Royals Demote Danny Duffy, Promote Teaford

When I saw that little tidbit flash across my Twitter feed I was certainly surprised, after all Danny Duffy had just gotten done turning in six quality innings against a potent Tigers lineup. While Duffy has certainly struggled to a 4.85 ERA and his sometimes sketchy command has led to a propensity to run up his pitch counts quickly, he's also shown flashes of the type of dominance people expect to see more of in the future - like striking out more than a batter per inning during his last four outings.

In a rotation that ranks second to last in all of Major League Baseball with a 5.06 ERA (The Cubs are the worst at 5.23), Duffy would seem to be the least of the teams concerns.

An Early Look At The Royals Bullpen

Almost every team heads into a season with one or two bullpen positions up for grabs, and in the Royals case, that number is probably closer to four. The teams used a total of 19 relievers in 2010, and racked up the worst bullpen ERA in the American League last year. In short, the unit was a disaster.

Obviously the bullpen will be anchored by Joakim Soria who is one of baseballs five best - and probably it's most unheralded - closers. Setting him up will be Robinson Tejada, a solid if unspectacular middle reliever with swing and miss stuff and control issues. Also likely to be in the bullpen is Blake Wood who had a solid showing in his rookie campaign last year and profiles as a ground ball, pitch to contact middle reliever.

Prospect Profile: Danny Duffy

Danny Duffy

Profile:  6'3" - 195lbs - BT:L - TH:L - 2011 Age: 22


Repertoire:

FB 92-94: One of the hardest throwing lefties you'll find, could add movement, improve command (55-70)
CV 70-72: Gets good depth - needs to throw harder with tighter rotation and break. (45-55)
CH 84-85: Can parachute the pitch at times - could be plus. (50-65)