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The Rays head to Kansas City for a one game series between Jeremies Guthrie and Hellickson.
| Jeremy Guthrie | Jeremy Hellickson | |
| K% | 12.6 % | 18.2 % |
| BB% | 7.0 % | 6.3 % |
| GB% | 42.8% | 40.3 % |
| ERA | 4.27 | 5.01 |
| FIP | 4.93 | 4.10 |
| xFIP | 4.61 | 4.12 |
| SIERA | 4.82 | 4.11 |
| Steamer RoS ERA | 4.75 | 4.25 |
This year, the Royals have featured the fourth worst offense in baseball, with an 87 wRC+. Below are the players who accumulated at least 100 PAs with the Royals.
| Name | AVG | OBP | SLG | wRC+ |
| Billy Butler | 0.290 | 0.383 | 0.422 | 122 |
| Eric Hosmer | 0.299 | 0.348 | 0.451 | 117 |
| George Kottaras | 0.179 | 0.367 | 0.405 | 116 |
| Alex Gordon | 0.265 | 0.329 | 0.414 | 101 |
| David Lough | 0.287 | 0.307 | 0.408 | 93 |
| Jarrod Dyson | 0.252 | 0.322 | 0.378 | 91 |
| Lorenzo Cain | 0.261 | 0.324 | 0.362 | 88 |
| Miguel Tejada | 0.288 | 0.317 | 0.378 | 88 |
| Salvador Perez | 0.270 | 0.303 | 0.377 | 83 |
| Mike Moustakas | 0.239 | 0.296 | 0.367 | 80 |
| Chris Getz | 0.224 | 0.290 | 0.281 | 54 |
| Alcides Escobar | 0.236 | 0.262 | 0.303 | 50 |
| Jeff Francoeur | 0.208 | 0.249 | 0.322 | 50 |
| Elliot Johnson | 0.179 | 0.218 | 0.241 | 19 |
Note that Miguel Tejada tested positive for amphetamines and is suspended, Lorenzo Cain is injured, and Jeff Francoeur was DFA'd, and is no longer on a MLB roster. His spot has been taken in the outfield by Justin Maxwell, currently holds a 123 wRC+ in a bit over 200 PAs this season.
Oh, and check out the 2013 Ray killer Elliot Johnson.
The Pitcher
Jeremy Guthrie once seemed like a decent pitcher, back in his time with Baltimore. Now that I look back on his stats, I see that he was really just an average player on a bad team, and those guys sometimes get taken for above average players.
Guthrie's arsenal is fairly normal. He throws four and two seam fastballs in the low to mid 90s, a changeup anywhere from the low to the high 80s, a slider in the low to mid 80s, and a curve in the low to mid 70s.
Here's where it gets fun, though, especially for fans of Casey Fossum (you know who you are). Guthrie occasionally breaks out a very slow curve, averaging 65 mph (according to Brooks Baseball). He's thrown 16 this year, eight to righties, eight to lefties. Other than the Fossumites, I know a guy who gets unreasonably excited about the the eephus, and I doubt he's the only one. For all of you out there with that peculiar infatuation, this game is for you.