The Kansas City Royals finally added a true number one starter to their pitching staff. And as a result, they just may leave the rest of the American League in their wake.
Johnny Cueto was the best right handed starter available on the market and the Royals acted swiftly and decisively to get him, sending three young pitchers to the Reds in exchange. The best team in the AL this year, Kansas City still had a glaring weakness in its starting rotation; now with Cueto on board, they’ve made themselves the favorites to make the World Series once again.
And that’s surprising, considering the state of their rotation. The Royals struck gold with the Edinson Volquez signing, effectively giving them someone who’s replicated Shields’ results on a much cheaper deal. Yordano Ventura was supposed to break out this year but was on his way back to the minor leagues before Jason Vargas blew out his elbow. Jeremy Guthrie and Chris Young are both 36 and scraping by, and Danny Duffy has been solid but unspectacular rounding out the staff.
Cueto gives the Royals something they haven’t had since Zack Greinke was in town: a true number one starter who can start the opening game of a playoff series. The Royals didn’t have that last year (sorry James Shields, but it’s true) and still fell just one game short of a World Series championship. They certainly didn’t have that this year – they’ve made due with pitchers who’d normally fill out a rotation, not lead one – and still have managed the best record in the American League. It’s tempting to think ahead of how well they’ll do with a pitcher of Cueto’s caliber on the roster.
Having Cueto in the fold takes some of the pressure off of Ventura, who now doesn’t have to shoulder the responsibility of leading the staff and can instead focus on continuing to improve. There also probably isn’t a better pitcher in baseball for Ventura to model himself after, since Cueto has managed to harness his electric stuff and turn into one of the best right handers in the game.
And for a team with aspirations that lie beyond just getting to the playoffs, having Cueto has to give the Royals a huge confidence boost heading into any series (assuming they needed one to begin with). They saw firsthand last year what having a dominant, overpowering starting pitcher can do for a team in a playoff series when Madison Bumgarner beat them into submission. The Royals never had anyone to counter that kind of brilliance. Their number one guy got the nickname “Big Game” mostly because it rhymed with James, and while Ventura was impressive he couldn’t match Bumgarner. Cueto gives them that kind of pitcher.
The Royals rotation looks set now: Cueto followed by Volquez, then some combination of Ventura, Guthrie, Young and Duffy. Ventura looked good in his first start following his brief demotion, and Duffy has been strong as of late. Adding Cueto lets the other guys fall into place and makes the whole staff stronger top to bottom. And it gives an already formidable team another imposing piece to throw at the opposition.
The Royals may not be able to keep Cueto when he hits free agency this winter, but that’s a minor concern. Right now their only goal is the championship that eluded them by the slightest of margins last year, and they’re pushing all of their chips to the middle of the table. And they’re doing it while holding an ace.
