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The Kansas City Royals will soon begin Game 2 of their season’s first road series, and Kris Medlen has been waiting for this moment for quite some time. Medlen got a few starts at the end of the 2016 season and winning a world championship speaks for itself, but this is his first chance at a full season of pitching since 2013. The then-Atlanta Braves player started 32 games that year and compiled a 3.11 ERA with a 3.48 FIP. For reference, that’s nearly identical to James Shields‘ campaign with the Royals that season. It’s a big “if”, but if Kris returns to pre-surgery effectiveness, KC’s supposedly lackluster rotation becomes considerably sturdier.
By many measures, that starting five has already over-performed. Prior to last night’s blowout loss to the Houston Astros, the Royals’ starting rotation pitched through at least five innings and allowed no more than two runs in every game. Veteran starter Chris Young won’t often allow three runs in the first inning, or six through four, and the rest of the starting five looks great right now. All of KC’s pitching staff, starting with Medlen tonight, needs their A-game to survive two more games against a red-hot Astros lineup.
Carlos Correa has a gorgeous swing, a bright future and a 1.150 OPS. Three other guys in Houston’s lineup have a higher OPS through at least 15 at-bats. Tyler White, the 997th overall draft pick from 2013, currently has a .545 average and nine RBI in seven big-league games. Thankfully for Medlen, no Astro has more than six career at-bats against him. To keep pace in the division with the 5-2 Chicago White Sox, Medlen must use all his pitches effectively to limit a powerful but swing-happy Houston team.
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