Series Preview: Cleveland Indians vs. Kansas City Royals
Another struggling AL Central team visits Progressive Field
After a successful set against the Detroit Tigers, the Cleveland Indians look to the AL Central once again for their next opponent in the Kansas City Royals. The Royals, if you can believe it, have actually been worse this season than the Tigers. But regardless, I don’t have to remind you what happened the last time these two teams met. All I’m saying is let’s hope that the results are different this time around.
Team in a box
The Kansas City hitting has actually not been as bad as I expected. It’s not been good, but it hasn’t been as horrendous as I anticipated. The pitching leaves a lot to be desired, but that was expected coming into 2019. It will be interesting to see what the team does as the trade deadline approaches.
Projected starters
Monday, June 24 7:10 p.m. ET: RHP Brad Keller (v. Adam Plutko)
After a great rookie campaign in 2018, Brad Keller has cooled off a bit in his sophomore season. He’s still pitching well, but not as well as he did a year ago. Across 97.0 innings in 16 starts, Keller has allowed 48 earned runs while walking 48 and striking out 68 (ERA+ 104). His main problem this year has been the walks; he’s currently walking 4.5 hitters per nine innings, which is not great. He relies mainly on three pitches: his fastball (94 mph), his slider (85 mph), and his sinker (93 mph), all of which generate a ton of ground balls. His most recent start came on June 19 against the Seattle Mariners; in that game, Keller went 4.0 innings and allowed 7 earned runs on 9 hits while walking 2 and striking out 5.
Tuesday, June 25 7:10 p.m. ET: RHP Glenn Sparkman (v. Shane Bieber)
Between 2017-2018, Glenn Sparkman had just 39.1 major league innings under his belt (with only 1.0 inning coming in 2017). This year, he’s eclipsed that mark and has been much better. Across 49.2 innings in 14 games (6 starts), Sparkman has allowed 20 earned runs while walking 12 and striking out 27 (ERA+ 129). Since solidifying his role in the rotation, Sparkman has pitched much better than he had been out of the bullpen. This season, hitters were slashing .315/.378/.452 against him as a reliever compared to .220/.262/.374 as a starter. He’s got a good fastball (94 mph) to pair with a changeup (86 mph) that generates fly balls. His most recent start came on June 20 against the Minnesota Twins; in that game, Sparkman went 7.0 innings and allowed 1 earned run on 5 hits while walking 1 and striking out 3.
Wednesday, June 26 1:10 p.m. ET: RHP Jakob Junis (v. Trevor Bauer)
Jakob Junis showed some decent promise in his debut in 2017, but it’s been downhill since then. This season is no different. Across 88.2 innings in 16 starts, Junis has allowed 51 earned runs while walking 33 and striking out 84 (ERA+ 90). He’s allowing way too many people on base (1.455 WHIP), and he’s still giving up 1.6 home runs per nine innings. Those two things combined are a recipe for disaster. His go to pitch is his slider (83 mph) that’s got a ton of movement. He pairs it with a fastball (92 mph) and a sinker (92 mph) with “few remarkable qualities”, according to Brooks Baseball. His most recent start came on June 21 against the Twins; in that game, Junis went 6.0 innings and allowed 2 earned runs on 6 hits while walking 2 and striking out 8.
Lineup highlights
- 3B Hunter Dozier: Dozier is having the best year of his career. After struggling in his limited rookie campaign in 2016 and not making it to the majors at all in 2017, he was a part-time player in 2018 and struggled. This season, however, he looks like one of the best hitters on the Royals. Across 229 plate appearances in 55 games, Dozier is slashing .311/.397/.592 (wRC+ 157). A large part of his success is thanks to his walk rate doubling from a year ago (12.2% compared to 6.2% in 2018) and his strikeout rate falling a bunch (19.2% compared to 28.1% in 2018). He’s rocking a slightly elevated BABIP (.343), but it seems that Dozier has figured something out.
- 2B Whit Merrifield: The madman just keeps on hitting. Whit Merrifield, resident of Bagshot Row, has continued to do what he’s been doing for a couple of seasons now. Across 352 plate appearances in 78 games, Merrifield is slashing .302/.349/.498 (wRC+ 121). His numbers are all right in line with what they were a year ago, so you can expect him to keep producing in between first and second breakfast.
- RF Jorge Soler: Jorge Soler only played in 61 games last season, and he looked great in that limited time. This season, he’s playing every day and he’s still producing at an above-average level. Across 320 plate appearances in 78 games, Soler is slashing .241/.306/.517 (wRC+ 112). He’s still striking out almost 30% of the time, so there are still some weaknesses to exploit. But if pitchers make mistakes, he will likely hit a home run as he’s done a team-leading 21 times this season.