For the last 2 years, the Kansas City Royals have been masquerading as an organization that is finally headed in the right direction, only to be ultimately exposed once again as the disgraceful Royals we have known for the better part of the last 20 years.

Everyone outside of the Kansas City Royals fanbase has been able to see it for years, so why do Royals fans themselves continue to allow themselves to be fooled by this organization? While the blame for another horrendous season ultimately starts at the top, it most certainly does not end there.

The Royals are now 48-63 and 12.5 games out of first place. Coaches are getting fired, players are getting tossed away for nothing, Ned Yost is beginning to show his true colors, and of course the Royals continue to lose baseball games. The season is once again lost. Royals fans are left with no reason to watch, other than perhaps to see Wil Myers get called up, or who gets fired or DFA’d next.

Let’s start with ownership…nobody can be sure what kind of restrictions the Glass family is placing on Dayton Moore and the rest of the front office. We know that there of course are some restrictions, and probably a bit of meddling, but to what extent nobody except Dayton Moore can be sure. It is known though that despite the Royals glaring need for starting pitching last off-season, it was not in the budget to add any more starting pitchers through free agency. And while the Glasses can be blamed for much of the Royals failures throughout their tenure, it is most certainly not on them.

General Manager Dayton Moore is having a bad year. And that is putting it lightly. Some things are out of his control, such as pitcher injuries, which have been plentiful. However, since this time last year, here is a list of some of the transactions Dayton Moore has made:

-Traded Wilson Betemit to the Detroit Tigers for absolutely nothing
-Traded Mike Aviles to the Boston Red Sox for absolutely nothing
-Signed Jeff Francoeur to a 2 year, $13 million contract
-Traded Melky Cabrera for Jonathan Sanchez
-Signed Bruce Chen to a 2 year/$9 million contract
-Signed Yuniesky Betancourt to a 1 year/$2 million contract
-Signed Aaron Guiel as a free agent (this is here more for humor, as I have no idea how this fell under the radar. Seriously?!?!)
-Traded Kevin Chapman and D’Andre Toney to the Houston Astros for Humberto Quintero & Jason Bourgeois
-Signed Jason Kendall as a free agent (only to have him retire 5 days later)
-Designate Yuniesky Betancourt for Assignment
-Lose Jose Mijares on waivers getting nothing in return

Now, that is only the bad stuff, but if the decent deals were included, the list would not be much longer. And outside of the Jonathan Broxton signing, there has not been much good done by Mr. Moore in the major league transaction category over the past 12 months. One could almost look at the list of transactions over that period of time and wonder if the guy is trying to get himself fired.

As for Ned Yost, the guy is clearly beginning to lose his mind. In his 2 years with the ball club, he has fired more coaches than most managers do in 10 years. And it is not likely that he’s finished there. He continues to call for bunts in odd situations, untimely stolen base attempts by players who should not be stealing bases, and head-scratching pitching and lineup decisions on a daily basis.

Things are spinning out of control in Kansas City once again. If there is a silver lining here, it is that at least this is very familiar territory for Royals fans.

Jonathan Sanchez recently gave up five runs before he could record an out. I didn’t think anyone could pitch that poorly.

But the next night, Ryan Verdugo did Sanchez one better (or worse) by surrendering six runs in just 1 2/3 innings.

The most horrifying fact of all is that both pitchers were acquired by trading Melky Cabrera to the Giants. That fact doesn’t need to be belabored, as every Royals fan is well aware of it.

So while Cabrera makes a run at an MVP award, the Royals go once again in search of starting pitching.

Dayton Moore needs no one to tell him that he must move to acquire pitching. He knows it. In fact he’s known it, and has been trying to do just that, for about three years now.

Prior to 2010, Moore made a few questionable moves to acquire position players, even trading away a few promising pitchers. But for the past three years, it’s been all about pitching, and he’s made several attempts to trade position players to get pitchers.

But while the Cabrera-for-Sanchez deal is horrifying in its result, the other attempts by Moore to trade for pitching have been nearly as disappointing. Consider the following other former Royals who were dealt for pitching since 2009:

Wilson Betemit: currently hitting .259 for Baltimore with 10 homers and 32 RBIs.

Betemit was traded for two minor leaguers, one a pitcher – Antonio Cruz, who has pitched a total of 18 games at A ball in the Royals’ organization.

Alberto Callaspo: hit .288 with 6 homers and 46 RBIs last season as the Angels’ starting third baseman. He’s still starting, with a little better power numbers this year.

Callaspo netted the Royals Will Smith and Sean O’Sullivan. The Royals have utilized Smith to save their mangled big league staff, but they gave up on O’Sullivan. They dealt him to Toronto for cash. Perhaps he needed the change of scenery. He’s been great for the Blue Jays’ Triple A club thus far.

David DeJesus: started most of the season for the A’s last year, batting .240 with 10 homers and 46 RBIs. This year he’s started full time for the Cubs.

DeJesus brought in a potential starter in Vin Mazzaro. But Mazzaro has suffered some beatings of historic proportions and isn’t trusted much at the big league level. The trade also brought Justin Marks, an average starter at Double A.

Kila Ka’aihue: has split the season between Oakland and the A’s Triple A club. His big league production has been marginal.

The trade of Ka’aihue netted a 25-year-old minor leaguer named Ethan Hollingsworth. He’s set no worlds on fire to date.

Mike Aviles: batted well at the end of 2011 for the Red Sox and continues to succeed as Boston’s starting shortstop. He’s hitting .263 with 10 homers and 47 RBIs.

Aviles supposedly brought the Royals a utility infielder – Yamaico Navarro. Aviles should have been kept in that role with the Royals. Navarro hasn’t done anything yet. The trade did bring the Royals a pitcher in Kendal Volz, who has been solid at the Single A and Double A levels.

Scott Podsednik: has played little, bouncing around with several teams.

The Royals got pitcher Elisaul Pimentel and catcher Lucas May. The Royals gave up on May, and Pimentel is 23 and still laboring along in the minors

Rick Ankiel: chipping in for the first place Washington Nationals.

Perhaps the only good move was when the Royals got Tim Collins as part of a package deal for Ankiel and Kyle Farnsworth.

So Moore can’t be accused of not trying. But for seven big league position players of varying quality, the Royals have gained Tim Collins and some spare parts and minor leaguers. The return has been nothing short of disastrous.

The Royals have tried trading average position players – players who they deemed easily replaceable – and hoped to acquire quality pitchers.

But it appears the exchange rate for a quality pitcher is much higher than expected.

What the Royals have proved is that you must actually trade excellent position players to get passable starters.

They will need to think long and hard about as they attempt to improve their rotation for next year. Do they have the stomach to trade Eric Hosmer, or Wil Myers or some other potential star in hopes of finally acquiring quality starters.

Unfortunately, that may be just what it will take.

SPRINGDALE, AR – The Kansas City Royals announced a handful of transactions in order to set the Naturals’ 25-man opening day roster as the team opens Thursday evening at Whataburger Field in Corpus Christi.

Veteran infielder Eric Duncan has been transferred to the Naturals’ roster from Triple-A Omaha and has been placed on the seven-day Disabled List.  Duncan was a former first round pick of the New York Yankees (27^th overall) in 2003, and appeared in the Texas League last season as a member of the Springfield Cardinals where he batted a career-best .274 with 22 homers and 64 runs batted in.

Catcher Julio Rodriguez has been transferred to the roster of the Idaho Falls Chukars, the Royals’ short-season rookie affiliate in the Pioneer League.  Rodriguez was acquired last season from the Detroit Tigers in the Wilson Betemit trade and finished the season with Class-A Advanced Wilmington.

Left-hander Andrew Dobies, signed as a minor league free agent last July and appeared in 12 games for the Naturals, has been placed on the seven-day DL.  He is joined on the disabled list by Edgar Osuna, who has spent time over the past two seasons in Northwest Arkansas, and left-hander John Lamb, who underwent Tommy John Surgery last June and is continuing to rehab.   Lamb had the procedure in early June of last year and could return to action in July.

The Royals also announced that they had loaned the contract of right-hander Federico Castaneda to the Mexico City Red Devils of the Mexican League.  A member of the Naturals during the 2009 and 2010 seasons, Castaneda pitched in the Mexican League last season and finished the campaign out with Triple-A Omaha.

After the roster moves, the Naturals’ roster stands at the Texas League limit of 25 active players.  Active rosters in both Double-A and Triple-A were expanded from 24 to 25 players starting for the 2012 season.

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are the Double-A Texas League affiliate of the Kansas City Royals and play at state-of-the-art Arvest Ballpark, located in Springdale.  Visit our website, nwanaturals.com, for information on season tickets and ticket plans.

Worst WPA plays of the first half:

3. -53% WPA • Matt Holliday home run vs. Greg Holland

June 18 • Royals 4 @ Cardinals 5

Greg Holland has been nothing short of fantastic this year, but he shows up on this list for yielding a two-run homer to Matt Holliday that put the Cards ahead for good in the game.

2. -66% WPA • Torii Hunter home run vs. Joakim Soria

May 30 • Angels 10 @ Royals 8

In Soria’s third and final blown save of the first half, he squandered a one run lead with a single to Bobby Abreu followed by a two run shot by Hunter

1. -68% WPA • Carlos Quentin double vs. Joakim Soria

April 6 • White Sox 10 @ Royals 7

Heading into the top of the 9th, the Royals lead 6-3 and bring in Mr. Automatic, Joakim Soria. Soria retires the first two batters, at which point the Royals win expectancy rounds up to 100%. The game is over. But then Juan Pierre singles…and Gordon Beckham walks…and Alex Rios singles…and Paul Konerko singles….and in the biggest WPA swing of the Royals first half, Carlos Quentin hits a two-run double to give the White Sox the lead and a staggering 68% increase in win expectancy for the Sox.

Best WPA plays of the first half:

3. +44% WPA • Eric Hosmer home run vs. Neftali Feliz

May 18 • Rangers 5 @ Royals 4

I would not expect to see a Royals loss in this list, but here it is. The Royals trailed by a run in the top of the ninth when Hos hit his third career dinger to tie things up, but KC dropped the game in the 11th.

2. +47% • Melky Cabrera single vs. Chris Perez

April 21 • Indians 2 @ Royals 3

This hit finished off a nightmare ninth inning for Indians hurler Chris Perez and a walk off win for the Royals.

1. +52% WPA • Wilson Betemit double vs. Fernando Rodney

April 3 • Angels 9 @ Royals 12

This was the fourth game of the season and one of many big plays in a crazy opening week. Betemit’s double scored two runs to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth; ironically, Matt Traenor’s walk-off homer in the 11th was not quite as big of a play by WPA (+39%).

Coming off the All-Star break losing three of the first four to the Twins is not what you want to do during the dog days of summer. However, coming home and taking two out of three against the Chicago White Sox is a definite boost in confidence to this young team as well as its fans. Despite the fact that the Royals lost their starting shortstop, Alcides Escobar, Friday night after a collision at second base during the fifth inning the team is energized and ready to give a playoff contending team all they can handle this weekend in Kansas City.

The Royals were somewhat active in the trading game as the deadline approaches by sending Wilson Betemit to Detroit and bringing in two talented minor league prospects. They also decided it was time to recall a retooled and rekindled Mike Aviles to help give days off to any of the infielders on an as needed basis. Aviles played every day in Omaha at shortstop, but is capable of filling any of the four infield positions when needed.

The Royals offense has cranked it up slightly coming out of the break and is currently ranked fifth in the Majors in batting average, second in stolen bases and third in triples and one of the best stats to have is that they rank near the bottom of the list in terms of team strikeouts. Translation, they are putting the ball in play a lot. This is good for a young team because eventually the hits will come. If they continue to play the game Yost wants them playing, the hits will come.

The Royals defense continues to play solid this year and are second in the MLB in turning double plays, first in range factor and are in the middle of the pack in terms of fielding percentage and catching potential base runners (tied for fourth in CS but 17th in stolen bases allowed).

The pitching did very well this week by not allowing any opponent to score more than five runs in a game. This is definitely a good sign if the starters and the bullpen can maintain this kind of consistency during the second half of the season. The one thing I do find slightly disconcerting is that Aaron Crow and Joakim Soria could be used as trade bait as the deadline approaches. However, for what it’s worth, Dayton Moore has been quoted saying that he does not anticipate the Royals being that active as the month of July closes out.

The Royals need to build some momentum from the end of this home stand before they begin a tough road trip that includes stops in Boston and Cleveland. Cleveland has given the Royals a tough time this year with their up and coming team. The Red Sox currently have the best record in the American League, and are ahead of the Yankees by two and a half games heading into this weekend.

The Royals are way back in the race for the central division. However, they can still play with a lot of pride and make these contending teams struggle all the way until the end of the season. Third place in the Central is a reasonable expectation for them if they play like they did this week.

During the six weeks that Mike Aviles was in Omaha, something was missing.

Up until last week, if the Royals had wanted to rest Chris Getz, their only option at second was Wilson Betemit. If Alcides Escobar had gotten hurt, their only option at short would have been… uh…

The Royals recalled Aviles last week, filling a gaping hole in their bench that didn’t need to be there. Luckily, all major fiascos were avoided.

But just days after Aviles was called up, Escobar missed a game and a half. What would KC have done if Aviles hadn’t been available? Perhaps Billy Butler could have turned a couple of double plays in Escobar’s absence.

Aviles has been awful at the plate this year, and he’s never that great with the glove. But the Royals need him, no matter how poorly he plays.

Aviles was hitting just .213 when he was sent down to make room for Mike Moustakas (never mind how poorly HE’S hit since the call-up), and needed to find his groove against minor-league pitching. He probably wasn’t too happy about the move, but at least he accepted it for what it was.

“What am I supposed to do? Complain and get upset that I’m getting sent down?” Aviles said in June. “Nobody wants to get sent down but, honestly, like I said, sometimes you have to take a step back to take a step forward.”

To his credit, he didn’t pout. At least not while at the plate. He hit .307 with an impressive nine homers in just 35 games. By comparison, Moustakas had only 10 homers in 55 games.

Aviles has been nothing but frustrating ever since his breakout rookie season in 2008. Expectations shot sky high, and injuries and slumps seem to be all he’s experienced since.

But Aviles is still an important guy to this franchise. He’s experienced, athletic, and capable of playing second, short and third. When the team chose to go it without him, they left themselves dangerously thin on the infield.

The plan all along was probably to dump Betemit and recall Aviles in July. Management probably just hoped some games at AAA would jump-start Aviles’ bat. It hasn’t happened yet, but his versatility is needed in KC nonetheless.

Aviles comes up for arbitration after this season, and his numbers won’t warrant a huge raise. After that he’ll become eligible for free agency. The next year and a half for Aviles will be an audition that both the Royals and others will watch with interest.

Christian Colon, no juggernaut himself, is seen by some as a potential utility backup of the future. Certainly the Royals would like to get some value from the fourth pick in the 2010 draft. But if Colon doesn’t get it going soon, Aviles may just become a part of the Royals’ plan long term.

Remember that sick feeling you got when you heard the Cards’ top starter Adam Wainwright would be out for the season after injuring himself in Spring Training warm-ups? We all felt that same feeling again yesterday afternoon.

Only moments before, he was taking a long look at his 17th bomb of the season after Louis Coleman threw a pitch way up and in at him. Five minutes later, he was writhing in pain next to Barry Weinberg and Yadier Molina.

It happened in an instant: If you looked away, you missed what was potentially the biggest play all year. Royals third baseman Wilson Betemit split the infield in half with a grounder right past Jaime Garcia. Rookie second baseman Pete Kozma ran for and actually reached a ball hit a fair ways away from where he was standing. It might have been better had he just let it trickle through to the outfield.

Kozma made it to the ball, but had to make a rapid through to get Betemit at first. The ball made it there in time, but it was too far to Albert Pujols’ left. The first baseman stabbed his glove out to reach the ball, but Betemit’s shoulder hit it as he charged down the line. The collision sent the ball down the foul line, Pujols’ glove towards the stands, and Pujols to the ground grasping his left hand.

After minutes of nothing but agonizing anticipation, Lance Berkman passed the injured Pujols (who was limping away while leaning on the trainer Weinberg) as he ran to replace him at first. The game continued as the lead Albert’s homer had given them was blown up with a backdrop made up of silent fans and the sirens of an ambulance headed toward the ballpark.

Personally, I didn’t care about the rest of the game. It just didn’t seem important anymore. Heck, even Skip Schumaker’s walk-off solo shot wasn’t enough to soften the mood up a whole lot knowing the team’s best player was getting x-rayed at the time. Was it even possible that the same team would lose yet another of its All-Stars to the disabled list?

This team has gone through far more than its fair share of injuries. Matt Holliday, David Freese, Skip Schumaker, Kyle McClellan, Allen Craig, Eddie Sanchez, Gerald Laird, Nick Punto, Brian Tallet, Bryan Augenstein (Remember him?), and Wainwright have all spent time or are still spending time rehabbing from injuries. Now the game’s greatest hitter can be added to that All-Star team.

I’m writing this before Pujols’ MRI today, when we will discover the severity of his injury. But whether he’s out for two weeks or two months, it’s obvious that the team he leaves behind needs the 14% of their offense they just lost. After all, they are just coming off of a seven-game losing streak and are tied for first with series against the Phillies, Rays and Reds looming in the near future. In the meantime, Cards fans can only hope that the injury doesn’t have any severe repercussions; be they short- or long-term.

God bless, Albert.

UPDATE: The MRI revealed that Pujols will be gone four to six weeks.

Postscript: You can hit me up at my Cards site or Twitter. Also, vote on the participating teams for the end-of-the-year Best Cardinals Team Ever Tournament.

Ha! Get it? Because they are playing in…Kansas City…

Anyway, the St. Louis Cardinals have a 26-20 record after Friday night’s loss to the Royals. They are still in first place in the NL Central, because the Cincinnati Reds dropped the game to their cross-state rivals, the Cleveland Indians. But the Redbirds have utilized a number of specific losing formulas this year. The starting pitching has been lacking in a few games. The biggest problem has been bullpen failure. But the other two glaring hiccups have been defensive lapses and not getting timely hits and those were the ones that cost the Cards in their first Interleague game of 2011.

Chris Carpenter was sharp through the first six innings Friday night. Through the first five innings, he only gave up three hits—one of which was erased on a double play. In the sixth he gave up two hits, but got out of the inning unscathed. In the seventh, the Royals got a leadoff hit from Billy Butler, and Wilson Betemit followed with a deep fly ball to left-centerfield. Rasmus gave chase but hesitated before diving for the ball and missed it. That opened the floodgates and the Royals tacked on three runs on four hits and a couple of sacrifice flies. Carpenter, again bitten by bad luck after pitching a heck of a game most of the way through, was on the hook for the loss.

The Cardinals had a few offensive opportunities they just could not cash in on. In the second inning, Tyler Greene came up to bat with the bases loaded and one out and grounded into a double play. In the sixth, Allen Craig came up to bat with runners at first and second and one out and—you guessed it—grounded into a double play. Greene and Craig are bench players, of course, starting because of a) injuries and b) the great Jeff Francis starting with his baffling left-handedness and blazing mid-80s fastball. Though the Cards had played better against lefties this season, Friday’s performance was a bit of a regression. Colby Rasmus, for instance, went 0 for 4 on the night and struck out three times. The Cards managed to get a couple on in the eighth, but again could not come through. And with the Royals having a closer the caliber of Joakim Soria, you either score in the first eight innings or you don’t score at all.

Carpenter’s performances this season have begun to raise questions about his health and effectiveness, but this loss is not all his fault. Rasmus certainly could have caught the Betemit ball, and probably should have. It may not have kept the Royals from scoring later in the inning, but the cliché about giving Major League teams extra outs certainly applies. Rasmus also rainbowed a couple of throws back to the infield, which made him look even more out of place. I am starting to wonder if Rasmus truly is a centerfielder. I realize Jim Edmonds spoiled St. Louis for a lot of years, but Rasmus seems to lapse at some of the worst times. Running catches don’t seem to be a problem; diving catches, however, always end up being an adventure. Getting the ball back in when there is no threat of advancement doesn’t seem to be a problem; if Rasmus has to keep a runner from advancing or has a play on an advancement, he spikes it or airmails it. Rasmus has a lot of great potential and I am glad he is a Cardinal. But the team needs more in center. Unfortunately, the only other person on the team capable of playing better centerfield is Jon Jay, and all the other guys’ offense is too valuable to have Jay playing every day.

So Rasmus had a bad night, and a banged-up Cardinal offense struggled to get hits and runs. The pitching was good—even Ryan Franklin managed a perfect inning, his first of the season—but has nothing to show for it. A four-game winning streak was snapped, but it did not cost the Cards in the standings.

Such is the mystique of Interleague Play. The Royals are a young team on the rise, and the Cardinals are the stalwart trying to get healthy and keep their slim lead in the division. Like it or not, the rest of this series just became very important. And the Cards can afford no more mistakes.

Chris Reed also writes for InsideSTL Mondays and Bird Brained whenever he wants. Follow him on Twitter @birdbrained

I heard an interesting and quite likely theory today: the 2011 Kansas City Royals could have a completely different starting rotation at the end of the season than they did at the beginning of the year.

For that matter, the Royals could also have a different infield, outfield and bullpen.

It all depends on where the Royals sit in the standings come the few weeks before the trade deadline: if they are out of the race, the Royals will likely be sellers. If they are in the hunt, they’ll probably be looking to bring players in.

Let’s take a look at the players the Royals could be shipping out if they’re sellers, and the players they could bring in if they’re buyers:

SELL: Melky Cabrera

The player: Melky has played extremely well this year, and the Royals could (and should) capitalize on that if they’re out of the race by July.

The return: How about a right-handed pitching prospect to complement the lefties in the farm system?

BUY: Chone Figgins

The player: Seattle’s Figgins could make a good fit at second base and batting if a contending Royals team doesn’t have faith in Chris Getz.

The return: Salary relief for the Mariners and/or a bullpen arm.

SELL: Robinson Tejeda or Kanekoa Texeira

The players: Speaking of bullpen arms. The trade deadline is a great time to flip relievers to contenders. Tejeda would have to get healthy and prove he can bounce back to 2010 form to be tradable.

The return: Not much. A B-level prospect or two.

BUY: Mike Pelfrey, Chris Young or Aaron Harang

The players: Pelfrey and Young of the Mets and Harang of the Padres are stable veterans who could boost the Royals’ rotation if they’re in the race. These are not front-of-the-rotation guys, but they’re definitely an improvement over Kyle Davies.

The return: Again, salary relief, or…

SELL: Mike Aviles or Wilson Betemit

The players: Even if the Royals are in contention, it’s likely at least one of these guys will be on the trading block. The hot corner belongs to Mike Moustakas come June.

The return: A major league starter or an outfield prospect.

BUY: A front-line starter, such as Felix Hernandez

The player: A Cy Young winner, Felix may or not be on the block come the trade deadline. But if he is, a team like the Royals could pry him loose with their salary flexibility. But it would take a lot.

The return: Like I said, a lot. Kansas City would have to give up one of their top-line prospects, a major league-ready starter (like Jeff Francis) and a couple B-level prospects. This would only be a worthwhile venture if the Royals are truly in the race.

SELL: Billy Butler

The player: Butler has been the anchor of this team’s lineup for a few years. But with the emergence of Eric Hosmer, the presence of Clint Robinson at AAA, and Kila Ka’aihue hanging around as a stopgap, Butler could become expendable. He also has a team-friendly contract, which is attractive to opposing teams.

The return: It would have to be overwhelming. How about top-rated catcher prospect, a right-handed starter and a young first baseman to replace Butler in the system?

BUY: Albert Pujols

The player: Hey, a guy can dream, can’t he?

The return: The farm. As in, the entire farm system.

Matt Kelsey is a Royals writer and associate editor for I-70 Baseball. He can be reached at mattkelsey14@yahoo.com.

Swept by the Indians and a sweep of the struggling Twins leave the Royals at 15-13 and 4.5 behind the red hot Indians.

This week, the Royals continue their home stand with Baltimore and Oakland coming to town each for three. Kansas City has a much more favorable offensive schedule, finally. The O’s will throw Bergeson, Arrieta and Timlin and the A’s will send Gonzalez (L), McCarthy, and Ross.

Photo Courtesy of Minda Haas

Injury Front:

Jarrod Dyson had worked his way into some playing time but left Sunday’s game against the Twins with a sprained ankle. It’s uncertain how much time the speedster will miss, but an injured ankle will hamper his greatest strength, running. Dyson will be interesting to watch once he gets healthy as he has 7 stolen bases in 7 attempts.

Playing Time:

Mike Aviles’ playing time and hitting is still streaky. Wilson Betemit is still the guy to own at third as he continues to hit. Look to deal him now as he will not be able to sustain this pace and Mike Moustakas is a month away.

HOT:

Former Mizzou standout Aaron Crow was elected pitcher of the month by the Kansas City media for April. He went 2-0 and did not surrender a run in 13 2/3 innings while striking out 14. He was drafted as a starter and had 29 starts in the minors last year displaying good K rates (7.9) but some trouble with control (3.6 BB/9). He has been lucky with a low BABIP (.219) and a 100% LOB%. Still, his fastball is consistently 95 and his slider is an effective pitch as well. In a holds league he’s worth owning and in a keeper league he’d be worth stashing away as he might work into a starting role or closing role in the near future.

NOT:

Owning a Royals’ starter is not recommended at this time. Francis, Chen, and Hochevar have all shown flashes of being decent matchup starters. However, their inconsistency can play havoc on your team.