Despite strengths, Royals’ weaknesses in rotation stand out

The Royals' rotation is not the team's biggest short-term concern, not when the offense is generating 39 runs over the last 13 games. The team is struggling, now losers of seven of nine, in no small part because they are scoring and walking with all the consistency of cheap oatmeal.

But the rotation is the biggest long-term concern, the team's most significant weakness, and the part under the most transition.

Chris Young was bad, for the first time this season, giving up 10 baserunners and six runs over five innings of what eventually turned into a rain-shortened 6-2 loss to the Indians on Thursday.

He gave up a home run and three doubles, the deception and bad swings that largely marked his first five starts turning into line drives that his outfielders sprinted toward the wall to retrieve.

“They were better than me tonight,” Young said. “I wish I'd have been able to hold the game closer, give my team a chance, but it wasn't my night.”

Young has been terrific for the Royals. He entered the night with a 1.55 ERA, giving up less than one baserunner per inning. That included five very good starts as a fill-in, the role the Royals front office envisioned when they signed him during spring training.

But there is a reason the club wants to have him in the bullpen as much as possible. His starts don't last long, and he has an injury history. Even last year, when he won the American League comeback player of the year award, he was much better in the first half of the season (3.15 ERA and an opponents' .659 OPS) than the second (4.70 ERA and an .873 OPS).

Young has never been a permanent solution for the Royals' rotation, so Thursday's struggles were a bit like pulling back the band-aid and being reminded of the scar.

Some of this is a new standard for the Royals, or what the kids call first world problems – do they still call it that? – because this is a good team with strengths that make the weaknesses stand out.

They don't need the rotation to be great, or, really, even good. Average would probably be enough for the playoffs, and anything better might make them the best team in the American League.

Instead, the rotation entered the night 10th in the American League with a 4.35 ERA, and 14th in innings-per-start (just under 5 2/3). Both of those numbers got worse on Thursday.

Making the rotation strong is the front office's most important task. There is optimism that Yordano Ventura has found his mojo, and Edinson Volquez has been worth the offseason investment, but most nights the Royals are entirely unsure what they will get from their starting pitcher.

As the July 31 trade deadline approaches, a market led by Reds ace Johnny Cueto will materialize, and the Royals will have to decide how much of their future to invest in this season. Aaron Harang and Dan Haren are two others who might be available.

Trades are usually clustered near the deadline, so the Royals have four to six more weeks to inventory their in-house options. That's an important window, highlighted by two developments on Thursday.

Danny Duffy and Kris Medlen threw simulated games in the afternoon, each expressing the optimism you'd expect from players nearing the end of their recovery processes.

Duffy will likely go out on a minor league rehab assignment next week, and should be ready for big league duty soon after. But he was ineffective and wild enough before going on the disabled list that he's altered his delivery.

Medlen is even more of an unknown, not having pitched since 2013 because of a second Tommy John surgery. The Royals sent subtle signals in the spring that they would like to bring Medlen back as a reliever this season, easing his return to the majors, but have shifted as their rotation has struggled. A rough timetable has him able to return to the big leagues around the beginning of next month.

Medlen and Young are here in large part because the club knew their rotation could struggle. The Royals had just seven fill-in starts last year, the kind of health that is nearly impossible to duplicate. James Shields left in free agency, and Duffy's availability in the playoffs was compromised by an injury.

They've also had Brandon Finnegan starting games again in the minor leagues.

There are no teams without flaws, and the Royals feel this is more than manageable – particularly in the short-term. As much as anything, the Royals need innings from their starters. Ventura is the only one to get an out past the sixth inning since May 17.

But major changes are coming. We may have seen the signs of those on Thursday, with Young struggling, and Medlen and Duffy passing markers in recovery.

The front office will be watching particularly closely over the next four to six weeks. The hope is that the waters will calm, and that the fixes are already on the roster.

Either way, the encouraging part is that even after a loss the Royals are nine games over .500 as they continue to find their way.

This story was originally published June 5, 2015 at 12:43 AM with the headline "Despite strengths, Royals’ weaknesses in rotation stand out."