Clash of Titans: When Rival Franchises Take an Unexpected Turn

The Royals were a team that kind of burst onto the scene last year. Sure, they had some good years where they were competiting and even won a World Series. After that, there was a bit of a dry spell for the club. They didn’t see much success and had varying levels of competence. The minor leagues have provided some players that have developed for them, their general manager and scouts have identified guys who might’ve been discarded by others, or needed a change of scenery. In today’s starter’s case, a change in role seemed to be what has done the trick in helping him turn around his career a bit. Now, to be fair to him, Seth Lugo didn’t have a bad career before he came to Kansas City. He has a career ERA of 3.38, but he was used as mostly a reliever for seven seasons with the Mets. He did have one season prior to the Royals where he was a starter for the Padres, but it was clearly the right move putting him in the rotation as he has gone 19-14, pitched over 250 innings, and has an ERA below 3.50 for the club. This year he is 3-5 with a 3.45 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. Lugo has been good against the White Sox, holding them to just a .206 batting average in 63 at-bats. 

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