow and I seriously mean plenty. To be a successful team you must have starting pitching and new General Manager Dayton Moore has thankfully realized how bad the starting pitching is and is currently attempting a major overhaul. Just how much has he changed so far you might ask? Every starter on the opening day roster of `07 is different the opening day starters of `06.

Brian Bannister:

Bannister was acquired this past off-season in a deal with the Mets for Ambiorix Burgos. Bannister’s is a righty with a pitching repertoire of Fastball, Curve, Slider, Cutter, Change. Bannister is described as a gusty pitcher. Bannister’s fastball tops out in the upper 80’s, throws a decent cutter, his curveball has a 11-5 break and he can throw it for strikes. Last year Baseball America listed Bannister as the Mets #9 prospect and 4^th best pitching prospect in the organization. He made the Mets starting rotation last year, but after 4 starts injured his hamstring and never resurfaced. He did well in his major league debut going 2-1 in 6 starts. Bannister is projected to fight for the 4^th or 5^th rotation spot.

Jorge De La Rosa:

De La Rosa was acquired in a mid-season trade with the Brewers for Tony Graffanino. De La Rosa is a high ceiling (a lot of talent) left hander. His pitching repertoire is Fastball, Curve, Slider, Change. He is young, 25, and has major league quality stuff, but has serious control issues. Last year he averaged 61/3 walks per 9 innings, but also averaged 8 stikeouts per 9. De La Rosa has a power fastball that can touch 95, an excellent slider that breaks down and away from left handed hitters, a power curve with a 12-6 break and a decent change. After being acquired last year he started for the Royals and went 3-4 in 10 starts. One injury problem that reoccurs for De La Rosa is blisters. De La Rosa should be fighting for the 4^th or 5^th rotation spot. If he doesn’t win a starting spot, he could be pitching out of the bullpen.

Zack Greinke

Greinke was drafted with 6^th overall pick in 2002 by the Royals. He made his Major League debut in May of 2003. He was slated to be in starting rotation last season, but 3 days into spring training he left camp with psychological problems. He got his thoughts together and returned to the Royals and was delegated to AA. His record for the Wranglers was 8-3 in 17 starts. Greinke’s is a right-hander with a standard pitching repertoire. Fastball, Curve, Slider, Change. Greinke has excellent command and can throw all of his pitches for strikes. Another thing he can do with his pitches is throw them all for different speeds. His fastball ranges from 96 to 88, has a powerful breaking curve that is usually about 75 but can use his patented slow curve that sits in the low 60’s. His changeup is his third best pitch and has a late diving action, but doesn’t throw it often. His slider has good movement with a hard late break and uses it mostly when he is ahead in the count. He has a ton of talent. He just needs to learn how to use it. He will also be fighting for the 4^th or 5^th rotation spot. I believe if he doesn’t have an outstanding spring he will go down to AAA for some more seasoning, which isn’t a bad thing since he is still only 23.

Luke Hudson

Hudson was signed as a free agent before the last season from the Reds. Hudson is a right hander that throws a Fastball, Curve, Slider, Change. Hudson started out last year in the Royals bullpen, was sent down to Omaha in May, and came back starting 15 games ending with a record of 7-6. He would have had 6 more wins, but the bullpen blew the games. He has a good mid-90’s fastball, an excellent 11-5 curve, a slider he rarely throws and a solid changeup. He is a very smart pitcher that battles each time he takes the mound. He even had a 10 strikeout game in against the Yankees. He should have the number 3 spot in the rotation wrapped up and could take a big step forward in becoming a quality major league starter. He was the Royals most consistent starter last year and should be interesting to watch.

Gil Meche

Meche is the big name free agent that the Royals signed this off-season. He was given a 5yr/ $55 million dollar contract, but with the contract comes large expectations. Meche is the projected ace of the Royals rotation. He is 28 which is the supposed age when starting pitchers harness their potential. Meche had a solid year last season with a record of 11-8 averaging 7 strikeouts a game, while walking only about 3 per game. He also has a standard pitch selection. Fastball, Curve, Slider, Change. He has a heavy mid-to-low 90’s fastball and has what Moore calls one of the best power curves in the game. He relies mostly on his fastball to setup his other pitches. He does struggle with his command at times, but showed promise last year relying on his teammates defense instead of trying to strikeout everyone. GM Dayton Moore also says “He's the youngest guy out there with the best raw stuff entering the prime of his career. He's a guy who can anchor our pitching staff going forward.” The Royals expect Meche to step up and become the number 1 starter for this team and help lead them back to respectability.

Odalis Perez

Perez was acquired in a mid-season trade from the Dodgers for reliever Elmer Dessens. He starte 12 games for the Royals and had a record of 2-4. He is a lefty and he throws a Fastball, Curve, Slider, Change. His fastball sits at about 92, but his best pitch is his changeup that dives down and in to right handed batters. He also throws that has a last breaking movement that dives away from leftys. He is currently the number 2 starter on the Royals pitching staff. The Royals are hoping that he will regain his 2002 form when he went 15-10 for the Dodgers. Before his stint with the Dodgers he was with Atlanta, so Dayton Moore is familiar with Perez, knows what he’s capable of and thinks he can get the best out of him. He has decent command, but leaves pitches up and hitters turn them into fountain balls at the K. He is in a contract year so hopefully that will give him some motivation to pitch well.

That wraps it up for the starting pitchers for this year’s team. The staff shouldn’t be as bad as they were last year and optimism is running high. There could be some dark horses that make a run at the rotation during Spring Training. Joakim Soria, the Rule V draft choice for the Royals this year and Dewon Brazelton a former first round draft pick. If the Royals expect to be improved this year, i.e. not losing 100 games, a lot of that rides on the quality of the starting pitching. Scoring runs in great and exciting, but to win you must keep the other team from scoring just as many.

Next article we will go over the much maligned bullpen and the changes that happened there this off-season.

Royals Fact: Dennis Leonard is the Royals single season strikeout leader with 244 k’s in 1977.

-b

“Royals Baseball is on the Air.”