Quote:
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut
But the 2014 Royals didn't rob Peter to pay Paul in Ventura.
The Royals will need that rotation breakout AND need to keep their hammer bullpen intact. Can they do that? Aren't Staumont and Strahm going to be vital to a true lockdown bullpen? Because without those guys locking up the 7th and 8th, Soria and Flynn aren't holding down the fort; those are yeoman relievers, not hammers. Young, Minor and Wood are in the same boat.
Realistically, to match what the '14 Royals did, Staumona and Strahm will need to be world beaters AND someone like Zimmer would have to explode onto the scene. Maybe it's Nate Karns finding his command and finally maximizing his stuff.
It just seems like a lot of moves were made over the last month with an eye on raising the floor without doing anything to really change the ceiling much.
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I don't think both Staumont and Strahm would need to be in the rotation in this scenario. If we're going for my 1990's
Disney movie ending, one would be the lockdown guy in the 8th, while the other would be that underscouted firepisser in the rotation who could give us quality innings in October.
Remember, coming into the 2015 playoffs, the Royals didn't have the borg pen they did in 2014, but they did have a deeper one. Madson and Herrera were simply "great" during the season (down from the unhittable borgtrons Herrera and Holland were in 14), and Hoch had been pretty inconsistent coming off of TJS. However, once the playoffs rolled around, having Duffy, Hoch, Madson, Herrera and Davis throwing quality innings after the 5th ended up making the pen more valuable in the 15 postseason than it was in 2014.
Put Flynn, Wood, Hoch (maybe), Maness, 1 of Strahm or Staumont and Herrera in a 17' pen for the postseason, and we at least have similar depth than we did in 2015. Soria bouncing back and Chris Young not pitching like an AARP member would also be monumental to a potential run in October.