All Royals team, pitchers

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The Royals have had long term excellence in both their position players as well as with their pitching staff. There has been more stability with his franchise than most. All the guys on this Royals staff were long term performers for the team. Some nice pitchers were squeezed out due to overall excellence. Steve Busby, Paul Splittorf and Larry Gura fall into that category. And here we go:

Starting pitcher: Bret Saberhagen Brett had some nice long term numbers with the Royals, but he also had some memorable individual moments. Pitching a shutout in game 7 of the 1985 World Series comes to mind. He also pitched a no hitter against the White Sox, was a three time all star and won a gold glove in 1989. Brett won the Cy Young award for the 1985 season, going 20-6 with an ERA of 2.87. In 1989 Saberhagen had another monster season, going 23-6 with and ERA of 2.16. The 23 wins led the AL in that category, as did the ERA. In addition, Brett pitched 12 complete games, which also led the league. He also led the AL innings pitched with 262.1. For his 8 seasons in Kansas City, Brett went 167-117 with an ERA of 3.34. His WAR while with the Royals was an impressive 40.8. His War for 1989 alone was 9.7. In 1987 and 1985, his WAR totals were 8.0 and 7.3. Brett was a real beast in odd numbers years with the Royals.

Starting pitcher: Kevin Appier Kevin Appier spent 13 seasons with the Royals and was effective for a good bit of that time. He made the all star only once, and looking back at his career, that seems light. In 1993 Appier went 18-8 with an AL leading ERA of 2.56. In 1992, Appier was also excellent, going 15-8 with an ERA of 2.46. He didn't make the all star team in either of those seasons. He was, however, an all star in 1995 when he went 15-10 with an ERA of 3.89. All star selections can be puzzling things. Kevin had two big seasons when it comes to WAR, 1992 and 1993. In 1992 his WAR was 8.1 and in 1993 it was 9.2. For his time in Kansas City, Appier went 115-92 with an ERA of 3.49 and a WAR of 47.3. The sneaky good Kevin Appier.

Starting pitcher: Dennis Leonard From 1975-1981, Leonard anchored the Royals staff. Included in that span were three seasons of 20+ wins. Dennis was successful despite not being a big strikeout guy, recording only 5.4 strikeouts per 9 innings. Leonard didn't have the dazzling stats of Saberhagen or Appier during individual seasons, but was valuable because of his consistency during his prime. Three times Dennis led the AL in starts. His overall WAR o f 26.1 may seem a little light in view of his 12 seasons, but some of those seasons were shortened due to injury. Leonard finished with a record of 144-106 and an ERA of 3.70. Certainly respectable, workmanlike numbers.

Starting pitcher: Mark Gubicza I'll take right handers who pitched for the Royals for a long time, Alex. Mark Gubicza spent 13 seasons with the Royals, going 132-136 with an ERA of 3.96. Those conventional statistics don't look too sharp, but Gubicza's WAR was surprisingly good at 38.3. Mark had one real under the radar skill, he kept the ball in the ballpark, three times leading the AL in fewest home runs allowed. For his career Mark allowed .6 home runs per 9 innings. Mark's big season was 1988 went he went 20-8 with an ERA of 2.70. He led AL pitchers in WAR with a mark of 7.7. Mark Gubicza takes the fourth slot in this Royals rotation.

Starting pitcher: Charlie Leibrandt And here's the rotation's only lefty. Charlie was also sneaky good. In six seasons with the Royals, Charlie had one season with a WAR of 5.2, and two other seasons with a WAR of 6 or more. Charlie's best season was in the Royals championship season of 1985 when he went 17-9 and with an ERA of 2.69. Charlie took the low strikeout thing to a new level, recording only 4.4 Ks per 9 innings. Crash Davis would be proud.

Relief pitcher: Jeff Montgomery Like their starters, the Royals have had relievers with long tenure. Topping that list is Jeff Montgomery. Montgomery is the Royals all time saves leader with with 304. Jeff was a three time all star who led the AL in saves with 45 in 1993. Jeff had a WAR of 4.4 that season. Montgomery gets the first slot in the Royals bullpen, in large part, by virtue of consistency.

Relief pitcher: Dan Quisenberry From 1982-85 The Quis led the AL in saves. He did the same thing in 1980. The Quis was notable in part, for his submarine delivery. The Quis induced weak contact, striking out only 3.1 hitters per 9 innings during his 10 seasons with the Royals. Dan was a three time all star and a 5 time winner of the Rolaids Relief Award. Quisenberry wasn't overpowering but was stingy with walks and didn't give up home runs. It's amazing how far that formula can take you.

Relief pitcher: Greg Holland Here's a guy who throws hard and gets a lot of strikeouts. Holland averaged 12.1 strikeouts in his six seasons in Kansas City. Greg rang up 145 saves with the Royals, but 125 of those were from 2013-15. Holland represents a change in the way the Royals and MLB teams in general, use bullpens. Holland pitched between 60-70 innings in his best days with the Royals. Dan Quisenberry pitched twice that many.

So there are my Royals pitching choices. Do you agree? Disagree? Let me know.

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