Yordano Ventura on track to start Thursday for Kansas City Royals
By Hayden Kane
Tommy John surgery has taken Jose Fernandez from us. It has taken Matt Moore, Kris Medlen, Jarrod Parker, and countless other top young pitchers in 2014.
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It won’t take electric Kansas City Royals’ starter Yordano Ventura, though…at least not for now.
Ventura, who was pulled from his start on May 26th due to discomfort in his pitching elbow, is on track to start against the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday after a clean MRI last week and a successful bullpen session this weekend.
According to Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star:
"For now, the fear surrounding Ventura’s right elbow has faded. He will throw a more rigorous bullpen session on Monday at Busch Stadium, and the team has penciled him into his regularly scheduled appearance on Thursday against St. Louis.“He’s on track,” manager Ned Yost said."
Ventura is among the most entertaining pitchers to watch in all of baseball, so this bit of good news is a pleasant surprise in a season full of bad news when it comes to arm injuries.
The excitement surrounding Ventura’s game can be gleaned from his numbers. Through 10 starts he is striking out hitters at a 9.3 K/9 clip and has a 3.41 FIP. If not for the abomination that is the Royals’ offense, his win-loss record would surely be better than 2-5. He averages 96 MPH on his fastball and 82 MPH on his nasty curveball (per FanGraphs).
Ventura’s greatness thus far in 2014 can also be appreciated through visual evidence. I invite you to view the following video of his fine work against the Baltimore Orioles earlier this season, courtesy of MLB.com:
It will be great news for baseball and for an otherwise depressing Royals team if this guy can stay healthy and in the rotation moving forward.