To use a football metaphor, this year’s Royals bullpen is the backup quarterback of the club. It looks good, promising even on some level, because we’ve yet to see everything it has to offer. Or, we don’t have enough data to make an informed judgment about its effectiveness. It looks fine on paper, but a recipe for haggis would look better than the 2018 Royals bullpen.
Last year’s Royals bullpen was dreadful. That’s being kind. Royals relievers punched out 7.3 batters-per-nine innings last summer, worst among all Major League bullpens. They posted a 4.2 walks-per-nine innings, the sixth-worst rate in baseball.