Spring training battles: The fifth starting pitcher

Photo by Justin Berl/Getty ImagesThe Royals’ starting pitching woes were overshadowed last year by their bullpen woes, but the starters posted a 4.89 ERA, seventh-worst in baseball and the highest ERA by Royals starters since 2010, The front of the rotation wasn’t great with Danny Duffy, Jakob Junis, and Brad Keller posting a 4.26 ERA when starting. But the rotation figures to improve this year, as Duffy has shown flashes of dominance in the past, and Junis and Keller are young enough to have some upside.

Those three figure to be locks in the rotation (if Duffy is healthy), and while there is talk of moving Ian Kennedy to the bullpen, most likely he will begin the year as the fourth starter.…