Draft preview: Kansas City Royals outlook

Team-by-team outlooks

It's a new day in Kansas City ... Well, at least they hope it is.

The Royals endured a horrible season in 2006 with the most promising items still developing down in the minors. They made a few moves to bring in some nice talent, like Ryan Shealy, and the sudden development of Mark Teahen caused Royal-blue smiles. But it's the farm system, led by super prospects Alex Gordon, Luke Hochevar and Billy Butler, that will keep Fantasy teams stocked over the next decade.

Kansas City's pitching staff was one of the worst in the majors a year ago. Their starters had an ERA of 5.85, and the bullpen's was 5.36 -- both were low marks in the AL. So they'll have a completely revamped rotation than the one that took the field on opening day last season. Gil Meche leads the staff as the veteran No. 1 (it's tough to call him an ace though), and Odalis Perez shaved a full run off of his ERA after arriving in Kauffman Stadium (granted, he still had an ERA of 5.64 after the trade).

From a Fantasy perspective, you'll want to keep an eye on the Royals' staff, but as of now, they aren't worth owning in mixed-league play. One interesting pitcher to watch early in the season, however, is Zack Greinke, who has returned to the mound after some psychological issues a year ago. It's hard to forget what the youngster did in 2004, posting eight wins and a 3.97 ERA in 145 innings as a rookie. If he can get his head straight, he could be a nice sleeper for ERA and WHIP help -- likely not wins though.

On the offensive side, the Royals have an underrated top of the order, with David DeJesus and Mark Grudzielanek, who appears to have been reborn in the Midwest. DeJesus doesn't give you the stats you'd normally want from a leadoff man, but now that he has some consistent hitting behind him, he should eclipse 100 runs scored for the first time in his career. He set highs in many categories last year, but injuries limited him to just 119 games. Consider him a nice AL-only Head-to-Head sleeper as well because of how many at-bats he'll end up with after a full healthy season.

Shealy finally got a starting gig after sitting behind Todd Helton in Colorado the past couple seasons. He'll give you an inconsistent batting average, but he can knock in runs by the handful. He'll also learn from team captain Mike Sweeney, who will work as the designated hitter this season, which could help his bad back stay well.

The biggest question for this offense is whether or not Gordon can grab the reins as the starting third baseman out of spring training. If he does, it then begs the question of whether Mark Teahen can handle the transition to right field. Will moving their best offensive player from '06 to a different defensive position alter his ability at the plate? It's not uncommon for a player to have a dropoff offensively after moving positions in the field.

Spring position battles

From a Fantasy perspective, you're going to want to stay clear of the back end of the Royals' rotation, unless you are in a deep AL-only league and you have an innings requirement. Greinke is certainly intriguing though, and no one is rooting for him to return to his rookie form more than Royals' management. Only 11 other AL starters had a lower ERA than Greinke's 3.97 in '04, among those that qualified for the ERA title.

Third base -- Alex Gordon vs. Mark Teahen

This isn't so much a battle as it is an audition. If Gordon can stick out of spring training, he just moves Teahen out to right field and Reggie Sanders to the bench. Gordon's talent has already shoved former top prospect Billy Butler to the outfield also.

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