Royals Ian Kennedy: A track record worth investing in
By Bill Pivetz
Royals starting pitcher Ian Kennedy is posting quality starts on a consistent basis. With a favorable matchup coming up, he’s worth an investment.
The Kansas City Royals may be sellers in a couple of weeks, but one player that will stay on the team is starting pitcher Ian Kennedy. He has pitched well over the last month and his next matchup is worth taking advantage of. Pick him up if he’s available.
Kennedy’s season-long stats don’t look that great. He has a poor win-loss record, 3-6, 4.32 ERA, 5.28 FIP and 1.15 WHIP. His strikeout and walk rates are going in the wrong directions but he’s changed his pitching style to improve his performance.
Kennedy’s line drive rate went down about seven percent (12.6) while his ground ball rate is up 5.5 percent from last season (38.7). Along with that, Kennedy has a 1.83 HR/9, 39.7 hard hit rate and 9.3 swinging strike rate.
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However, he has done a better job limiting runs and giving the Royals bullpen a chance at closing out games. Kennedy hasn’t lost a game since June 5. In the seven starts after the loss, five of them were quality starts.
He is currently ranked 74th among starting pitchers on the Player Rater, making him worth a roster spot in deeper leagues.
His most recent start came against the Texas Rangers. He went 6.2 innings with two earned runs, five hits, one walk and six strikeouts. The two runs came off two solo home runs (hence the almost 2.0 HR/9).
Kennedy will make his next start on June 21 against the Chicago White Sox. The Chicago offense has slowed down in July. The team hit .227 last month with 13 home runs and 47 runs scored, all ranked in the bottom half of the league.
With pitchers going on the DL at a ridiculous rate, pitchers like Kennedy and others will get added at some point this season. It’s important to take advantage of matchups and spot starts to get the most out of each player.
Next: Nationals add Madson, Doolittle to bullpen
Kennedy is owned in 30.8 percent of ESPN leagues. His ownership percentage has gone up 7.5 percent over the last week. The matchup is right and he’s been pitching well enough to be worth the waiver add, even if it is just for one game.