Royals have more left-handed suspects than candidates

By ALAN ESKEW
SportsRadioKC.com 
 
SURPRISE, Ariz. – Manager Trey Hillman says he would like to have a multitude of left-handed pitchers. Hillman, however, may have one or even none when the Kansas City Royals open the season.
 
Unless the Royals make a trade or sign a veteran left-hander in March, the rotation will almost certainly be all right-handed. The locks, Zack Greinke and Gil Meche, and the leading candidates – Luke Hochevar, Kyle Davies, Brian Bannister, Robinson Tejeda and Kyle Farnsworth -- to fill out the rotation all throw right-handed.
 
What the Royals need are quality left-handers.
 
Beckon back to 2004 when the Royals started the season with an all left-handed rotation. Albeit, five mediocre left-handers. The quintet was Brian Anderson, the Opening Day starter, Darrell May, Jeremy Affeldt, Jimmy Gobble and Dennys Reyes. Another highly-touted left-hander, Chris George, also made seven starts that season.
 
May led the club with 31 starts, while Anderson had 26 and Gobble 24. Affeldt was moved to the bullpen and became the closer, leading the team with 13 saves. That is not a misprint, 13 saves topped the 2004 Royals. In comparison, Joakim Soria logged 10 saves in September last season.
 
Left-handers started 108 games in 2004. A talented 20-year-old right-hander by the name of Zack Greinke broke into the rotation that season, making 24 starts. Whatever happened to him?
 
The Royals acquired hard-throwing southpaw Jorge De La Rosa in a 2006 trade with the Milwaukee Brewers, but could never harness his control. De La Rosa had a 5.18 earned run average in 10 starts in 2006 with KC after the trade. In 2007, he had a 5.82 ERA in 26 games, 23 of them starts, with the Royals. He went 11-16 in 1 1/2 seasons with the Royals. Last year De La Rosa went 16-9 with the Colorado Rockies.
 
Last season the Royals started four left-handers – Bruce Chen, Lenny DiNardo, Dusty Hughes and Horacio Ramirez – for a total of 16 games. They went 1-11 in those starts. The lone victory was Chen on Aug. 6 against Seattle. It was Chen’s first victory since Oct. 2, 2005. Here are the records and ERA of the four left-handers in their 2009 starts: Chen 1-6, 5.81 ERA; DiNardo 0-3, 10.13; Hughes 0-1, 6.23; and Ramirez 0-1, 12.46.
 
The Royals have eight left-handers in spring training, five of them non-roster invitees. Those with a best chance to stick are Edgar Osuna, a Rule 5 pick from the Atlanta organization that the Royals have to keep on the 25-man roster all year or offer back to the Braves, and Hughes, who is being looked at as strictly a reliever. While Osuna has started in the minors and could wind up in the rotation at some point this season, Hillman said his best chance to make the club would be as a reliever.
 
Noel Arguelles, a 20-year-old Cuban refugee who is on the big-league roster but has never thrown a major-league pitch, will start the season in the minors. So will Danny Duffy, who is ticketed for the rotation in future seasons. The Royals do not want to stymie Duffy’s development as a situational left-hander, but build up innings starting in the minors.
 
Chen, a veteran big leaguer, is back on a minor-league contract, but he is viewed more as a long reliever.
 
The other three candidates from which the Royals are hoping to find a diamond in the rough are Adam Bostick, John Parrish and Nelson Payano, all of whom are signed to minor-league contracts.

Bostick has never pitched in the majors and spent seven years in the minors as primary a starter before moving to the bullpen last year. He was impressive in early bullpen outings, but in the first intrasquad game was touched for three runs and three hits in 1 2/3 innings.
 
The 32-year-old Parrish has pitched six-plus seasons in the majors with Toronto, Seattle and Baltimore. He also did not pitch in 2009, 2006 and 2002 because of injuries. A shoulder surgery kept him out a year. He had “Tommy John” surgery in 2005, causing him to sit out the 2006 season. He missed the 2002 season after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in an exhibition game.
 
Payano spent eight years in the minors and last year was in Japan, where he went 2-1 with a 2.08 ERA in 34 relief appearances. Hillman wants strike throwers out of the bullpen. That is not Payano’s forte. He has walked 227 in 313 1/3 innings in the minors.
 
Unfortunately for this all right-handed staff, there are more left-handed suspects than candidates in camp.

Posted by Alan Eskew at 3/4/2010 12:55 PM
Categories: article
Tags: spring training Kansas City Royals Alan Eskew
 

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