(Photo by G. Newman Lowrance/Getty Images)

With there being no clear favorite in the American League Central Division for 2009, I am here to say that the American League playoffs will be shaken up once again, as the Kansas City Royals will take home the Central Division crown.

Much like the surprising Tampa Bay Rays from 2008, the 2009 Royals have a good mixture of young players, both pitchers and position players, and a few proven veterans sprinkled in. 

Here is a rundown of the 2009 Royals.

Starting Pitchers

The Royals have arguably as a good a one-two punch in terms of starting pitchers as any team in their division.  Mr. Consistency, Gil Meche, and phenom Zack Greinke are both possible All-Stars, and the Royals' success in 2009 depends on their right arms. 

The third starter, former Atlanta Brave Kyle Davies, was as dominant as any pitcher in the majors last September, when he posted a 4-1 record and a 2.27 ERA. 

Although the team's fourth and fifth starters are as shaky as the next team in the Central (currently Sidney Ponson and Horacio Ramirez), the three at the top look to be in top form at the beginning of the season and seem poised to carry the team to a divisional crown. 

Look for youngsters Luke Hochevar and Brian Bannister to possibly win out the fourth and fifth spot in the rotation as the season progresses.

Bullpen

Similar to their starting pitchers, the Royals have dominant relief pitchers as well, boasting one of the best bullpens in the American League. 

The bullpen is anchored by "The Mexicutioner," closer Joakim Soria, who recorded 42 saves and posted a 1.60 ERA and 0.86 WHIP in 2008. 

As for the rest of the bullpen, the Royals retained left-handed shutdown setup man Ron Mahay, who carried an under 1.00 ERA deep into the season in 2008.

They also opened up their wallets to some right-handed relievers, signing hard-throwing setup man Juan Cruz as well as Kyle Farnsworth, both of whom have proved to be reliable relievers throughout their respective careers.

Outfielders

The Royals enhanced their outfield in the offseason by adding speedy switch-hitting center fielder Coco Crisp. 

Although adding Crisp does not help the Royals from a power standpoint, he has stolen 20 bases or more in the last three seasons, and has also had an increased on-base-percentage in each of those seasons, two categories that the Royals have been lacking in in the recent past. 

While Crisp is anchoring center field for the Royals, lefty David DeJesus will take over in left.  DeJesus is coming off his best season yet in the majors, when he hit .307 with 12 home runs and 11 stolen bases in 2008. 

What many people don't know but should about DeJesus is that he led the majors in hitting with runners in scoring position in 2008, posting a .419 batting average. 

The Royals hope to have a healthy and determined Jose Guillen in right field, as he provides as their only consistent power hitting right-handed bat. 

Guillen has had 20 or more homers and nearly 100 runs batted in in the last two seasons, although he did see his average dip from .290 in 2007 to .264 in 2008. 

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