Ventura died in a car accident in his native Dominican Republic, the Kansas City Star reports.

EDGE Analysis

A sad day for the Royals and all of baseball. One of the stars of the 2015 World Championship team, Ventura was just 25 and had been with the Royals since 2013.

Ventura (11-12) allowed four runs on six hits, struck out eight and walked three over six innings in a loss to the Indians on Friday.

EDGE Analysis

The right-hander pitched a complete game on Sept. 19, but he wasn't sharp in his final two outings after that. He allowed seven runs and 16 hits over his final 10 innings this season. Ventura finishes the year with a 4.45 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 144 strikeouts in 186.0 innings. After 156 punchouts in fewer frames last season, it's quite disappointing Ventura didn't induce more swing-and-misses in 2016.

Ventura (back) has been confirmed as the starting pitcher for Friday's game against the Indians, Joel Goldberg of FOX Sports Kansas City reports.

EDGE Analysis

Ventura left his last start with a back injury, but the setback will not prevent him from taking the mound Friday night and making one more start before the regular season comes to a close.

Ventura (back) is listed as the probable starter for Friday's game against the Indians.

EDGE Analysis

Lower-back tightness and spasms cut short Ventura's last outing after four innings, but he probably wasn't long for that game anyway (three runs allowed on 10 hits and two walks). It seems he made it through his between-starts bullpen session without any further complications, as he's set to make his final start of the 2016 campaign opposite right-hander Adam Plutko, who will be filling in with Corey Kluber (quad) sidelined.

Ventura left Saturday's game with lower-back tightness and spasms, Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star reports.

EDGE Analysis

After throwing a complete game his last time out, Ventura was roughed up for three runs on 10 hits and two walks in four innings Saturday against Detroit prior to exiting the game. He was scheduled to make one more start before the end of the regular season, but his status for that outing is now uncertain and will remain that way until the team sees how he progresses in the coming days.

Ventura left Saturday's game with an apparent injury, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

While it wasn't obvious what was ailing Ventura, he left the field with the head athletic trainer, so clearly something was bothering him. Ventura was knocked around for three runs on 10 hits during his four innings on the mound. He walked two and struck out six (85 pitches).

Ventura (11-11) earned a complete-game win against the White Sox on Monday, giving up three runs on nine hits and a walk with five strikeouts.

EDGE Analysis

The 25-year-old righty turned things around in his 30th start of the year after giving up 10 runs over his prior two outings. Ventura did allow five extra-base hits -- two homers, two doubles and a triple -- but he was able to limit the damage throughout the game. Nonetheless, he's still sitting on easily career-worst marks in ERA (4.35) and WHIP (1.40), and Ventura's seen his strikeouts dip precipitously from prior seasons. His K/9 is just 6.65, nearly two full points lower than last year's 8.60.

Ventura (10-11) was torched for five earned runs on seven hits and four walks in Wednesday's 8-0 loss to Oakland. He struck out five.

EDGE Analysis

The hard-throwing right-hander needed 100 pitches (58 strikes) as he labored from the first batter -- including a 39-pitch, three-run third inning -- until he was finally pulled with one out in the fifth after a hit by pitch, wild pitch and fly-out to centerfield. Ventura's consecutive five-run outing was Kansas City's third straight loss to Oakland, helping further spoil the Royals chances of reaching the postseason, as the club is now five games out of the American League wild card.

Yordano allowed four earned runs on 10 hits over seven innings in a losing effort Friday. He struck out three and walked two.

EDGE Analysis

Ventura has the tools to be an elite fantasy starter but just can't seem to develop the consistency or the fortune necessary get himself there. His ERA on the season is 4.26 while his WHIP hovers near 1.39, both above the league average for a similar starter. His next start comes against Oakland September 14.

Ventura (10-9) allowed one earned run on six hits and six walks in six innings Saturday against Detroit.

EDGE Analysis

While Ventura can be a volatile and unpredictable fantasy starter, he has shown consistency over the past two months and has not allowed more than three earned runs in a start since July 3. Moreover, Kansas City has now won seven consecutive games in which he started.