Will the Royals Improve? Kansas City Royals 2007 Season Preview...

The Kansas City Royals for the past several seasons have been seen as probably the most moribund organization in all of sports. The team was a consistent winner in the 1980’s and won it all in 1985; however, since 1990, the organization has only had three winning seasons and fans know the team is out of contention for a title before the first pitch is ever thrown. Due to the economic reality of the sport, Kansas City over the years have lost stars like Johnny Damon and Carlos Beltran to free agency, thus never having the chance to see their young talent stick it through for the Royals.

A city with a proud baseball tradition, Kansas City has deserved much better, and owner David Glass this winter finally opened up the checkbook and signed some talent. There’s new found optimism as the team is finally taking steps to improve and had a huge free agent signing; albeit, a controversial one with pitcher Gil Meche.

Though pundits, the media and bloggers all around the internet blasted the organization over the Meche signing, the move did show fans that the team is ready to forge ahead. The Kansas City Royals now want to be respected, and see themselves on the rise, not to be the butt of baseball jokes. If all comes to together, the Royals may surprise the league and perhaps break through in 2007 and finally be on the road to respectability.

Overall, the team is still infused with a lot of youth, but the team recently added veterans Octavio Dotel, David Riske and the aforementioned Gil Meche. As well, the team recently acquired Russ Gload, Jason LaRue and Brian Bannister via trade. The team lost Paul Bako, Mark Redman and Paul Mientkiewicz to free agency, and Donnie Murphy, Ambiorix Burgos, Andrew Sisco and Jeff Keppinger to trades.

The pitching for the Royals is a big question mark going into 2007, and the offense is devoid of power; however, there’s no question that new GM Dayton Moore is taking steps to improve the team.

The starting pitching for the Royals is a mixture of youth & veteran mainstays. The rotation includes Gil Meche as the number one starter, Odalis Perez, Luke Hudson, Jorge De La Rosa and Brian Bannister in the mix.

The wild card in the rotation will be Gil Meche, who will have a lot of pressure on him to deliver and be the ace. He finished 11-8 with a 4.48 ERA with Seattle; however, he’s got a lifetime of ERA 4.65 and will need to step it up with the Royals to justify his contract. Based on this track record, he should be a solid pitcher for the team, but they should not expect to be a Cy Young candidate. Veteran Odalis Perez should be the second starter and he struggled in 2006 with a 6-8 record and an ERA over 6. The team will need him to regain the form he had with the Dodgers if the Royals are going to move up in the win column. Luke Hudson will also be in the rotation as he was 7-6 with an ERA over 5; Jorge DeLaRosa, who as well struggled in ’06 should have a spot, and young Brian Bannister who came from the Mets, should round out the rotation.

Another possibly for the pitching staff may be Zack Greinke. Only 23, he shows a lot of promise to be a good pitcher in the big leagues, and had a good 2004 finished with a 3.97 ERA; however, while he struggled in 2005 where he lost 17 games and finished with an ERA under 6. Sadly, in 2006, he only got into 3 games before he left for the rest of the season due to personal issues. He’s on the 40 man roster, & if he returns to the team, he will be a big factor in the future of the Royals.

Also, Scott Elarton should be a choice to make the starting rotation as he was 4-9 with a 5.34 ERA. He’s a longtime veteran and he’s struggled the past several seasons, but won 11 games in ’05 and 17 in ’01. He may be in the bullpen, work as a spot starter, or perhaps might factor in the rotation if he has a good spring training.

The bullpen will consist of mostly young arms with Octavio Dotel slotted to be the closer. He’s not been doing much the past two seasons, as he’s been on and off the DL. Before he got injured, he was one of the most productive relievers in baseball. If he can duplicate his production he had before 2005, the Royals may have a diamond the rough.

Jimmy Gobble will also be in the bullpen, though he will need to give up less runs, as he had 5.14 ERA last season. Also in the bullpen will be Ken Ray, Joel Peralta, Leo Nunez & Todd Wellemeyer.

The infield will consist of highly touted first baseman, Ryan Shealy at first, Mark Grudzielanek at second, Angel Berroa at shortstop and Mark Teahen at third.

Big Ryan Shealy will be at first base and saw some paying time in Kansas City after being traded from Colorado. He’s got a lot power and should be very productive for the Royals for 2007. Veteran Mark Grudzielanek will be in back in the fold at second, and had a good year batting .297 and driving in 52 runs. He’ll be 36 next season, but the team should expect him to remain a steady bat and strong presence for a young team.

The everyday shortstop will be Angel Berroa, who has not been able to match his numbers that he had during his rookie season in ’03; therefore, he struggled in 2006 in which he only batted .234 and hit 9 home runs. The Royals need him to do better in order to help out the offense. Mark Teahan will be the third baseman, as he batted .290 with 18 homers in 109 games. Seen as one of the up and coming young players in the league, the Royals have a glimmer of hope for the future if Teahan can continue to develop as an all-around player. Backing up the infield will be Ross Gload, acquired from the White Sox will play first; Andres Blanco can will play up the middle at either short or second & Angel Sanchez.

The outfield will have Emil Brown being the everyday right fielder, David DeJesus in center and Reggie Sander in left.

Emil Brown had a solid season in 2006; batting .287 with 81 runs batted in along with 15 homers. He’ll be going into this third year as regular, and the team hopes he can keep up his production. Reggie Sanders had a tough 2006, as he only played in 88 games due to injuries and only hit .246. A longtime veteran, he has been productive the past several years as he could be counted to hit for power and average despite his age. The Royals will need really him to bounce back, be healthy and be productive to anchor the offense.

David De Jesus will be the everyday centerfielder. As well, outfielder Joey Gathright will see plenty of playing time in a platoon role, although he only hit .238 in ’06. Also in the mix will be Shane Costa, & Estaban German.

Mike Sweeney will be the designated hitter. The longtime veteran only got into 60 games due to injuries and drove in 33 runs and compiled a batting average of .258. He’s not played more than 122 games in the past 3 season due to various ailments; however, he’s been usually good for a solid .280-.300 batting average, at least 20 homers and 80 RBIs for the past several seasons. He’ll be the wild card in the batting order, as a healthy Mike Sweeney over a full season would improve the offense greatly.

John Buck is slotted to be the everyday catcher and batted .245 with 11 homers and 50 runs batted in. He’ll be in his third season in 2007, and the Royals hope he can improve somewhat in his offensive numbers. Jason LaRue will be the backup catcher. He had a down year in 2006, only batting .194 with 8 homers and 21 RBI. He was down more than 40 points from his career batting average and the team hopes he can bounce back.

In the end, the Royals probably will not contend for the American League Central title in 2007 and perhaps even in 2008, but right now the front office brass is definitely taking steps to improve the organization and it's image. If Gil Meche, the new additions and young players can develop and play to their potential, the Royal may be competitive and very much surprise the competition in the American League.