AL Central Preview - KC Royals

This team has been soooo bad for soooo long.
When will it end?
Not this year. Or next.
One, they’re in a really tough division, and two, they spent the last half-dozen or so years doing nothing.

They weren’t winning, but they weren’t really rebuilding either. Their drafts continuously failed to produce quality players (hell, even quality prospects), and when they traded away veterans, they rarely got anything decent in return.

On that front at least, things are looking up a little bit for the Royals. They have two of the best offensive prospects in baseball in Alex Gordon and Billy Butler. Gordon appears set to open this season in KC, at 3B. That would move the Royals best current player, Mark Teahan, to RF. Butler is a future DH, and probably a year away. Luke Hudson looked like a promising starter last year, and No. 1 pick Luke Hochevar could be in the majors this year. He’s the best pitching prospect the Royals have had since they traded David Cone for Sean Hearn.
Zack Greinke looked like a top prospect until he took a year off for personal reasons. He came back and showed some promise, but that year off might have cost him a chance to become a frontline starter.

So while Royals fans can at least take comfort in knowing that there finally appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel, it’s still a very long tunnel. And the fact that new GM Dayton Moore thought it was a good idea to give Gil Meche a 5-year, $55 million contract this season, makes you wonder if they won’t again find a way to screw it up. Bottom line: 2007 could see them lose 100 games for the fifth time in six years.

Probable Starting Lineup
CF David DeJesus
2B Mark Grudzielanek/Esteban German
LF Mark Teahan
DH Mike Sweeney
RF Emil Brown/Reggie Sanders
3B Alex Gordon
1B Ryan Shealy
C Jason Larue/John Buck
SS Angel Berroa
Starting Rotation
RH Gil Meche
LH Odalis Perez
RH Zack Greinke
RH Luke Hudson
Elarton/Duckworth/Bannister
Closer: Octavio Dotel
Teahan developed into a solid player midway through last season, hitting .290 with 18 homers in 393 ABs. CF David DeJesus (pictured above) is a pretty good player, too. Mark Grudzielanek (who begins the year on the DL) is a great fielding 2B, and is still decent with the stick. Jason LaRue is a decent hitting catcher, and will push incumbent John Buck, who’s been a disappointment so far.
Some of their young arms show promise. Octavio Dotel isn’t much of a closer, but he’s better than Ambiorix Burgos (traded to the Mets). Mike Sweeney’s been talking all spring about staying healthy, but I, like many, are no longer listening. The guy’s washed up. I don’t see him making any impact, especially with Ryan Shealy at 1B and with Brown, Sanders, Teahan, Gordon, Butler or someone else available to take the ABs at DH.
The rotation is iffy. Meche is a similar pitcher to Kyle Lohse yet landed that $55 million, and Odalis Perez has struggled ever since making the All-Star team with the Dodgers. They’ll be followed by Greinke, Hudson and a fifth starter yet to be determined. Familiar names like Jimmy Gobble, Brian Bannister, Dewon Brazelton (he was picked after Joe Mauer and Mark Prior), Brandon Duckworth and others are somewhere in the mix for spots as a starter or reliever.
The good: Some developing young hitters, solid defense. Rotation should be a little better.
The bad: They’re simply below par in every area, even the ones they’ve improved.
Best-case scenario: Gordon is the AL Rookie of the Year, and Butler arrives midway through and shows promise. Teahan and DeJesus take another step forward, while Meche, Greinke, Hudson and Perez all post sub-5 ERAs. Royals flirt with .500 and finish with 76 wins.
Worst-case scenario: Gordon and Butler aren’t ready, and Meche badly fails to earn his contract. The rotation is a mess, and the bullpen is no better. Royals lose 105 games.
Kansas City Royals
Manager: Buddy Bell
Offense: C
Defense: B
Rotation: D
Bullpen: D
Bench: D
Prediction: 64-98, 5th in AL Central