Royals Pitching Rotation for the ALCS 2015

Kansas City Royals, ALCS, MLB

The Kansas City Royals are riding a postseason wave of momentum, appearing in their second straight ALCS. (Getty)

Guess who’s back? The Kansas City Royals are back in the ALCS, looking to notch their second straight World Series berth in a baseball move that just about no one saw coming.

Now, the Royals will square off against the Toronto Blue Jays in a matchup that pits Kansas City’s pitching potential against the Jays power at the plate. Toronto lead all of baseball with 232 home runs in the regular season, so it seems fairly safe to assume that the Royals are focused on shutting that down.

In other words, there’s just a bit of pressure on this Kansas City rotation. As of Thursday afternoon, the squad hadn’t officially announced its pitching schedule for the upcoming series but there’s plenty of speculation to be made. Read on for a potential pitching play and make sure to keep checking back here throughout the day for updates on any official moves from the Royals.

Game 1, October 16 at Kansas City
Edinson Volquez: 
The Kansas City Star reported on Wednesday night, shortly after the Royals clinched the ALDS, that Volquez was already slated to pitch in Game 1. Volquez gave up three runs on five hits and four walks in 5 2/3 innings of work in Game 3 of the ALDS.

Game 2, October 17 at Kansas City
Yordano Ventura: The 24-year-old is likely to get the call in Game 2 of the series after pitching twice in the ALDS. Although his Game 1 start was shortened due to a rain delay, Ventura pitched well in Game 4, going five innings and giving up three earned runs on four hits with eight strikeouts.

Game 3, October 19 at Toronto
Johnny Cueto:
They may actually build a statue of Cueto in Kansas City. After guaranteeing he would perform well in Game 5 of the ALDS, Cueto delivered in a big way, giving up just two runs and retiring the final 19 batters he faced in the winner-takes-all game. Also, he only threw 91 pitches. Ninety-one.

Game 4, October 20 at Toronto
Kris Medlen: The right-handed pitcher hasn’t thrown in the postseason yet this fall but there’s still reason to feel alright about Medlen. He appeared in 15 games this season, starting in eight and giving up 56 hits with 40 strikeouts and a 4.01 ERA.

Game 5, October 21 at Toronto if necessary 
Edinson Volquez

Game 6, October 23 at Kansas City if necessary
Yordano Ventura

Game 7, October 24 at Kansas City if necessary
Johnny Cueto