As I am writing this, the Royals just tagged Corey Kluber for four runs in the first inning of Thursday's game, capped off by Eric Hosmer's three-run home run. That ugly inning raised the reigning AL Cy Young's ERA to 5.40, prompting one Twitter user to ask the obvious question:

I don't want to put this loyal podcast listener on blast, because it's a fair question. Kluber largely came out of nowhere last season, so you can hardly say he cemented himself as one of the best pitchers in baseball. He was in the discussion coming into the season, but you had to view him with some skepticism, especially when compared to the kind of track records Felix Hernandez and Clayton Kershaw have.

After six starts, Kluber is 0-4, and down 4-1 in the first inning, so his chances of picking up win No. 1 aren't looking so great. Combine that with the ERA, and you've got all the makings for a big flop; more reactionary writers might even declare that Kluber has been "figured out."

I'm not worried, however. And here's why: No pitcher in baseball has received less help from his teammates than Kluber so far. Entering play Thursday, the Indians have managed just 14 runs of support for Kluber, a paltry 2.3 per game. Worse than that, they have turned just 63.4 percent of balls in play against them into outs, one of the worst marks in baseball.

At least one of those things should change, as the Indians offense is sure to perform for Kluber moving forward; they are averaging 5.1 runs per game in non-Kluber starts. That's just plain, bad luck, nothing more.

The other factor may not work out in his favor so well. The Indians rank just 27th in defensive runs saved, per FanGraphs, and it's not like they have a ton of hope for improvement. After all, they finished 29th in that same metric, and have issues all around the diamond.

Still, Kluber was tremendous in spite of that defense last season, and there's little reason to think he can't do so again. He had a 2.44 ERA and 2.35 FIP last season, so even the defense couldn't hold him back. Entering play Thursday, he hasn't been quite as good, independent of defense, with a 2.98 FIP, but that's a far cry from where his ERA actually sits.

So, Kluber may not be the second best pitcher in baseball again this season. That's OK, because all indications are, he should still be very, very good, once he gets luck on his side. He's still racking up strong strikeout numbers, avoiding walks and generating a good amount of ground balls, so it's not like he is a materially different pitcher than a year ago.

If someone was panicking, Kluber is exactly the kind of player I would be looking to buy low on. When he turns it on, he's going to blow people away again, and whoever dumps him is going to regret it.