Kansas City Royals' World Series Hopes Rest on Johnny Cueto

A strong starting rotation is normally a necessity for any team with hopes of winning the World Series. Just ask the San Francisco Giants, who rode Madison Bumgarner to the 2014 World Series championship.

Bumgarner was terrific in both of his starts and returned as a reliever in Game 7 on just two days’ rest to throw five scoreless innings and help the Giants win their third title in five years.

The team that watched Bumgarner and his teammates celebrate from the losing dugout were the Kansas City Royals.

The Royals came close to winning their first championship since 1985 with strong defense and an electric bullpen, but their starting pitching left a lot to be desired.

Fast forward a little less than a year later, and the Royals have a commanding lead in the American League Central Division and have the second-best record in baseball. In July, the front office shocked the baseball world when they pulled off a trade for Johnny Cueto from the Cincinnati Reds.

The club gave up a trio of prospects for the pending free agent. The move was made with the expectation that Cueto would provide the team with something it lacked during its 2014 postseason run: an ace to anchor the rotation.

To this point, he’s been a total flop in a Kansas City uniform. It’s critical for the right-hander to figure things out because he’s an integral piece if the Royals hope to win a World Series championship.

What’s wrong with Johnny?

The Royals need Cueto to pitch the way he did before he was dealt to Kansas City. In 19 starts with the Reds, the righty had a 2.62 ERA with 120 strikeouts and a 0.934 WHIP in 130.2 innings pitched. Since the trade, the 29-year-old is 2-6 with a 5.43 ERA and 1.420 WHIP in nine starts, according to Baseball Reference.

Things have gotten worse as of late. As Fox Sports indicates, Cueto has struggled mightily in his last five starts. He’s 0-5 with a 9.57 ERA and a 1.97 WHIP while serving up eight home runs.

He was acquired to finally give the Royals a top front-line starter, but he’s in danger of pitching himself out of the team’s postseason rotation.

The organization insists it isn’t a health issue, and trainer Nick Kenney tells Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star that Cueto is working hard to figure things out.

“This guy’s never come off the mound,” Kenney told McCullough. “He’s never skipped a bullpen. He’s never done any of that stuff. And all you do is you work with him on a daily basis. We put our hands on him each and every day. There’s been no indication, in regards to the work that’s we’ve done with him, that shows us that he is.”

ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted out a video of the Baseball Tonight analysts discussing Cueto’s recent struggles. They point out that Cueto’s location is the source of his issues. The analysts questioned whether or not Cueto will start Game 1 of the American League Division Series if he doesn’t bounce back quickly, but Tim Kurkjian said that the club’s other options aren’t much better.

As the video shows, the entire rotation has been putrid in September. They have a combined 6.50 ERA, according to Baseball Tonight. Kansas City lost eight of its past 11 games.

Here’s a look at the starters' ERAs this month:

• Cueto: 9.39 ERA
• Yordano Ventura: 4.50 ERA
• Edinson Volquez: 7.20 ERA
• Kris Medlen: 6.94 ERA
• Danny Duffy: 4.50 ERA

Despite acquiring Cueto, the team’s starting pitching is even worse than it was in 2014. The club’s ERA among starters was 3.60 in 2014, and they averaged 6.08 innings. Currently, the Royals rank No. 21 in Major League Baseball with a 4.40 ERA and average just 5.65 innings per start, according to Fan Graphs.

As Jon Morosi of FOX Sports tweets, the Royals have a tough decision to make if Cueto’s struggles ensue over the next couple of weeks.

If the Royals can’t figure out his issues, the team won’t make it far in the playoffs even with a deep bullpen and strong defense.

Follow Chris Hauler on Twitter