Ramon Ramirez and Leo Nunez are doing a fine job in setting up Joakim Soria with a bunch of save opportunites. Ramirez has been working most of the time in the 8th inning. He has pitched in 20 games (0 starts) this season for the Royals and he is 0-1 with a 1.77 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. He has whiffed 24 batters in only 20.1 innings which shows what kind of stuff he has. Leo Nunez has coverted to the bullpen full time for the Royals. He has pitched in 19 games (0 starts) for the Royals and he is 3-0 with a 1.37 ERA and a 0.81 WHIP. Nunez has only allowed 11 hits in 19.2 innings this season. If these two guys keep pitching like they are right now, the Royals will win a lot of close games.

Joakim Soria won’t win the Rookie of the Year Award over Delmon Young or Dustin Pedroia but he deserves it. He was one of the best Rule 5 Picks ever as GM Drayton Moore stole him over the winter. He started off as the set up man but he moved into the closer role while Octavio Dotel was injured and he resumed the role after Dotel was traded to the Braves. Soria pitched in 62 games in 2007 and he was 2-3 with 17 saves, a 2.48 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP. He worked 69 innings and he only allowed 46 hits, walked 19 batters and whiffed 75. The sky is the limit for Soria as he will develop into one of the better closers in the American League with his outstanding stuff.

Zack Greinke has been outstanding in the 2nd half of the season for the Royals.  He has pitched in 21 games (5 starts) in the 2nd half of the season and he is 2-2 with a 2.54 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP.  Greinke’s overall numbers are also looking good for the 2007 season.  He has now worked in 50 games (12 starts) for the Royals this season and he is 6-6 with 1 save, a 3.88 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP.  In 109 innings this season, Greinke has allowed 113 hits, walked 34 batters and whiffed 90.  The Royals are now 65-85 on the season which has them in 4th place in the A.L. Central, 23.5 games behind the Indians and only 1/2 a game better than the White Sox.

Brian Bannister and Gil Meche have anchored a rotation that is pretty bad behind them.  Meche is 5-6 with a 3.54 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP so far this season.  He has worked 122 innings this season and he has whiffed 88 while only walking 36 which shows his growth as a pitcher.  Look for him to pitch well the rest of the season.  Brian Bannister has been outstanding this season for the Royals too as he is 5-5 with a 3.71 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP so far this season.  The Royals bullpen has been pretty good this season.  Rule 5 Pick Joakim Soria has been outstanding this season for the Royals.  When Octavio Dotel was injured in Spring Training Soria was the closer for the Royals and he was outstanding.  Soria is 1-2 with 10 saves, a 2.21 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP so far this season.  Soria has allowed only 25 hits while whiffing 42 batters in 36.2 innings which shows what kind of stuff he has.  David Riske has also been lights out this season as he is 1-2 with 3 saves, a 2.21 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP.  Lefty reliever Jimmy Gobble has done a good job for the Royals after converting to the bullpen.  He is 3-1 with 1 save, a 2.70 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP so far this season.  If Gobble can tighten up his control he will wind up being a good reliever for a long time because he has good stuff.  Octavio Dotel has been good since he has returned from the DL.  Dotel is 2-1 with 8 saves, a 3.50 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP so far this season.  In 18 innings this season Dotel has whiffed 22 batters which shows that his stuff if still good.  He could be traded at the deadline in a couple of weeks with Soria returning to the closers job.  Joel Peralta has also been pretty good out of the bullpen.  He is 1-2 with a 3.64 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP so far this season. 

Many experts thought the Royals were crazy for giving the big money to Gil Meche and Octavio Dotel but both of them are proving to be worth every penny.  I would tip my hat to the Royals and tell them that they made a couple of great decisions.  Gil Meche should probably have 7 or 8 wins by now the way he has pitched so far this season.  Meche is only 4-6 despite having a 3.00 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP so far this season.  Meche has had a quality start in 11 of his 15 starts this season so it’s too bad the offense doesn’t help him out more.  The real key with Meche is that he’s pounding the strike zone as he’s only walked 26 batters in 99 innings this season. 

Octavio Dotel missed the start of the season but he’s been really good since he’s come off of the disabled list.  Dotel already has 5 saves this season in his first 9.2 innings pitched.  Dotel is throwing gas again as he routinely is getting the ball to the plate at 95 mph or higher.  Look for Dotel to keep piling up the saves as long as the Royals can get him the lead.