K.C. Royals Will Win AL Central: You've Officially Been Notified

I'll guarantee that headline, and I'm not even a Royals fan.

That being said, the AL Central will be fun division race in 2009. Some may say that all five teams are substandard, but I'll argue they are even squads that all dislike each other.

The key here is that the Royals have added enough solid players, and that Tillman has changed the attitude.

The White Sox have lost a lot recently, the Tigers are not as good on paper as last year, the Indians will be better but don't have enough starters, and the Twins will be the tough, but I like the Royals' mix better.

Take a look at their 25-man projected roster and try to argue with me:

Starting Lineup

1. CF CoCo Crisp

2. LF David DeJesus

3. 1B Mike Jacobs

4. RF Jose Guillen

5. DH Billy Butler

6. 3B Alex Gordon

7. C Miguel Olivo

8. SS Mike Aviles

9. 2B Alberto Callaspo

That isn't a good lineup, it's great. Jacobs, CoCo and Callaspo spread it out really well; there will be no time for the opposing pitchers to take a breather. "Best in the division" is an easy proclamation to make.

Bench

C John Buck

1B Ryan Shealy

IF/OF Willie Bloomquist

IF Tony Pena

OF Mark Teahen

That's a very good bench, and may just be the best in the divison as well.

Starters

Gil Meche

Zach Greinke

Luke Hochevar

Brian Bannister

Kyle Davies

The rotation is the weakness of the squad, obviously, but I see them trading for a good lefty at the break to solidfy spots one through four.

Bullpen

Joakim Soria

Juan Cruz

Kyle Farnsworth

Ron Mahay

Joel Peralta

Robinson Tejada

A great 'pen gets Cruz, a huge addition. Farnsworth will be a flamethrower and get some big outs. Mahay is a great lefty.

I like this squad for 88 wins with this roster. If they add some pieces, they can recapture the mid-80's magic, and when it happens, you'll sing my praises.