When the Royals opened this thus-far bleak 2018 season on an equally dreary afternoon three weeks ago in Kansas City, one of the many things manager Ned Yost felt hopeful about was his bullpen.
It was a rather rag-tag bunch. A far cry from the days of Greg Holland, Wade Davis and Kelvin Herrera. The group barely even resembled last year’s bullpen, which featured career renaissances from Peter Moylan and Mike Minor and a sharp Scott Alexander. None but Herrera remain.
Yet there were encouraging signs.
During spring training, Rule 5 acquisitions Brad Keller and Burch Smith impressed with powerful fastballs, fellow rookie Tim Hill wielded his submarine delivery in dominating fashion, and late spring addition Justin Grimm provided intrigue with a prodigious curveball.