Back in 2019, the Royals acquired Chance Adams from the Yankees for minor league prospect Cristian Perez. When the Royals acquired Adams from the Yankees, he was a member of New York’s Triple-A team. During his short stint with the Royals in 2019, he posted a horrific 9.35 ERA in only 8.2 innings pitched. However during his time in Triple-A with the Yankees, he posted a 4.63 ERA, and had a 4-4 record. During his 18 games in Triple-A, he pitched 81.2 innings. This gives me reasons to believe Adams could be a starting pitcher for the Royals. According to kingsofkauffman.com‘s Mike Gillespie, he thinks “The decline of KC Royals pitcher Chance Adams, once an impressive up-and-coming starter in the Yankees’ system, began late in 2017 when he tried pitching through elbow problems, then worsened after offseason surgery.” I do agree that his elbow did hurt his 2020 season; but, I also believe that if he can stay healthy throughout the year, he could maybe post the numbers he did in spring training or close to those numbers. However, if the Royals do give him the chance to start, I only expect them to allow Adams to go the max of five innings per start, causing them to rely on the bullpen more often. During his 2020 spring training outings, he posted a 1.69 ERA in only 5.1 innings. In Triple-A between the Yankees and the Royals affiliates, like I mentioned earlier in the article, he has shown he can start games in the upper minors. Despite his high ERA in the majors, I believe if the Royals give him a chance to prove himself in spring training he could be the fifth starter in a youthful rotation. I also believe that the Royals might want him to compete with other pitchers for the fifth spot. The Royals obviously have arms in the minor leagues and in the big leagues that could take the fifth spot in the rotation in Foster Griffin, Jesse Hahn, Glenn Sparkman, Carlos Hernandez, and Mike Montgomery. Out of all the names I mentioned that might challenge Adams the most for the fifth spot would probably be Foster Griffin or Carlos Hernandez. I believe we will see Griffin in the rotation sooner or later in 2021, but I don’t think the Royals should rush his development. For Hernandez on the other hand, I think he would be a great long reliever down the stretch for the Royals just like Jesse Hahn was in 2020. In a previous article, I mentioned Michael Wacha as a potential option for the Royals; but with multiple players eligible for arbitration and contract extensions, I think the Royals might rely on players in the organization to fill in the gaps. However, I could see the Royals bring in players on minor league contracts to compete for spots in spring training, but I believe most of the minor league signings would be for minor league depth. This is why I believe Chance Adams could fill the fifth spot in the rotation for the Royals in 2021, and maybe parts of the 2022 season until pitching prospects are ready for the big leagues.