Feb/103
Spring Breakdown – SP
Posted by: Casey on February 18, 2010.
Spring is officially here, with no real surprises coming out of the first day. As expected, the “shoulder-fatigue” plan was in full force in explaining Davies/Bannister/Meche’s early exits from 2009. In fact, the most surprising news was that Greinke had a couple teeth pulled. I guess no news is good news..
Greinke – The biggest question in my mind is if he can adjust to hitters adjusting to him. I think people put too much weight in people adjusting over the off-season to individual pitchers/hitters they face. During the season, players put plenty of time into studying pitchers, especially Cy-Young’s. I think Greinke will be hard pressed to duplicate a season like he had last year, and I don’t want to put that kind of pressure on him. He does need to take the next step towards consistency season by season and continue to put up quality starts. I had a friend ask me the other day how bad it would have been last year had Greinke not put us on his back, and I told him we might just see exactly that this year. Also, don’t put too much stock in how he does this spring, because last spring he was terrible (perfected his changeup).
Meche – I have never been a very big Meche fan. I think we spent too much money on him and his back provides some serious questions for me. All season in 2009, when he was pitching well it was because his back wasn’t hurting him. Then when he pitched badly, it was because of his back. I get tired of hearing those types of excuses and it gets to a point where he just needs to man up and take the blame for not keeping the ball down. He, of course, reassured the media today by saying he worked 3-4 times a week on back/shoulder strengthening exercises. If he can stay healthy, I look for him to have a typical Meche season (around 4.00 ERA).
Bannister – Bannister went 7-12 last year with a 4.74 ERA and 1.370 WHIP. That of course improved on his terrible 2008 season. He also had some shoulder fatigue towards the end of the year, but also put a lot of work in the offseason on getting stronger. He apparently had two personal trainers, one for general strength and one for shoulder strength. He’s also my favorite to take over the Mark Teahen Show.
Davies – After a promising 2008 season (9-7, 4.06 ERA), Kyle struggled in 2009 like everyone else (aside from Greinke). He posted a 8-9 5.27 ERA and also had a shortened season. He also is said to be 100% for 2010.
Hochevar – With a 6.55 ERA last season (compared to 5.51 in 2008), you start to wonder when he’s going to make his Greinke-like turn, or if he ever will. You hope some of these other young guys step it up soon, and Hochevar might just be one of the guys to do so (he’ll have to do much better than he did last year).
Tejeda – Robinson will have an outside shot of taking a spot in the rotation pending any sign of injuries/fatigue. I think it’s more likely that he takes over a spot for a struggling starter early in the season, if not we’ll see him as a long reliever and he’ll start in spot situations.
Farnsworth – Yes, Kyle Farnsworth is apparently getting a chance as a starter. Bob McClure at his finest. And I have nothing else to say about this.
Stats wise, everyone digressed in 2009 compared to their 2008 season aside from Greinke. If our starters can pull it together and stay healthy, there shouldn’t be any reason why this won’t be an improved unit in 2010.
Jul/091
Petro's Mid-Season Grades For the Kansas City Royals (pt. 2)
Posted by: photogwingsfan on July 15, 2009.
Mike Jacobs: C
Mike Jacobs was obtained by Dayton Moore and the Kansas City Royals to hit the long ball. He has done that for the most part with 12 home runs but what we hasn’t done is drive in runs (30 RBI’s) and have a respectable batting average (.222).
David DeJesus: C
David DeJesus has rebounded somewhat after having a rough start to the season and I think has a lot to do with him feeling comfortable batting in the lead-off position. I will fill a lot better about DeJesus if he can continue to hit and raise his .256 batting average.
Jose Guillen: C-
Jose Guillen has done what we expected him to do. A poor batting average (.243), not many RBI’s (37) and has sprinkled in a few home runs (9). What he hasn’t done, which almost made bump him up to a “C” rating, is go on one of his tirades…there is still a chance.
Mitch Maier: C-
Mitch Maier hasn’t had a lot of chances to show what he has but when he has been in the game it has been mainly for defensive purposes and not for his batting average (.213).
Zack Greinke: A
Zack Greinke (10-5) has done everything anyone could ask at this point in the season. He is second in E.R.A. (2.12) in the Major Leagues, tied for second in wins (10), tied for fifth in strikeouts (129), first in complete games (5), and tied for first in shutouts (2). Along with a dominate inning in the All-Star Game (two strikeouts and no hits) he is having an amazing year.
Brian Bannister: C
Brian Bannister started the season off with a promising 4-2 start in his first eight starts, but since then he is 2-5 in his last eight. A good amount of that can be attributed to a lack of run support but he still needs to show consistency in the second half and maintain his respectable E.R.A. (3.66).
Gil Meche: C
Gil Meche (4-9) has had an off year so far. His E.R.A. (4.50) is not where you would like it to be and he has given up too many home runs (11). Some would say his high pitch count (132) on June 16 against Arizona would is part of the reason he has done poorly in his past starts, but as in past seasons he has rebounded and I believe he will.
Luke Hochevar: C-
I might be harsh with Luke Hochevar, and even though it wasn’t his fault he was the top draft pick in 2006, more is expected of him in what will be his second full season. He has shown flashes, once he finally made his season debut in the second week in May, but he isn’t striking out enough and is still giving up too many home runs.
Kyle Davies: D
Kyle Davies started the season off giving Royals fans an exciting look but that didn’t last long and he was sent to the minors before June ended. Not much has worked for him collectively so far this season so myself and Royals fans hope he can turn things around in the minor leagues and help the big league team as soon as possible.
Jamey Wright: D
Jamey Wright has done what I expected. Eat some innings and pitch below average. It was hard for me to give him much of a grade but when he has gotten into the game it isn’t much to look at.
Kyle Farnsworth: C+
Kyle Farnsworth didn’t start the season off well in the minds of Royals fans when he blew a save against the Chicago White Sox to start the season, but he picked it up after that and has pitched pretty well since then. I am not as much of a Farnsworth hater than others but he does need to try and limit the amount of hits he is giving up with 24 hits and 23.1 innings pitched.
Juan Cruz: C
Juan Cruz has been electric at times and way off as well so far this season. He has been a nice setup man for Joakim Soria and unless something drastic happens and he loses his role to Farnsworth he will continue to be a worthy asset.
Joakim Soria: B
The Mexicutioner has done what is expected of him with a good E.R.A. (1.88) and save total (14) but what is holding me back to giving him a better grade is that he was injured for part of the first half. If he would have been healthy there is no doubt he would have better numbers and could have even been elected to the Major League All-Star game.
John Bale, Bruce Chen, Roman Colon, Ron Mahay, Robinson Tejeda: None of these guys have pitched enough innings in my opinion during the season to really warrant a season grade. Once the season is done it will be easier to see what they have meant to the team.
Jun/090
Former #1 Pick on the Mound for the Royals Tonight
Posted by: photogwingsfan on June 26, 2009.
When Luke Hochevar (2-3, 6.61) steps on the mound for the Kansas City Royals (30-39) tonight against Roy Oswalt (3-4, 4.48) and the Houston Astros (32-36) will again get the chance to see if drafting him with the number one pick in the 2006 amateur draft was worth it.
Yes he was drafted at the same time Dayton Moore was named the general manager but this regieme should still be held accountable. Hochevar is entering only his second full season but it is still a very important season. Someone that was picked with the first overall pick and wasn’t coming straight out of high school should be able to be an effective pitcher by this time and so far I really haven’t seen it except for his masterful performance on June 12 against the impatient Cincinnati Reds.
Someone with his draft status has to before more than a serviceable pitcher. I am willing to wait until after this year but for me each start is meaningful.
Loading ...