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According to every Kansas City Royals blog’s comment section, many fans disagree with KC’s tendency to stick with a shaky pitcher for too long before demoting them to a lower-pressure role. If we’re going to critique each move the team makes and do our best to coach the Royals from our couches, then we must also give credit where credit is due. KC’s coaching staff deserves their choice between a high-five, hand shake or pat on the back from each Royals fan for making an early-but-important change to the club’s bullpen setup.
I already made my piece on why Joakim Soria should be replaced by Kelvin Herrera as the Royals’ No. 2 high-leverage reliever. I proclaimed that if he continued to look wobbly, Soria should be demoted. Then, when Soria continued to look wobbly, Ned Yost and Dave Eiland casually announced that Herrera was “probably” the pitcher they’ll deploy in that role going forward.
A new slider that embarrasses legit right-handed hitters takes Herrera from really, really good to great, and upon seeing this, KC’s coaching staff acted swiftly. Yost going against his instincts to stay patient with trusted veterans should earn him some kind of award. It probably wasn’t easy for him, but it was the right move, and Herrera will continue to prove this by dominating in that role.
Prior to today’s game, Herrera has an unblemished ERA, a 0.86 WHIP and 13 strikeouts in 9.1 innings pitched this year. Six teams have faced the new-and-improved Herrera, three of which currently have top-10 offenses, and none have managed to score. Opposing batters have a .235 slugging percentage against Herrera this season.
When Soria posted a 2.03 ERA for the Pittsburgh Pirates last year, opponents compiled a .278 slugging percentage against him, which is .020 points lower than Herrera’s opponents’ slugging percentages in 2015. It’s clear to Royals fans and the coaching staff, alike, even through this small 2016 sample size, that Herrera deserves to be KC’s go-to guy behind the untouchable Wade Davis.
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