2011 MLB Team Preview: Kansas City Royals
Hard to believe, as many of us watch the snow fall outside, that the Boys of Summer are almost back. But it’s true; teams have started reporting to 2011 Major League Baseball training camps and it’s time to start our team-by-team baseball gambling previews for the year.
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Royals Calender
FEB. 1-18, 2011 – Salary arbitration hearings
FEB. 14, 2011 – Voluntary Spring Training reporting date for pitchers, catchers and injured players
FEB. 19, 2011 – Voluntary Spring Training reporting date for non-pitchers and catchers
FEB. 26, 2011 – Mandatory Spring Training reporting date for all players
Check out these numbers: 8, 9, 10, 18, 19. They represent five different Kansas City Royals and, more specifically, their ranks among Baseball America’s top 100 prospects. In Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Wil Myers, John Lamb and Mike Montgomery, Kansas City has a whopping five of the top 19 prospects in the game.
So the news isn’t all bad for K.C. The Royals have a phenomenal farm system. However, it looks like none of those five blue chippers will play for them come Opening Day. Also, the Royals have watched plenty of prospects flop over the years (read: Hochevar, Luke; Gordon, Alex). So are they due for more misery this season?
KANSAS CITY ROYALS
World Series odds: +10000
Help is on the way, especially with Hosmer and the powerful Moustakas, but the guys keeping the seats warm in Kansas City’s lineup leave a lot to be desired. Jeff Francoeur?Jason Kendall? Melky Cabrera? Eek. That’s three bums too many. Alex Gordon, once the game’s top prospect, is nothing more than a project as he gets moved to left field. If he was going to be a star, we would’ve seen it by now.
Alcides Escobar and Mike Aviles could be reasonable contributors from the middle infield, Escobar for his speed and Aviles for his ability to hit for average, but they’re low-impact guys. Wilson Betemit showed some real pop last season but, for some reason, wherever he goes, no team wants to give him a full-time gig. 
The only reliable bat in K.C.’s current lineup is Billy Butler’s. The big fella still doesn’t have power to match his frame, like a young Dmitri Young, but he’s a professional hitter.
The Royals have a poor excuse for a major-league rotation. Jeff Francis (back from injury), Hochevar, Bruce Chen, Kyle Davies and Vin Mazzaro? Wow. You can’t tell me that isn’t a “Class-AAAA” rotation if there ever was one.
At least the Royals have an absolute gem in their bullpen. You could make a case that Joakim Soria is the best closer in the game today. The 26-year-old has a 2.01 career ERA and 0.99 WHIP with 132 saves over four years with K.C. By the time his career is over, he could challenge for the all-time saves record. He’s that good.
2011 OUTLOOK
The Royals have so many good prospects on the way that they remind me of the pre-breakout Tampa Bay Rays. But the kids aren’t ready yet. In the meantime, Kansas City will field a farm team masquerading as a big-league club. That’s a recipe for a last-place finish in the American League Central.
Prediction: 5th, American League Central
