Kansas City Royals: Spring Training Information

By Ken from The Pipeline
Location: Surprise Stadium - Surprise, AZ
Pitchers and Catchers Report: Feb. 14th
First Game: March 1st
Schedule

Projected Opening Day Lineup

1. David DeJesus (CF)
2. Mark Grudzielanek (2B)
3. Mark Teahen (LF)
4. Jose Guillen (RF)
5. Billy Butler (DH)
6. Alex Gordon (3B)
7. John Buck (C)
8. Ross Gload (1B)
9. Tony Pena Jr. (SS)

Projected Rotation

1. Gil Meche
2. Brian Bannister
3. Zack Greinke
4. unknown -- mishmash of candidates including Kyle Davies, Jorge de la Rosa, Brett Tomko
5. see #4 including the names Mike Maroth, Luke Hochevar, Brian Lawrence, Hideo Nomo

Projected Bullpen

Long: John Bale, Leo Nunez, Jimmy Gobble
Situational: Ron Mahay, Ryan Braun
7th Inning: Joel Peralta
8th Inning: Yasuhiko Yabuta
Closer: Joakim Soria
* a couple of these guys probably will start the season in Omaha in AAA, most likely Nunez and Braun.
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Key Battles: The biggest battle will be for the #4 and #5 rotation slots, as the Royals have a group of about six or seven guys competing for the two spots. Brett Tomko was signed to a 1-year deal with Brian Lawrence, Mike Maroth and Hideo Nomo brought in as non-roster spring invitees. No. 1 pick Luke Hochevar made his big league debut late in 2007 and will get a shot at the rotation in the spring. Kyle Davies and Jorge de la Rosa are also in the mix. Chin Hui-Tsao may also be in the mix in the bullpen. March will be a big month in deciding the near future of the Royals rotation.

First base may also be a battle as Gload, Butler, Teahen and Ryan Shealy, who had a dismal 2007, are all potentially in the mix. Butler will likely be given a shot at earning the job but Gload was signed to a two-year deal in the offseason and will likely see plenty of time at the position. Teahen adjusted well to right as first seasons at the position go, so likely is a longer shot at the position unless Gload's production collapses and Butler proves helpless with the glove. Shealy also has to prove himself at the plate to get back in the battle for the position.

Outlook: The team's 2008 slogan "New. Blue. Tradition." echoes changes made in Kansas City since the last pitch of 2007 was thrown. The biggest change was the import of new manager Trey Hillman after he led the Nippon Ham Fighters to back-to-back Japan Series appearances across the Pacific, including a title in 2006. The organization has hopes that Hillman can take the team to places that haven't been in the picture regularly since the mid-1980s. Of course, getting that done is as tough as it gets being the team is in the AL Central.

After fielding one of the league's worst offenses in 2007, the Royals have made some changes but need some young players to step up to make a big difference in 2008. The biggest positional signing was somewhat volatile corner OF Jose Guillen, who will likely cover left field despite already stating a preference for right field, which was held down in 2007 by converted 3B Mark Teahen. Guillen has also stated, however, that he'd play wherever asked to by Hillman and the organization. C Miguel Olivo replaces Jason LaRue as the second part of the catching tandem with John Buck, who started out the 2007 campaign on fire at the plate but cooled considerably after the first couple months, even hitting under .200 for the second half. Olivo has the same basic skill set as Buck with maybe a slight defensive advantage. The other new Royal position player is IF Alberto Callaspo, who went through domestic problems in 2007 that somewhat overshadowed his time with the D'Backs. He had another great year in AAA, however, in 2007 so he appears to be the heir apparent at 2B when Grudzielanek either gets traded or runs out of contract time. Other than that, it's the same cadre of players that was in place in 2007 with the addition of IF Angel Sanchez, who returns from losing last season to arm surgery and may pressure Pena for time at short. The Royals will need more contributions from Gordon and Butler and a rebound year from Teahen if they want to continue the road back to winning ways.

On the mound, the Royals have the top three spots pretty much locked in with Gil Meche, Brian Bannister and Zack Greinke, who had a standout 2007 as a set-up guy but is getting another shot at being a major league starter. The other two spots, as mentioned in the key battles section, are wide open. The Royals need pitchers to step up and take the two spots rather than having them fall to two pitchers by default. The bullpen was a strong point in 2007 but solid set-up guy David Riske left via free agency and the Royals replaced him with mid-30s Japanese reliever Yasuhiko Yabuta, who they hope can bridge from the starters to closer Joakim Soria. Ron Mahay was brought in as a situational lefty reliever with Jimmy Gobble being freed up to either be situational or a long reliever. Joel Peralta, John Bale and Leo Nunez return as do Ryan Braun and Neal Musser, who took turns making the trip from Omaha to the KC bullpen in 2007.

What To Expect: The Royals improved in 2007 but have a tall order ahead of them as they compete with the White Sox, Tigers and Indians in the division. The Twins were apparently weakened with the trade of Johan Santana, so appear to be in much the same boat as the Royals. A lot of pieces need to fall together right for the Royals to break the losing spell, including repeat performances from Meche and Bannister along with solid 4th and 5th starters emerging. Guillen is being counted on to be the power corner OF player the team has been seeking but will need some lineup protection from Butler, Gordon and Teahen. Moore's plans to hopefully add Torii Hunter or Andruw Jones along with Guillen via free agency fell through, so further roster moves may be on the way for Kansas City. Defensively, the Royals didn't upgrade much if at all in the offseason, either, so if they want to make a divisional run there's much work to be done. Moore is hoping Hillman and Guillen can be two of the pieces of the puzzle and still appears to be sorting through the other pieces. Hopefully the biggest development in KC in 2008 is more than just the return of the powder blue uniforms.

Ken covers the Royals on his blog The Pipeline.

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