2008 Kansas City Royals: Things Finally Looking Up

2007 Record: 69-93

Key Additions: Jose Guillen, Miguel Olivo, Alberto Callaspo, Brett Tomko, Ron Mahay, Yasuhiko Yabuta

Key Losses: Mike Sweeney, Reggie Sanders, Emil Brown, Odalis Perez, Billy Buckner, David Riske

Two things have been consistent for the Kansas City Royals the past four seasons, change and last-place finishes.

While the other four division rivals have each have had their opportunities in October, the Royals have been left behind to deal with changes in GMs, managers, and a revolving door of failed players on the field.

Entering his second full season as the Royals GM, Dayton Moore will be looking to build upon his team’s improvements last season. The improvements were primarily due to the additions Moore made to the pitching staff, like acquiring Gil Meche, Brian Bannister and rule 5 pick Joakim Soria.

These moves along with developing homegrown talent brought the Royals’ pitching staff from a league-worst 5.65 ERA to a respectable 7th place finish (in the AL) with a 4.48 ERA.

This offseason, Moore hopes a new attitude at the top will help lead this team up the AL Central ladder.

Trey Hillman was brought in to replace another resigning Royals manager in Buddy Bell. Hillman previously managed the Nippon Ham Fighters in the Japanese League and is known for being creative and using the small aspects of the game, like bunting, stealing, and using hit-and-runs. This should be an excellent fit for the Royals’ offense which lacks power.

Other moves made were to bring in veteran players to fill spots on the roster while Royals prospects continue to develop into the positions.

The most notable of those was bringing in Jose Guillen to play left field and give some consistency to the middle of the lineup. Though, his steroid suspension has him already starting on the wrong foot. The other moves were minor and fill voids on the bench.

Infield

There has been very little change in the infield for the 2008 season.

There is definitely a lack of offense from this group with the lone potential star, Alex Gordon, struggling as a rookie.

He will be counted on to rebound from his disappointing rookie season and be a major contributor to jump start an offense that has finished in the bottom four teams of the league the past four seasons.

A good sign for Gordon is that after not getting to a .200 batting average until June, he hit .285 with 12 home runs and 10 steals over the final 98 games.

Not sure if I should fit him in the infield discussion, as he will be the DH, but Billy Butler is another possibility for the Royals to improve upon last season.

He is one of only three Royals to have over 300 at-bats at the age of 21 or younger (Clint Hurdle and George Brett were the others). He hit .292 with 8 home runs and 52 RBI in 329 at bats, and should play regularly this season as the DH and some first base.

The rest of the infield is a grab bag of talents. Some have no bat with a great glove (Tony Pena Jr.), a power bat with no average or plate discipline (catchers, Miguel Olivo and John Buck), or are veteran players filling a gap until a viable option surfaces (Mark Grudzielanek and Ross Gload). Backing these guys up are solid utility men, Esteban German and Alberto Callaspo.
Grade: C-

Outfield

As previously mentioned, Guillen was signed as a free agent from the Mariners to provide some leadership, consistency and power to a middle of the lineup that has not had any. He probably won’t hit 30 home runs or drive in 100, but will be a nice investment and hold the position warm for a few years.

Royals’ fans are hoping he isn’t the next Reggie Sanders.

David DeJesus and Mark Teahen will be back to play in center and left fields respectively. Both have been brought up through the system and have showed glimpses of their promise before regressing last season. On the positive side, they are relatively still young, as DeJesus is 28 and Teahen is 26, and both have good on-base skills.

The remaining outfielders, Joey Gathright and Shane Costa, will be fighting for at-bats. Gathright will most likely be the fourth man as his defense and speed separate him from Costa.
Grade: C

Starting Pitching

Most laughed when they read that Gil Meche signed a 5-year, $55 million contract last season, but he is now looking like he is definitely worth the price.

He may have only won nine games, but with the second worst run-support in the league, wins were tough to come by. He will again be the No. 1 man in the rotation.

Next in line will be either Bannister or Zach Greinke. Bannister had a solid rookie season and was in the running for the rookie of the year award. He may be a candidate for a sophomore slump, as his BABIP against was .264 for a stat which is typically around .300. Bannister avoiding this slump will be a key for the Royals.

Greinke has the stuff to be the ace of the staff; he will just have to earn that status back.

Coming back from personal issues, he posted great numbers out of the bullpen and earned his way back into the rotation. He has great off-speed to match a mid-to-upper 90s fastball.

From there it gets scary. Pitchers Jorge de la Rosa, Brett Tomko, Kyle Davies, Luke Hudson and highly touted prospect Luke Hochevar will be competing for the final two spots. The Royals are hoping somebody catches on here, but most likely there will be a lot of changes and Hochevar will get his first shot as a big league regular.
Grade: C

Relief Pitchers

This is where the strength of the team was last season and looks to again be this season.

In 2006, the bullpen consisted of hard-throwing, wild relievers that finished with a league-worst 5.36 ERA. With some key moves made by GM Dayton Moore, the bullpen climbed to 6th in the league with a 3.85 ERA.

Soria, a major contributor to that improvement, will be back to start the season as the closer. He was a long shot a year ago, as a rule 5 draftee, but earned the closer’s job and doesn’t look to be giving it up anytime soon. Although, there have been whispers of him joining the rotation.

The setup committee will consist of Jimmy Gobble, Joel Peralta, John Bale, Ron Mahay, Leo Nunez, the other Ryan Braun, and Japanese import Yasuhiko Yabuta.

There is a solid mix of righties and lefties in this mix and newly acquired veteran pitchers Mahay and Yabuta give solid insurance should any of the returnees falter.
Grade: B

Prediction

The Royals will not contend in the AL Central the next season or two, but with a solid nucleus of young talent in place and a sharp GM, things seem to be finally looking brighter for a franchise stuck in last place.

Projected 2008 Record: 72-90, Fifth Place

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