Gamethread CXII - Royals at Twins

August has arrived. With it comes some of the hottest temperatures of the year but without even the respite of the single holiday offered by July. September with its cooler temperatures and larger rosters still seems so far away. To my way of thinking August is the toughest part of the year for a baseball player. And we’re just getting started.

Danny Duffy will take the mound for the Royals tonight. If you’ve not been paying close attention - and who could blame you if you hadn’t - you might not have realized that he’s improved somewhat upon last season. The reason you might not have noticed that is because his numbers are eerily similar.

The only one of those rate stats with a large difference is the second one there which represents his BB/9. His ERA is down nearly half a run from 4.88 to 4.42 but his FIP is nearly identical. The thing is, the scoring environment changed from last year to this year so that means that being exactly the same makes him more valuable because, in general, people are giving up more runs than they did last year. He’s only got 1.0 fWAR compared to last year’s 1.2 fWAR but he’s only pitched 95.2 innings so far as compared to last year’s 155. He’ll almost certainly finish the year with more value added.

Which would make it a very good time to trade him.

The Twins will be sending out Kyle Gibson. Kyle Gibson has improved much more noticeably on his 2018 season. His stats are actually improved instead of just maintained. Good for him. He’s pitched against the Royals twice this year. His first start of the season was a disaster which saw him allow five earned runs in 4.2 innings in a game his team still ultimately one with their completely overpowered offense. His last start was a doozy of a different kind altogether. he pitched eight shutout innings without walking a single batter and he only allowed two hits.

Lineups