Loss of Volquez demonstrates Royals strength

A ccording to multiple reports, including ccording to multiple reports, including Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star , Royals pitcher Edison Volquez has fallen on the sword and accepted his five game suspension.

V olquez' decision comes only one day after taking the loss of a 5-3 defeat in the rubber game of a discombobulated series against the Chicago White Sox.

The bad news is that this loss of the pitcher who is arguably the best starter that the Royals have on their roster hurts. The Royals will miss his 1.91 ERA on Friday, May 1 against the Detroit Tigers. During this first month of the 2015 season, Volquez has already proven to be the most reliable of the Royals rotation and was proving to be another example of a stellar pick-up by Royals General Manager Dayton Moore.

Kansas City was undoubtedly counting on him to match up against projected Tigers pitcher Kyle Lobstein and this suspension puts the Royals at a slight disadvantage in a game that would be nice to put in the win column before they face David Price and Anibal Sanchez.

While the Royals will miss Volquez, Royals fans need not feel that the weekend series against the Tigers is all but lost. The good news for the Royals (and the fans) is that Dayton Moore has constructed this team to be prepared and flexible for situations just as this. While no one (even Moore) could have predicted an April fight in Chicago it is evident that Moore was able to gaze into his crystal ball and see the need to have reinforcements ready for Ned Yost's starting 5.

As a result of Moore's foresight, Chris Young, who was a late signing by Moore and has been performing well out of the Royals bullpen is available and is expected by most to be the one tapped to fill Volquez' void on Friday night. While some were (and still are) hoping that Brandon Finnegan's weekend call-up represented an immenent return to the Royals starting rotation, Chris Young is undoubtedly the better choice to make this start on Friday.

Despite the fact that the Royals brass are counting on Finnegan to be a long-term fixture in Kansas City's rotation, the 22-year old left hander is not ready to accept that role. Finnegan has only two AA starts under his belt while Chris Young has started 188 games over his career and possesses a career ERA of 3.75.

Finnegan might very well be the future of Kansas City pitching, but thanks to Moore's ability to put together a solid, well rounded baseball team, the Royals are not in a place where they need to thrust him into a role he is not yet prepared for. Chris Young was signed for this very reason, and the Royals will (and should) have confidence that he will fill Volquez' role seamlessly.

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