2008 Kansas City Royals Baseball Preview

The Kansas City Royals (69- 93) may pull themselves out of the AL Central cellar this season. Partly because GM Dayton Moore has been more aggressive and more willing to spend money on talent than in the past and also due to the fact that the Twins are in a tailspin.

The starting rotation is still up and coming. Gil Meche (9- 13, 3.67 ERA, 156 SO) has good location on his fastball and offsets it with a unique slider. In his last three starts, he never allowed more than three runs a game. Righty Zack Greinke (7- 7, 3.69 ERA, 106 SO) came on strong at the end, posting a 1.85 ERA in is final seven starts, while Brian Bannister (12- 9, 3.87 ERA, 77 SO), another right-hander, pitched well until the final weeks of 2007. Greinke is a power pitcher who also has a late breaking slider. Bannister’s breaking ball and slider can confuse hitters. The bullpen includes the versatile left-hander Jimmy Gobble (4- 1, 3.02 ERA, 50 SO, .277 BAA) , who has fine setup and middle relief skills, and right-hander Joel Peralta (1- 3, 3.80 ERA, 66 SO, .274 BAA), another good setup man. Closer Joakim Soria (2-3, 2.48 ERA, 75 SO, .187 BAA) is young with huge potential.

Free agent arrival Jose Guillen (.290 BA, 23 HR, 99 RBI) is a sound hitter with good skills in center. Mark Grudzielanek (.302 BA, 6 HR, 51 RBI) can hit line drives anywhere in the park and plays a solid second base. DH Billy Butler (.292, 8 HR, 52 RBI) possesses an excellent stroke, fine bat speed and good power. Ross Gload (.288 BA, 7 HR, 51 RBI), first baseman, is a skilled situation hitter.

The fielding is overall average with catcher Joe Buck possessing good blocking skills and a strong arm. The infielders show good ball skills, while the outfield has some strong and accurate arms.

New manager Trey Hillman has some talent with which to work. The team should do better than it did last season. There are reasons to be optimistic. A fourth-place finish is not out of the question and third is also possible if the White Sox can’t get their act together. Anything better is not just wishful thinking but a pure miracle.

Read more on the Royals other AL Central division competitors like the Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins, and Chicago White Sox.

For more info on the Royals check out the MLB official page for Kansas City baseball news.