Outfielder Paulo Orlando has been one of the teams bright spots so far this season (kingsofkauffman).
The Kansas City Royals are off to a solid 11-4 start after beginning the year with seven consecutive wins. With key players on the Royals roster going down with injuries already early in the year, such as new-Royal Alex Rios with a broken hand and star closer Greg Holland with a pectoral strain, it left room for other players to step up and contribute to the team’s success in their absence, and that is just what they have done.
Yohan Pino began his professional baseball career in 2005 playing minor league ball for the Twins organization in rookie ball. Pino has a career 85-57 record in the minors and has always shown the ability to succeed at that level. After signing with a few different organizations in a decade, Pino eventually found himself once again affiliated with the Minnesota Twins and got his chance to prove himself over the course of 11 starts with the big league club in 2014. Never really having overpowering quality stuff, the Royals signed Pino in the offseason with the opportunity to make a name for himself out of the bullpen. After a mediocre Spring Training, Pino began the season in Omaha but was quickly called up after just one appearance when Greg Holland was placed on the disabled list.
Kansas City Royals: Picking up where they left off
The past couple seasons, pitching coach Dave Eiland has helped transform former starters Luke Hochevar and Wade Davis into bullpen studs, and it appears he may be working his magic again with the likes of Yohan Pino. Pino has only made two appearances to this point in the season but has pitched seven and two-thirds scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and has yet to walk a batter. Although it is early in the season, Pino has ate up some key innings for the Royals’ bullpen and will likely continue to have a spot on the roster if he continues to produce he has to this point.
By now fans of Kansas City have become quite familiar with Paulo Orlando. Orlando, much like Pino, spent many years in the minors before making his major league debut. Orlando was able to make the roster out of Spring Training as the team’s fourth outfielder and was used initially to give left fielder Alex Gordon an occasional day off. It did not look as if Orlando would be getting much playing time with the hot start Alex Rios got off to, but after being hit by a pitch and breaking a bone in his hand and eventually finding himself on the disabled list, Orlando was called on to be the Royals’ everyday right fielder for the time being. Orlando has not taken the opportunity lightly playing solid defense, having excellent base running skills, and of course hitting five triples in his first seven major league games. It is unlikely that a 29-year old rookie would eventually become a key contributor to a major league ball club, but if Orlando continues to play the way he has in the first few weeks of this long season, it will be difficult to keep him out of the lineup for long.
One of the most exciting things to watch last fall during the Royals’ magical World Series run was how each member on the roster played an integral part in the team’s success, whether it be to come in from the bullpen and retire the side or to pinch run and steal second base to get into scoring position. This is the exact reason as to why the 2015 Kansas City Royals are going to be a great watch all year long. The players have really bought in into the team dynamic and when a player goes down with an injury, the next man up steps in and does the job just as well. Going to consecutive World Series’ is a task difficult for even the best teams in history to accomplish, but if the Royals continue to play the way they have to begin the season, they may just bring home a World Series Crown for the first time in 30 years.
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This article Kansas City Royals: Next man up appeared first on isportsweb by Anthony Pluff