Brad Keller was a diamond in the rough, plucked from obscurity in the Rule 5 draft after toiling away in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. The Royals didn’t have high expectations for him, but he surprised everyone by showing good poise and a terrific ground ball rate, posting the most WAR on the pitching staff.
Keller dispelled any notion his rookie season was a fluke by putting together a solid 2.2 fWAR season in 2019. In 2020, he looked even more impressive, although he was limited to just nine starts due to the pandemic and a positive COVID-19 test.