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A strong starting rotation is normally a necessity for any team with hopes of winning the World Series. Just ask the San Francisco Giants, who rode Madison Bumgarner to the 2014 World Series championship.

Bumgarner was terrific in both of his starts and returned as a reliever in Game 7 on just two days’ rest to throw five scoreless innings and help the Giants win their third title in five years.

The team that watched Bumgarner and his teammates celebrate from the losing dugout were the Kansas City Royals.

The Royals came close to winning their first championship since 1985 with strong defense and an electric bullpen, but their starting pitching left a lot to be desired.

Fast forward a little less than a year later, and the Royals have a commanding lead in the American League Central Division and have the second-best record in baseball. In July, the front office shocked the baseball world when they pulled off a trade for Johnny Cueto from the Cincinnati Reds.

The club gave up a trio of prospects for the pending free agent. The move was made with the expectation that Cueto would provide the team with something it lacked during its 2014 postseason run: an ace to anchor the rotation.

To this point, he’s been a total flop in a Kansas City uniform. It’s critical for the right-hander to figure things out because he’s an integral piece if the Royals hope to win a World Series championship.

What’s wrong with Johnny?

The Royals need Cueto to pitch the way he did before he was dealt to Kansas City. In 19 starts with the Reds, the righty had a 2.62 ERA with 120 strikeouts and a 0.934 WHIP in 130.2 innings pitched. Since the trade, the 29-year-old is 2-6 with a 5.43 ERA and 1.420 WHIP in nine starts, according to Baseball Reference.

Things have gotten worse as of late. As Fox Sports indicates, Cueto has struggled mightily in his last five starts. He’s 0-5 with a 9.57 ERA and a 1.97 WHIP while serving up eight home runs.

He was acquired to finally give the Royals a top front-line starter, but he’s in danger of pitching himself out of the team’s postseason rotation.

The organization insists it isn’t a health issue, and trainer Nick Kenney tells Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star that Cueto is working hard to figure things out.

“This guy’s never come off the mound,” Kenney told McCullough. “He’s never skipped a bullpen. He’s never done any of that stuff. And all you do is you work with him on a daily basis. We put our hands on him each and every day. There’s been no indication, in regards to the work that’s we’ve done with him, that shows us that he is.”

ESPN’s Buster Olney tweeted out a video of the Baseball Tonight analysts discussing Cueto’s recent struggles. They point out that Cueto’s location is the source of his issues. The analysts questioned whether or not Cueto will start Game 1 of the American League Division Series if he doesn’t bounce back quickly, but Tim Kurkjian said that the club’s other options aren’t much better.

As the video shows, the entire rotation has been putrid in September. They have a combined 6.50 ERA, according to Baseball Tonight. Kansas City lost eight of its past 11 games.

Here’s a look at the starters’ ERAs this month:

• Cueto: 9.39 ERA
• Yordano Ventura: 4.50 ERA
• Edinson Volquez: 7.20 ERA
• Kris Medlen: 6.94 ERA
• Danny Duffy: 4.50 ERA

Despite acquiring Cueto, the team’s starting pitching is even worse than it was in 2014. The club’s ERA among starters was 3.60 in 2014, and they averaged 6.08 innings. Currently, the Royals rank No. 21 in Major League Baseball with a 4.40 ERA and average just 5.65 innings per start, according to Fan Graphs.

As Jon Morosi of FOX Sports tweets, the Royals have a tough decision to make if Cueto’s struggles ensue over the next couple of weeks.

If the Royals can’t figure out his issues, the team won’t make it far in the playoffs even with a deep bullpen and strong defense.

Follow Chris Hauler on Twitter

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The Detroit Tigers certainly have had a season to forget.

What offseason moves do the Tigers need to make to have a strong 2016?  What free agents should Detroit look to jump on?

Watch as Adam Lefkoe and Bleacher Report National MLB Columnist Scott Miller break down the Tigers in the video above.

All Stats Accurate for Games Played Through 9/14

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Kansas City Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas’ breakout 2015 season hit a new high on Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles as he went 3-for-5 with two home runs and a career-high nine RBI in a 14-6 victory.

In addition to Moustakas setting a new single-game benchmark for runs driven in, Joel Goldberg of Fox Sports Kansas City noted the other marks the 27-year-old broke or tied:

Here was the blast that allowed Moustakas to hit the nine-RBI mark, via MLB.com:

Even though Moustakas and the Royals will have more opportunities to create lasting moments in October during the postseason, this game against the Orioles is a stellar way to cap what has been a dramatic turnaround that dates back to last year’s playoff run. 

For instance, per Carrington Harrison, Moustakas’ nine RBI on Saturday were more than he had in three different months last season:        

Things were so bad for Moustakas early in 2014 that the Royals sent him down to Triple-A in May. He did return at the start of June but never rebounded to save his slash line.

In April, Moustakas told Matthew DeFranks of Fox Sports Kansas City that the struggles early in his career helped him to make swing adjustments leading to the much-improved results this year:

I took my lumps. I took my bumps, my bruises. It’s just kind of what happens in baseball. You’re not always going to have success in this game. You go 3 for 10, you’re considered a Hall of Famer in your career. Just trying to put all that in perspective. I was young. I wanted to do so good when I first got up here. Now, it’s just all about the team.

Making Moose’s effort even more impressive is all nine of his RBI came in the last four innings. He hit a two-run single in the top of the sixth, a grand slam in the top of the seventh and a three-run home run in the top of the ninth. 

According to Pete Grathoff of the Kansas City Star, Moustakas is the sixth player over the last decade with at least nine RBI. He also noted the player with the most RBI in a game during that span is Garret Anderson, who had 10 with the Los Angeles Angels in 2007. 

Kansas City has virtually been on cruise control this season, jumping out to a huge lead in the American League Central and only riding out the string until it officially earns a playoff berth. 

After reaching the World Series last October, Moustakas’ offensive emergence adds another dynamic to a Royals team that’s outstanding defensively and loaded in the back end of the bullpen.

Moustakas may not have another day like Saturday in his career, but his breakout game and season certainly make Kansas City look like it will be making another deep run in October.  

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The luck of the Irish wasn’t on the side of John Danks.

After losing a bet to broadcaster Ed Farmer, the Chicago White Sox pitcher rolled up to U.S. Cellular Field for warm-ups ahead of Friday’s game against the Minnesota Twins dressed as a leprechaun—green bow tie and all.

Danks pulled the look off pretty well—so well he could likely get a gig advertising cereal after the professional baseball stint ends.

[White Sox, h/t For The Win]

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The Detroit Tigers underwent an organizational shake-up earlier this year by ousting former president and general manager Dave Dombrowski, and it appears that more changes could be on the horizon with manager Brad Ausmus on the hot seat.

Continue for updates.

Avila Comments on Reports Ausmus Not Expected Back in 2016

Friday, September 11

Tigers general manager Al Avila released a statement regarding Ausmus’ status with the team: 

Avila admitted the team was in an “awkward” situation, but said “you deal with it and move on,” according to ESPN.com.

Ausmus Reportedly Set to Be Fired

Friday, Sept. 11 

Citing a front office source, WDIV-TV Local 4 News’ Bernie Smilovitz (via ClickonDetroit.com) reported Ausmus will be fired at the end of the 2015 season.

“The source said new general manager Al Avila wants to bring in his own manager for a fresh start,” ClickOnDetroit.com noted. “Owner Mike Ilitch reportedly wants to bring a championship to Detroit but doesn’t feel Ausmus is the guy to do it. Ilitch is reportedly unhappy about miscommunication with the players and strategic mistakes on the field.”

“I haven’t been told anything,” said Ausmus, per the Detroit News‘ Chris McCosky.

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports noted the team could target former Twins manager Ron Gardenhire or former Cubs manager Rick Renteria. 

A year after Ausmus led the Tigers to 90 wins and an American League Central Division title, Detroit has floundered in the division’s cellar. Following Thursday night’s loss to the Cleveland Indians, the Tigers are 64-76—good for the second-worst record in the AL. 

But despite the hiccup, Bleacher Report’s Scott Miller believes Ausmus could thrive with a new franchise: 

Still in only his second year as a manager, the 46-year-old Ausmus has plenty of room to grow as a leader on the bench.

After he led Detroit to a successful 2014 campaign that resulted in a playoff berth, teams in need of a rising star would be wise to target the former All-Star catcher if he hits the open market.    

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Almost from the moment Carlos Correa made his big league debut with the Houston Astros, he looked like the front-runner in the American League Rookie of the Year race. But the Minnesota Twins‘ Miguel Sano has muscled his way into the mix, and he could sprint ahead with a scalding September.

That word, “scalding,” certainly described Sano up until recently. The 22-year-old slugger tore through August, bashing seven doubles, nine home runs, scoring 18 times and collecting 26 RBI in 27 games, and he was named AL Rookie of the Month for his troubles. 

Lately, Sano has hit a snag, striking out 11 times in 15 at-bats between Sept. 4 and Sept. 7.

He was out of the starting lineup Tuesday, and he might also miss Wednesday’s action as he takes a “mental break,” per Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press.

In addition to whatever’s going on between his ears, Sano is nursing a strained right hamstring, which helps explain the mini-slump. But it sounds like Twins skipper Paul Molitor plans to keep trotting out his young masher more often than not.

“We’ve had a couple different people look at the MRI,” Molitor said Sunday, per Berardino. “Generally people think we’re at a very minimal risk of doing something substantial here, as long as he plays intelligently.”

The Twins will need Sano’s bat if they hope to stay in the postseason hunt. Among players with at least 100 at-bats, Sano paces the club in slugging percentage (.574) and OPS (.961).

The Kansas City Royals have essentially put the AL Central out of reach, but entering play Wednesday, Minnesota, at 71-67, trailed the Texas Rangers by just 2.5 games for the second wild card.

Let’s say Sano shakes off, or successfully plays through, the hamstring issue. Imagine he catches fire again, rekindling his August output, and helps carry the Twins into October.

At that point, how do you deny him a Rookie of the Year nod?

Well, there is that Correa fellow. 

Sure, the Twins are improbable contenders, the definition of a Cinderella story. But the ‘Stros are squeezing on some glass slippers of their own.

In fact, if the Twins secure a wild-card slot and Houston wins the AL West (at 75-64, they lead the Rangers by one game heading into Wednesday), the Astros would arguably be the bigger overachiever based on preseason expectations. 

None of ESPN’s experts, for example, picked either team to make the playoffs. And if they were both equally discounted, an Astros division crown trumps a Twins wild card, at least by a little.

Of course, team performance is far from the only factor come awards time. Ultimately, Rookie of the Year is an individual honor.

So how do Sano and Correa stack up on the stat sheet? Let’s take a glance and throw in the numbers for the Cleveland Indians‘ Francisco Lindor, who also belongs in this discussion:

If you’re giving the award out today, it goes to Correa. He’s got more at-bats and a higher WAR than Sano, and he trumps Lindor in OPS.

And while Sano has logged the bulk of his time at designated hitter, Correa, like Lindor, plays shortstop, one of the most important defensive positions on the diamond.

“[Sano] should be definitely recognized,” MLB Network’s Harold Reynolds opined, “and I think he’s going to be somebody you have to reckon with. But I think Carlos Correa is going to win it, because of all the other things he does in a game.”

In fact, if we’re talking defense, Lindor gets an edge there. His eight defensive runs saved (DRS) rank fifth-best among big league shortstops, per FanGraphs, while Correa checks in at minus-one DRS.

The bottom line is that while Correa appears to be the leader in the clubhouse, this AL ROY scramble is far from settled. 

That leaves the door open for Sano. Can he shove his way through?

There are reasons to raise a skeptical eyebrow other than the hamstring issue.

There’s Sano’s gaudy strikeout total, which stands at 88 in 195 at-bats. And he’s sporting an almost-assuredly unsustainable .415 batting average on balls in play.

On the other hand, consider the fact that this is a kid who missed the entire 2014 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. 

Then think about what he’s already accomplished since his early-July MLB call-up after never playing an inning above Double-A.

Then watch this monstrous hack, which resulted in quite possibly the most impressive double you’ll ever witness:

Are you not convinced? Do you seriously doubt Sano can go on another tear, chewing through opposing pitchers like a ripe Honeycrisp apple (that’s the state fruit of Minnesota, in case you didn’t know)?

If you’re laying down your college tuition or second mortgage, the safe money is still on Correa to nab ROY. Again, he plays a premium defensive position, and he served a reminder of what he can do with the lumber on Monday, launching a three-run homer and tallying four RBI in a 10-9 loss to the Oakland A’s. And Lindor is also lurking.

Sano, however, has a shot. And, fittingly, the fortunes of the underdog Twins and their budding basher are inextricably linked as we enter the stretch run.

Will the Twins taste October? Will Sano’s trophy case get heavier? The next few weeks will tell the tale.

And no matter the outcome, it’ll be a fascinating story to follow.

All standings and statistics current as of Sept. 8 and courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.

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The Kansas City Royals have hit an unexpected bump in their road to a repeat World Series bid. Or, to be more accurate, several bumps.

A chickenpox outbreak in the Royals clubhouse will leave outfielder Alex Rios and relief pitcher Kelvin Herrera out for at least two weeks, per Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star. Both had been absent from the team since the weekend as they underwent testing. The Royals believe Rios and Herrera are the only two players affected at this time.

Team officials have not publicly commented but are expected to address the situation before Tuesday night’s game against the Detroit Tigers. No additional information about how the breakout began is available as of publication.

“A child might have a couple hundred lesions,” Rafael Harpaz, a medical epidemiologist from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told McCullough. “An adult might have over 500. The likelihood that they’ll end up getting pneumonia is much higher. That’s pretty rare in children. So there’s a number of complications that are more common in adults than in children.”

Rios, 34, is hitting .253/.288/.333 with two home runs and 22 RBI this season. His illness will be somewhat offset by the return of Alex Gordon, who had been out since July with a strained groin.

“This is kind of a one-shot deal,” Kansas City manager Ned Yost said of Gordon over the weekend, per Laura McCallister of KCTV5. “He comes back and hurts it, he’s done. So we want to make sure that he’s in great shape, healthy and ready to go when he gets back.”     

Still, it’ll be harder to work Gordon back into the lineup slowly if Rios is on the shelf for an extended period. The Royals are already stuck with Ben Zobrist playing an outfield spot rather than replacing Omar Infante at second base, which is probably their best long-term option given Infante’s offensive struggles.

Herrera is 4-2 with a 2.12 ERA and 0.99 WHIP this season but is far more replaceable. With its September call-ups, Kansas City has more arms on the roster than at any other point this season, so losing a reliever—even a talented one—isn’t a crushing blow.

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter.

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Justin Verlander led the Detroit Tigers to a 6-5 victory over the Kansas City Royals. The right-hander gave up four runs (two earned) on seven hits in 6.2 innings.

The win gave the 32-year-old the 20th victory of his career against the Royals.

For Kansas City, Johnny Cueto’s struggles continued. It became apparent early that Cueto’s command was off and the Tigers’ offense jumped on his mistakes. The ace gave up four earned runs on nine hits in six innings of work.

The Royals were able to put the tying run in scoring position in the ninth inning, but Bruce Rondon shut down the rally and earned the save.

For the Tigers, Miguel Cabrera is swinging a hot bat and went 2-for-5 with an RBI. He has a .359 batting average and seems likely to win his fourth American League batting title (2011-13).

Thanks for following our live updates and analysis.

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It’s hard to know what you’re supposed to call a comeback anymore. But with Yordano Ventura, the term is sounding more and more appropriate.

It was only a couple of weeks ago that the Kansas City Royals demoted their 24-year-old fireballer down to the minors for the express purpose of clearing up a classic case of bad pitching. That didn’t end up lasting long thanks to an injury to Jason Vargas, but the message was clear: The Royals didn’t view Ventura as a guy who could help a starting rotation that needed help.

Well, now look at him.

Ventura made his 21st start of 2015 on Thursday afternoon against the Baltimore Orioles at Kauffman Stadium, and it saw him lead the Royals to a 5-3 victory with six shutout innings. He walked four, but also allowed only two hits and struck out a career-high 11.

Courtesy of the Royals, here’s a brief tease:

A brief tease doesn’t tell the whole story, but in this case it sums it up quite well. As Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports observed, Ventura looked more dominant on Thursday than he had at any point all season:

Given the way he’s been going lately, you could swear Ventura was building toward a performance like this. He was also strong in his three prior starts, and all told has allowed just three earned runs while striking out 32 over 25 innings in his last four outings.

Like that, an ERA that stood at a wretched 5.19 at the time of Ventura’s demotion is down to 4.41. Certainly, he looks a lot more like the guy who got everyone all hyped up with a 3.20 ERA as a rookie in 2014.

And for the Royals, this couldn’t be happening at a better time.

You don’t get to 78-49 like the Royals have with a long list of weaknesses. But though their list has indeed been quite short, the one weakness they’ve had all along has had trouble hiding. Their starting pitching hasn’t been great for the most part, posting just a 4.27 ERA.

Of course, things are more hopeful now than they were a couple of weeks ago.

The trade for Johnny Cueto brought the arrival of a tried-and-true ace, the kind of thing that tends to come in handy in October. But if one dominant starter is good for October, two are better. And the way Ventura is pitching, you can’t help but wonder if the Royals have found their No. 2.

His results can speak for themselves, but the more pressing matter is how those results have come about. To this end, the answer could relate directly to Cueto’s arrival.

“I believe Johnny has had an impact on Ventura in the last three or four starts,” Royals skipper Ned Yost told Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com. “I know that [pitching coach] Dave Eiland doesn’t tell him anything different than Johnny Cueto does. But sometimes when you hear something enough times from your pitching coach, but then you hear it from a teammate, it sinks in. Cueto definitely has had an impact.”

Regarding what exactly has gone from Cueto’s mouth to Ventura’s ear, well, none of us are flies on the wall, so we can’t really know. Darn.

But good news! With some effort, it’s not overly difficult to trace Ventura’s hot pitching down to some tangible improvements.

In cases like these, one’s mind immediately turns to the pitcher’s mechanics. And if we use Brooks Baseball to look at how Ventura’s release point has progressed in 2015, it looks as though he’s achieved greater consistency in his last few starts:

What you’re looking at is a portrait of a guy whose arm slot has been utterly inconsistent. Whereas Ventura was quite consistent in 2014, his release point has been raising and lowering on pretty much a start-to-start basis in 2015.

Up until recently, that is. Starting on August 11 against the Detroit Tigers, Ventura embarked on a three-start stretch where his release point barely moved from the 5.8-6.1 foot range. And according to the raw PITCHf/x data at Brooks Baseball, he was in that range once again on Thursday.

As for how Ventura has benefited from this apparent mechanical consistency, it would appear that we can at least narrow things down to a tidy “More stuff!” narrative.

Ventura was already throwing hard before his last few starts, as his average fastball checked in around 96.5 miles per hour. But he was up over 97 miles per hour in three starts prior to Thursday, and then he tortured the Orioles with even more velocity. His average two-seamer was 98.7 miles per hour, and his average four-seamer sat at 99.6 and touched 101.5. 

This would be a case of Ventura turning the clock back to 2014, when he easily threw harder than any other qualified starter. And while velocity isn’t everything, it’s definitely something. The more you have, the bigger your margin for error becomes.

In other good news, Ventura isn’t even relying as much on his heat. His curveball, in particular, has come roaring to life. 

Before Ventura got hot, he used his curveball less than 20 percent of the time. But in three starts prior to Thursday, it accounted for about 25 percent of his pitches and also 14 of his 21 strikeouts. This pattern of dominance continued against the Orioles. Ventura threw 32 curveballs out of 98 pitches. Nine of those resulted in whiffs. And by my count, his curveball also finished off nine of his 11 strikeouts.

Mind you, this shouldn’t be taken to mean that Ventura is completely fixed. You’d think that his improved mechanical consistency would afford him more strikes, but it hasn’t. His strike percentage has only gone from 62 percent to 63 percent, and he’s walked 12 in his last 25 innings.

But this is OK. It’s good enough for now that Ventura is a much more competent and seemingly more confident pitcher than he was in early August, and that it all stems from real improvements. Though they’ve come in a small sample size, the results should encourage the Royals.

There’s plenty of valley left to go between now and the arrival of the postseason. But if Ventura can keep pitching like this, the Royals are going to enter October with a one-two punch nobody will want to face.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted/linked.

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Detroit Tigers right-hander Shane Greene, currently on the disabled list at Triple-A, has been diagnosed with an artery issue in his shoulder. 

Continue for updates. 

Tigers’ Trainer Issues Diagnosis

Sunday, August 23

Per James Schmehl of MLive.com, Tigers trainer Kevin Rand said Greene is dealing with an “arterial issue” in his shoulder that is causing a pseudo-aneurysm. The 26-year-old will visit a specialist Tuesday. 

On August 18, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus told Schmehl that Greene was placed on the seven-day disabled list with “numbness or coldness” in his fingers. 

Injuries and inconsistent performance have derailed Greene’s 2015 season. He had an MRI in May after feeling a tingling sensation in his right hand, though it didn’t land him on the disabled list. The Tigers demoted him to Triple-A in June when Justin Verlander came off the disabled list. 

In 18 games this season, Greene has posted a 6.88 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 83.2 innings. His last appearance in the big leagues was on August 7 against the Boston Red Sox. He tossed one scoreless inning in relief. 

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