Best month of the season by far and sadly, the last one. The Royals had an astounding amount of young talent up at the big league level and before we knew it, the season was over. 15-10 Raised expectations for 2012. (as if we needed any help with that)
Starting Pitching
(At least 3 games started)
| W/L | IP | E.R.A. | K/9 | BB/9 | |
| Luke Hochevar | 2-1 | 20.2 | 2.18 | 8.71 | 2.61 |
| Jeff Francis | 1-2 | 14.0 | 6.91 | 3.14 | 3.14 |
| Felipe Paulino | 2-0 | 28.1 | 5.08 | 11.12 | 4.13 |
| Everett Teaford | 2-1 | 16.0 | 3.38 | 7.31 | 3.38 |
| Bruce Chen | 2-3 | 40.2 | 3.32 | 5.09 | 2.21 |
HTML Tables A couple of the young guys had a chance to make a bid for a chance at a spot in the 2012 rotation. Duffy got shut down early and Teaford looked pretty sharp. Mendoza wasn’t bad either. It’ll be interesting to see who emerges as a candidate for next year.
September/October MVP(s) of the month (SP): Luke Hochevar – He had a decent 2nd half and Royals fans are hoping and praying he can carry it over to next year.
September/October Ugly Duckling(s) of the month (SP): Jeff Francis – He struggled just a little bit at the end of the year. He won’t be a Royal next year though, so it probably doesn’t matter
Relief pitching
| W/L | IP | E.R.A. | K/9 | BB/9 | |
| Tim Collins | 0-0 | 8.1 | 5.40 | 10.80 | 5.40 |
| Greg Holland | 2-0 | 9.0 | 1.00 | 14.00 | 4.00 |
| Aaron Crow | 1-0 | 4.2 | 5.79 | 11.57 | 3.86 |
| Nathan Adcock | 0-0 | 5.2 | 6.35 | 9.53 | 3.18 |
| Blake Wood | 0-1 | 11.0 | 3.27 | 8.18 | 4.91 |
| Joakim Soria | 0-0 | 5.0 | 0.00 | 14.40 | 1.80 |
| Louis Coleman | 0-0 | 6.2 | 4.05 | 13.50 | 1.35 |
| Everett Teaford | 0-0 | 5.2 | 0.00 | 3.18 | 0.00 |
| Vin Mazzaro | 0-0 | 4.0 | 2.25 | 2.25 | 0.00 |
| Kelvin Herrera | 0-1 | 2.0 | 13.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Jesse Chavez | 0-0 | 6.2 | 9.45 | 10.80 | 5.40 |
They played strongly to close the season out. Hopefully next year they’ll be just as good. I believe in our young arms.
August MVP(s) of the month (RP): Greg Holland – STUD STUD STUD…..He closed the season out in style completing a really good year.
August Ugly Duckling(s) of the month (RP): Kelvin Herrera – He had 2 innings and they weren’t too good. We may need him in the bullpen next year if Coleman or Teaford start.
Hitting
Avg./OBP/SLG/OPS with at least 40 plate appearances
| AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | |
| Alex Gordon | .288 | .367 | .488 | .854 |
| Melky Cabrera | .323 | .350 | .448 | .798 |
| Eric Hosmer | .349 | .360 | .557 | .917 |
| Johnny Giavotella | .259 | .270 | .400 | .670 |
| Mike Moustakas | .352 | .380 | .580 | .960 |
| Jeff Francoeur | .329 | .345 | .600 | .945 |
| Billy Butler | .265 | .318 | .459 | .777 |
| Alcides Escobar | .324 | .367 | .459 | .827 |
| Salvador Perez | .375 | .400 | .513 | .913 |
HTML Tables These guys stroked the ball for the last month of the season. The only rookie who hit like a rookie was Giavotella.
September/October MVP(s) of the month (Offensive): Salvador Perez – Okay, there’s no way he’s going to be able to keep up this prowess. But if he can be a solid hitter as the major league level, we’re gonna be solid at catcher for a long time.
September/October Ugly Duckling(s) of the month (Offensive): Billy Butler – Weird, right? I’ll chalk this up to “flukery”…..I’m making that a word.
Overall
Starting Pitching - Better and with an infusion of talent via trade*, free agency, and/or in-house talent, we are looking to be better than we were this year….I hope I hope.
Relief Pitching - Good year and have a chance to be just as good next year. Good grief, I love Greg Holland.
Hitting – Young talent and the chance to be better next year. If the soon-to-be sophomores keep improving, we’re going to be better.
Overall - It was a depressing end of the season if only because they seemed to really jell and start playing well. Can we start the season tomorrow?
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