The Kansas City Royals have plenty of starting pitching candidates, but many of them are unreliable. Jason Vargas has pitched sparingly the last two seasons after Tommy John surgery in 2015. Mike Minor has struggled after shoulder surgery. Chris Young got battered in 2016 as he suffered a series of arm troubles.
Long shot rotation candidate Kyle Zimmer had thoracic outlet syndrome surgery last winter. Meanwhile, Matt Strahm is a rookie with only 22.