So, on the other board Ventura's amazing outing has sparked a fierce argument over service time. Some Royals fans are so beaten-down that it seems service time should always rule all.

I get it, yes you only need to keep Ventura in AAA for about 3 or 4 weeks to lock up that extra year (in 2020) and normally I'd be all for that, but not this year. If Ventura continues to look like an ace, then we need those extra 4 or 5 starts. That may the difference between having 1 or 2 extra wins, which could keep us in or out of the playoffs.

Our margin is too narrow, and the team could suck in 2020 for all we know. If Ventura continues to look great, then that 7th year be damned, we need him.

I don't think service time rules all, but I certainly think duffy will suffice for a month. Especially to preserve a whole year of service.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>al scout says yordano ventura, the 101-mph throwing royals rhp, is a (very) early rookie of yr candidate. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23VenturaHighway&amp;src=hash">#VenturaHighway</a></p>&mdash; Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) <a href="https://twitter.com/JonHeymanCBS/statuses/444482177968111616">March 14, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Wow... The kid has one start... ONE START that he's shown ace stuff... Sure, he's been effective in his few other starts dating to last year, but he labors... The guy still has to learn how to pitch past the 4th and 5th innings. We've been waiting for Duffy to make that turn for 2+ years now...

Some Royals fans need to temper expectations! lol

Sure I wanna see him pitching at KC like everyone else... we want to see him in a Royals uniform, but damn.. it was one start!

I'm also annoyed that Chen is still seen as sort of a lock. He may have been a lock back when we were still thinking of keeping Ventura down a while, but now that he's obviously ready to fly out of the gate, I think Chen should go to the bullpen, and we should go with both Duffy and Ventura.

The scouts and people paid to judge these things are all convinced, thats good enough for me.

I'll also flip it on you: why is 2020 so valuable that we should be willing to do anything, anything at all, that might even slightly damage 2014? If we keep Ventura down a month, he looks awesome the rest of the year, and we miss the playoffs by one game, I'm going to be very unhappy. By the time 2020 rolls around the team might not be good and we may end up trading him off that July.

You have got to agree that if we ignore service time and focus only on baseball reasons, the right thing to do is to go with Ventura at #5, and that anybody else hurts the team at least a little bit.

Thats the beginning and end of it for me. If we were a lot better than the Tigers or if we had no chance at the playoffs then thats different, but we need every last fraction of WAR.

I'm not arguing about 2020 and that year, I'm just pointing out the guys on radio and the forums that are absolutely clamouring for Ventura to be in the rotation... based off one start in spring training. Not directing this at you, specifically, Al.

I don't give a flipping flip about service time. We haven't had a decent pitcher be successful from our own organization since Greinke... and before that it was Rosada (and only for a very short stint)... I ache for a pitcher to call our own... This town aches... which is why I think so many want to see him here so badly... whether he's ready or not.

Just temper the expectations of the kid is all, before throwing around "Ace" comments, etc...

Also, if you start with Ventura and he "labors" as you fear or otherwise struggles, great send him down a month.

The risk is not that he might not be as good as we think or that he's not ready to go because you can just go ahead and get that year of service time back anyway, the risk is that he's on fire out of the gate and that he is so great over the next 5 years that you never get another chance again to send him down a few weeks to grab that extra year.

I'm willing to take that "risk".

The $$ paid to him guarantee'd he'd at least start out in the rotation... I'd rather go with Duffy\Ventura as well, but am Okay with Chen until he starts to falter. He's such a great dude, hard worker, and important piece of this team... I'm hoping he retires this year and stays on as a coach of some soft... that would be sweet.

If the guy is ready, he's ready... eff the service time.

Temper it is all... temper it.

Apparently the Royals have not yet ruled out bringing them both but putting one of them into the bullpen.

Here's my opening day staff:

Rotation
Shields
Vargas
Guthenator
Duffy
Chen

Pen
Ventura
Davis
Collins
Coleman
Crow
Herrera
Holland

June -> Ventura to rotation for Chen (or replacing any injuries prior)

To add to it, my other 13.

Salvy
Hoz
Infante
Al
Moose
Billy
Gordon
Cain
Aoki
Ciriaco
Velencia
Dyson
Hayes

Sorry Maxwell, you're the odd man out.

Maxwell will make the club, though... and Ventura or Duffy will start in AAA... going with only 6 in the pen.

I'm just one of those guys that likes to go through April and early May with 7 in the Pen... until the Starting pitchers get into form.

Yost is firm on wanting 12. I agree that we should start with 11 though.

Ciriaco is the odd man out, the Royals actually do plan to somehow go without a backup middle infielder at the moment.