Throughout the last two seasons, the Kansas City Royals have quickly established themselves as part of baseball’s elite teams and are on track to continue that reputation this year. On Opening Night of the 2016 MLB campaign, the Royals took on the New York Mets in a World Series rematch of the ages. Edinson Volquez handed Matt Harvey his first loss of the season, but the big news comes from the Royals bullpen.
The foundation of the Royal’s newfound success is their overwhelming bullpen. They have marked themselves as some of the best relievers in the Major Leagues, and might even be a bigger threat this year. The command and control that exists within the Royal’s bullpen is enough to make opposing hitters tremble.
The standout reliever on Sunday night was none other than Wade Davis. The 30-year-old right hander took over the closer role in Holland’s absence in the postseason, and continued where he left off tossing a scoreless ninth inning to secure a Royals 4-3 victory over the Mets.
Since the 2014 season, Davis has slated an impressive 0.96 ERA and has allowed a .148 batting average against him. It’s not just Davis doing the damage out of the pen though, Ned Yost has plenty of firepower he can put into the game no matter the situation.
The Royals also return standout relievers Kelvin Herrera, and former first overall pick Luke Hochevar. Both of these late-inning specialists have posted numbers similar to Davis, and are ready to take on a heavier workload this year.
Kansas City has built the reputation of a fearless bullpen, even without their sensational closer Greg Holland. Holland has earned an American League best 125 saves during the past three seasons, but was sidelined mid-September by Tommy John surgery and went unsigned as a free agent in the offseason.
The rest of the MLB has taken note of the Royals and are constantly on the lookout for top-tier relievers. In winning back-to-back AL pennants, the Royals’ bullpen has led the Majors with a .224 batting average allowed and have a staff ERA of 2.98.
The Kansas City Royals bullpen has played a pivotal role in the club’s ability to end their 30-year championship drought, and is also the reasons they are looking like favorites again in 2016.
The World Series champions are looking to join the Yankees in winning back-to-back titles since the 1993 and 1992 Blue Jays. With the players that appear out of the bullpen for the Royals, back-to-back World Series titles doesn’t seem too farfetched.