Quarter-Season Grades for Royals Pitchers

The Royals have had a wild start to the season and have now reached the quarter season point, which means it is time to hand out grades on pitcher performance.

Alright, alright, alright, the Royals are getting back to the .500 mark as the dog days of summer are quickly approaching. With a little over a quarter season underway, I gave my quarter season grades for the position players last week. It's now time for Part 2 and time for me to give grades for the pitchers and their performance so far. Let's get to it!

Starters 

Brad Keller - C-
5.72 ERA, 7.9 K/9, -0.3 WAR

His start to this season was brutal, to put it mildly, but he has pitched much better recently, showcased by an outstanding game shutting down the red-hot Rays. His strikeouts numbers have always been lower than one would expect for a guy with such a great fastball and his walk numbers always leave room to be desired but his ability to be a workhorse and someone who keeps you in games can rarely be denied. His first few starts really inflated his numbers in a poor way and I think he is back to being a guy you can count on to give you innings and a chance to win games. 

Danny Duffy - A+
1.94 ERA, 10.4 K/9, 1.7 WAR

Before his injury, Danny Duffy was phenomenal. With all of the preseason chatter, myself included, on if moving him to the bullpen would be best for him and this team was quickly put to rest by his stellar performances. Duffy seemed to be on the top of his game with a sub-2 ERA and great strikeout numbers and heading for a career year. The injury really puts a damper on it, although hopefully, he’ll be back on the shorter end of the recovery timetable, but you can’t take away his seven amazing starts. 

Daniel Lynch - NA
15.75 ERA, 7.9 K/9, -0.8 WAR

I’m going to give Daniel Lynch a break and not give him a grade as we don’t need to pile on his struggles. His performances, to me, showed a guy who let his nerves get the best of him. In reality, almost everyone is going to have jitters when you are just getting called up and you have so many eyes on you with all of this pressure to become a stud. I think he just needs more time to relax, calm down, and he’ll be back throwing gas before we know it. Don’t lose faith in a kid over three starts. 

Brady Singer - B
4.91 ERA, 9.3 K/9, 0.0 WAR

The man who hates rain more than anyone is having a very solid season. Brady Singer has good strikeout numbers for a starter, punching out more than one an inning while being tied with Duffy with four quality starts. Singer doesn’t have the most explosive stuff but he’s very good with what he has and his growth has been tremendous. He is still a kid, just look at his face, and he is consistently giving the Royals a chance to win. He has been the most fun pitcher to watch, outside of Duffy, and he’s only going to get better. 

Mike Minor - C-
4.83 ERA, 10.2 K/9, 0.4 WAR

While the ERA leaves much to be desired, his underlying numbers tell me that will improve. His really solid strikeout numbers with a solid WHIP (1.24) have shown the ability to be an innings eater which has been needed at times this season. I’m a big Mike Minor fan, but he’s really going to need to step up with Duffy out. His first quarter of the season has been a slight disappointment. 

Kris Bubic - A
1.52 ERA, 6.7 K/9, 1.3 WAR

I can already hear you getting upset saying “why grade him when you didn’t Lynch?” As well as “he has mostly been a reliever” and I get that. But this is my article and he’s going to be a starter moving forward plus the whole starter/reliever titles don’t mean much for this purpose. Rant aside, Kris Bubic has been fantastic. Like, extremely good. I know the advanced numbers expect a decent amount of regression, but basing off the numbers he has put up so far, I can’t give him anything less than an A. He has the second-highest WAR on the pitching staff while only pitching in seven games total, including three starts. He doesn’t have the best stuff but he is already garnering that crafty lefty ability. 

Relievers 

Kyle Zimmer - A-
2.55 ERA, 8.7 K/9, 0.7 WAR

Kyle Zimmer has been one of the most reliable guys out of the bullpen and someone who the Royals have really counted on. His WHIP of .82 is outstanding and his story of getting to where he is at now is nothing short of incredible. He has Luke Hochevar vibes, albeit with more injuries. Zimmer looks to have really found himself in the bullpen.

Greg Holland - C
4.24 ERA, 10.6 K/9, 0.1 WAR

This is about what we expected from Greg Holland at this point, right? He has been solid when he comes in with the bases clear (ahem, Miguel Cabrera grand slam), but he doesn’t always have clean innings when he does. His walks are high and he seems to always be in a 3-2 count. For as much as he makes sweat stains on my shirt, he tends to work himself out of jams. He's been a useful middle leverage type of reliever at this point. 

Tyler Zuber - C- 
6.60 ERA, 9.0 K/9, -0.3 WAR

Tyler Zuber has been very … OK. I need to see more of him to get a real good picture of what I think he can be going forward. As far as through this first quarter of the season, he’s been a little below average. He’s put up low-leverage situation numbers and his performance so far has been serviceable. 

Jakub Junis - A & F 
5.34 ERA, 9.5 K/9, 0.0 WAR

After a phenomenal start to the season as a starter, Junis got moved to the bullpen where he has struggled mightily. He has imploded multiple times and I’d assume his confidence could be shot after getting moved out of his starting role. I am not sure where he goes from here. I thought a Chris Young type of role made sense as a spot starter/long reliever and a guy you trust in a pinch but he has really made me rethink that. As a starter, that was an A but as a reliever, that’s an F so far. 

Wade Davis - F
6.61 ERA, 9.4 K/9, -0.3 WAR

An unmitigated disaster is the best way to describe the start for Wade Davis. It is always tricky business bringing back former team heroes, but I think it is time to cut ties. Realistically, Davis shouldn’t have been brought back but he is here and his struggles of the past three seasons continue. No matter what happens, the lasting memory of him and the amazing stretch he had here will be at the forefront. I think we’ve heard the last "Wader, check please!" in Kansas City.

Josh Staumont - A-
2.78 ERA, 9.9 K/9, 0.5 WAR

Josh Staumont has been very good out of the bullpen and has mostly taken over the closer role on this team. With a power fastball, he has produced solid strikeout numbers, although far from some of the elite relievers in baseball. He’s gotten in a little trouble at times but typically finds a way to get out of it. His first quarter of the season was a very pleasant surprise. 

Jake Brentz - A-
2.28 ERA, 9.9 K/9, 0.7 WAR

Jake Brentz has been fantastic as the hard-throwing lefty has been turning heads this season. His ability to be effective against both lefties and righties has been great as evidenced by his .160 batting average against. He has been someone the Royals can trust in high leverage situations and I expect his role to continue to expand as the season progresses. 


Scott Barlow - A
2.13 ERA, 13.1 K/9, 1.1 WAR

With eight holds already in this short season, Barlow has been the best reliever so far. His 2.13 ERA is tops in the bullpen as well as his K/9. He has been someone Royals manager Mike Matheny can turn to and count on to come through in big moments. Barlow is pitching like an all-star through the first quarter of the season.  

Ervin Santana - A-
2.20 ERA, 5.5 K/9, 0.5 WAR

Sometimes reunions work, and this is one of them. Santana has been lockdown in his return to Kansas City and while the strikeouts are poor, his WHIP is under one and he is generating weak contact. Filling in as a long reliever/spot starter, if he keeps this up he will find himself in more important situations. #SmellBaseball is working for him.

Read More: Quarter-Season Grades for Royals Position Players