Yordano Ventura hasn't pitched in a big league game since June 12th, as he's been dealing with inflammation of his right ulnar nerve. Hearing the word "ulnar" is always cause for concern these days, as it's the Ulnar Collateral Ligament that sends players to the operating table. However the Royals don't seem to be too concerned, and Ventura is set to make his return this week.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Royals?src=hash">#Royals</a> planning to bring RH Yordano Ventura off DL to face <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rays?src=hash">#Rays</a> on Thursday</p>— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) <a href="https://twitter.com/TBTimes_Rays/status/618145382929817600">July 6, 2015</a></blockquote>
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Ventura made two rehab starts, with less than ideal results. He posted an ERA of 3.86 in 9.1 innings, but struggled with his control, and walked six batters. His FIP was an ugly 5.28, but it would be foolish to draw any serious conclusions from less than 10 innings pitched.
Before this injury, Ventura posted an ERA of 4.68, an FIP of 3.95, and a SIERA of 3.76. His strikeout rates have always been somewhat of a mystery, as his average fastball velocity is 94.8 in 2015, and was 96.0 in 2014. He also has a devastating curveball to go along with it, however he's never posted a K/9 rate higher than 7.82.
The club hasn't confirmed this news, and it's unclear as of now who will be bumped from the rotation. Jeremy Guthrie and Danny Duffy are the obvious candidates, but nothing is official yet. Any new information will be updated here once it's made available.