2017 Royals MVPs (So Far)

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Joined: Thu Jun 30, 2016 8:00 am
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Name: Ian Schnaufer

2017 Royals MVPs (So Far)

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As I'm writing this, I'm in the 3 way race for the 2 wildcard spots in the AL. Looking back at the injuries past and current, I needed some guys to really step up. This post is to give credit where credit is due:

Pitching MVPs:


Lance McCullers - With Bum going on the DL for the first time in career, he made it count - 73 IBC games without Bum being eligible. McCullers answered the call for an ace to fill the void. On the season McCullers has a 9-5 record, 2.90 ERA, 1.16 WHIP across 136.1 IP, with K/9: 11.0, BB/9: 3.1, H/9: 7.3.

He's only gonna get better. Is he Bum, no, not many players are at that level, but he sure looked like him for the better part of 3 months. While he's hurt now, he's earned his place on this list regardless of how everything turns out.


Chris Rusin - Staying healthy in the rotation has been a challenge all season. Bum was only a part of it. Kazmir hasn't played an inning, Chen's been on the DL for nearly as long, Anderson's came off the DL to make one start, but otherwise has been on the shelf since the beginning of June. Fortunately, they are all due back in coming weeks, but Rusin has both been healthy, and very good.

Across 140.1 IP, he's pitched to a 3.21 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. He doesn't have the sexiest rates K/9: 6.4 BB/9: 2.8, H/9: 8.1, until you look at his 63% GB rate, which has turned into a .242 BA against. On pace to lead the Royals in starts (depending on when Cullers returns), not too bad for a FA signing in March. For the cost, this has been a massive return on value this season.


Positional MVPs:


Wilfredo Tovar - With injuries to Crawford and Kinsler (fortunately not at the same time), I needed to Tovar to handle SS and 2B for a combined 32 games so far. While they were out he played a flawless SS and, while not flawless at 2B, still combined for around a .982 fielding % at some of the most fielding intense positions. Added in January for this specific circumstance, he held the fort down defensively and kept runs off the board.


Chris Young - When Pearce went down with an injury, Young stepped up. Does he play mostly against lefties? Yep. Does he get the job done against lefties? Yep. Hitting .271/.328/.441 (albeit a small sample) while playing decent defense (committing no errors) definitely made the loss of Pearce softer. In fact, based on how well he played, he convinced me to give Pearce a shot at 3B (which has worked out) in order to keep Young's bat in the lineup vs. lefties. This enabled Prado to be traded in order to address some other areas of need. Down the stretch, I'm counting on Young to be a big bat against lefties, and provide some necessary depth in the OF. He'll definitely play a role in the outcome of the wild card race.


Adam Rosales - With Prado starting the year off both as my regular 3B and on the DL, I needed someone from day 1. Rosales was on the team as a utility guy, but ultimately needed to step into the starting gig. And man, did he ever step in. Across 53 games for me this season, 1 error. He also decided to do some work with the bat as well, batting .281/.323/.494 with a RC27 of 5.7. I was hoping for a stop-gap and I got way more. Another guy who was signed in March for a specific purpose that delivered on that in a big way.

When we were ultimately healthy enough on the offensive side, he ended up being cut to add pitching depth to address those injuries, but as I'm writing this I decided he needed to be a Royal again and he'll be a nice piece to have when rosters expand in a couple weeks.


So when all the big names get focused on, a little love for those guys that were asked to do a job and they came through, often beyond the call of duty. They are the ones that are going to get you through 162 games.
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