Who has a Case for the Fifth Starter Job?
Breaking down the Kansas City Royals' fifth starter battle.
By virtue of being the worst starter in the rotation, the fifth starter job is virtually always up for grabs. For the Kansas City Royals, who came into Spring Training with Jordan Lyles as the frontrunner for the fifth starter job, it should ABSOLUTELY be up for grabs.
Of course, the Royals being the Royals, it’s not clear that the fifth starter job truly is an open competition. Lyles was atrocious last year (6.28 ERA, 5.03 xERA, 5.62 FIP), but the Royals are paying him $8.5M in 2024. And for some reason, that means something to teams.
But let’s say it is an open competition. Let’s give the Royals the benefit of the doubt and take what they’ve said at face value. If it’s an open competition, what does the case look like for each of the fifth starter candidates?
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