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Royals closer Joakim Soria may not be physically imposing, but he’s certainly frightened opposing hitters with his nasty pitches.
J oakim Soria can do the splits. Did you know that? Unofficially, they’re calling him the only Royals player who can do the splits, and that’s just the beginning of how he’s unique.
He rocks braces and an Abraham Lincoln beard, plus usually a smile — and why not? He was the primary setup man in his second big-league game, the closer in his fourth, and now, into his second season, looks capable of becoming one of the game’s best.
Numbers don’t always do it justice, but here goes: a perfect eight-for-eight on saves, zero runs surrendered in 13 one-inning appearances, a .071 batting average-against, one walk and 15 strikeouts.
“He’s the only guy on the team any of us would say, ‘I’ll bet my next paycheck this is a strike,’ ” says Brian Bannister. “That’s how much faith we have in him. We all laugh when we watch him pitch. You just know the first pitch is going to be a strike, and it’s probably going to be knee high.”
Soria is so good, so quick — and with seemingly no strain — that teammates and Royals officials can’t help but wonder about someday moving him to the rotation. His use has become one of the perpetual talking points among Royals fans.
Royals manager Trey Hillman, not one who lacks confidence in his decisions, has even second-guessed himself when he hasn’t used Soria.
The only problem the Royals have had with Soria is providing him with save chances — only eight in the first 33 games.
“I don’t know if we’ve seen what he’s capable of doing,” says catcher John Buck. “Personally, I think he could be a really good starter. He has a lot of good other pitches that the league hasn’t even seen. I’ve caught him in the bullpen. There’s about three other pitches that nobody’s ever seen, because he doesn’t need ’em.”
•••
Yes, the starter question. Soria’s role as the team’s closer won’t change anytime soon — almost certainly not this season and probably not next, either.
But, gosh, he’s been dominant … his pitch catalog translates better as a starter … his personality fits as a starter … his entire background is as a starter … well, you can’t help but wonder.
Louie Medina is the Royals scout who saw Soria in Mexico two years ago and convinced the team to take him in the Rule 5 draft. Medina watched Soria as a starter.
“I’m the only one in our organization who’s seen him do that,” Medina says. “He’s very impressive as a starter. You hate to take a guy out of a role he’s absolutely dominating, but if it better serves our organization at some point, you have to think about it.
“He was pretty fantastic as a starter.”
Fantastic enough that he threw a perfect game two days after the Royals selected him. Medina says Soria lacks the pure stuff of a classic No. 1 starter, but does have the “feel to pitch” and command of an ace.
Medina originally wrote Soria up as a No. 3 starter in the big leagues, and now calls that a conservative estimate.
“He could absolutely be better than that,” Medina says. “You’ve seen this market. Teams pay a lot of money for mediocre starters in this game, and he can be better than that.”
General manager Dayton Moore said this week he felt confident that Soria could be a good starter, but wasn’t in a hurry to make any moves because he liked the rotation and Soria’s success as the closer.
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