(Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
No one expected the KC Royals’ starting rotation to be spectacular this season. Even the most optimistic Kansas City fans had to know the rotation wasn’t great and, even with the offseason addition of veteran Mike Minor, wouldn’t be.
Going into spring training, Brad Keller, who won his second team Pitcher of the Year award last season after going 5-3 with a 2.47 ERA, was the closest thing to an “ace” in a five-man rota widely projected to include him, Danny Duffy, Brady Singer, Kris Bubic and Minor. That’s because Duffy has never been the ace the club presumed he’d be when he signed a five-year, $65 million contract not long before spring camp opened in 2017.