Quote:
Originally Posted by DeepSouth
Barring some unforeseen injury or trade, the Royals have four starters already set for the 2015 season; Vargas, Ventura, Duffy, and Guthrie. In my opinion, that's not a bad start for a five man rotation.
Who will be the fifth starter? I looked at the starters currently at Omaha and only one has impressive stats. Dwyer, Lamb, Marimon, Brooks, and Verdugo do not look impressive. Clayton Mortenson (who I know nothing about) is 3 - 0 with a .99 era.
Based on stats alone, I see no one in NWA to get excited about.
If the 5th started is to come from within, we can only hope that either Zimmer or Finnegan make the jump.
If the 5th spot is filled by someone not currently in the organization, who are the candidates. Either by free agency (another Vargas) or trade (Shields / Wade), who could it be?
Interested to know what ya'll think?
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The organization's plan was for Kyle Zimmer to be that guy, but that's questionable at this point (especially considering he has only thrown a few ST starts so far and isn't throwing currently - I think he's out a few more weeks. He's not going to be built up for a bunch of innings).
Finnegan will be a candidate if he moves quickly (they're starting him at A+ Wilmington).
Sean Manaea has not moved as quickly as expected. He's had some control problems at Wilmington and given up a lot of hits, though he's pitched better of late (as he is stretched out and able to go deeper in games). If something clicks - like it did for Zimmer last year - we could see Manaea move really quickly. He's missing bats at an incredible rate (78 Ks in 59 1/3 IP).
Beyond that, they may be looking at a not-bank-breaking FA arm. It's hard to say exactly what will be out there, as there are a lot of guys with team options or mutual options.