For fans of a franchise that had gone a generation without seeing a playoff appearance from the Royals, Yordano Ventura was seen as a pitcher who could get the team to the next level.
As he winded his way up the ladder in the minor leagues, Ventura was among the top prospects in all of baseball, and he delivered on that promise, winning double-digit games in all three of his full seasons in the majors.
“Nobody could ever doubt how much he cared about his teammates, how much he cared about the fans and how much he loved to compete and to pitch and to prepare,” Royals manager Dayton Moore said on a conference call.