My Apologies Luke Hochevar!

HOW DID LUKE HOCHEVAR NOT WIN THE #4 SPOT IN THE STARTING ROTATION? HOW DID HE NOT LAND A SPOT IN THE ROTATION! Luke Hochevar despite outpitching every Royal's starter this spring except Kyle Davies will not be in the rotation at the beginning of the rotation. The last time Ramirez was a starter his ERA was above 7, but that was 2007 right? It's unfair to judge him off that time right? So lets look at his Spring Training stats.

Ramirez 19IP 9.00ERA 19ER 26R 6SO 4BB
Hochevar 16.1IP 3.83 ERA 7ER 7R 8SO 4BB

Now at the beginning of spring there was supposed to be a competition between Ramirez, Bannister and Hochevar for the last 2 spots. Now in what way does Ramirez beat Hochevar if this is a competition? Both are ground ball pitchers, so you can't say Ramirez plays better with the defense. Whats the reason? Hochevar beats HoRam in every category. He's 5 runs better in ERA and thats with HoRam getting lucky and having 7 unearned. Now you can say he had bad defense behind him, but don't good pitchers get out of jams on their own? And didn't Luke Hochevar have for the most part the same defense? It's fine if they want to put Ponson in the rotation even though he's proven nothing and hasn't been any good since possibly ever, but even he hasn't performed better than Hochevar. He wasn't going to be with a team in camp if he hadn't looked decent in the WBC. So how is Hochevar who had a brilliant spring and a solid last year not going to be starting over a crappy lefty, and some jerk who wasn't even in camp all spring? Lets hope Hochevar doesn't get a bad attitude though.... we'll need him to bail us out when HoRam or Ponson get yanked from the rotation.

Position by Position: Outfielders Part 2

David Dejesus- has been a good player his entire career. He's the typical .290 avg guy that can be a guy on a playoff team, but not THE guy. The comparisons of him being baby Beltran when he first came up were too much, but he's another player who is what he is which is good in this case but not great. Last year he managed to hit over .300 combined with a good walk rate and a RISP near .400 . This year he will move to left field where he profiles better as a defender. The only downsides to him are he isn't a power or steal threat .295/.370/.430 w/12HR as a projection.

Coco Crisp- the best name in baseball arguably is a Royal now after a swap with Boston for Ramon Ramirez. Coco began his career as a speedy outfielder who could hit. He then moved onto Boston and struggled with his hitting while battling injuries. Coco has never really been an OBP guy with his highest being in the .34o's. He has shown improved plate patience though this spring as hes leading the Cactus League in walks. His strengths are a decent contact swing, exceptional speed, and good defense. Last year his defense suffered, but most consider this a result of his injuries. His weaknesses are no power, and a weak arm. Overall though he'll greatly improve the Royals' outfield defense. My projections are .280/.355/.395 with 5HR and 35 SB.

Position By Position: Outfield Part 1

Jose Guillen- When a team declines an 8M dollar option on a player, its probably not wise to give him 12M per on a 3 year deal. This is especially true when that player is in his mid 30s and due for a huge decline. Such is the case however with Jose Guillen. Guillen had 20HR's and 90+ rbi's last year, but his stats are decieving. He hit cleanup the whole year, thus giving him more chances to drive in runs. His homers came in bunches though meaning he was a force for probably 6 weeks of the season and useless for the rest. He combined his slightly above average power last year with horrible on base skills, bad fielding, an attitude problem, and a lack of hustle. But he does have a good throwing arm and he stayed at a Holiday Inn Express! Hopefully KC can dump Guillen before his contract ends and his skills erode further. Also I'd bet anything he starts getting hurt this year. As for projections .260/.290/.470 with 17HR's if he stays healthy.

Mark Teahen- The talented Mr. Teahen has been a source of much mystery to Royals fans. Does he suck? Where did his power go? What position is he? Teahen was the biggest part of the Beltran trade, so he'll always be linked to Beltran which is a hard guy to be compared to. Teahen initially was disappointing, then after being sent down to AAA in his 2nd season came back and raked and popped 18HR's before having season ending surgery. The next year the batting average was ok, but the power was gone, and both took steps back last season. This year in spring though the snubbing of the St. Mary's Gaels has evoked the wrath of Mark Teahen on spring leagues. In the end we just have to hope Kevin Seitzer can right the Teahen ship. As is he's a guy who can play all the corner positions semi-okay, and can hit semi-okay and has an above average eye. His strengths and weaknesses all hing upon his potential. That's what makes him an okay utility guy or an above average regular. His projection is tough but I'll go .280/.350/.450 with 15HR. That may be optimistic or pessimistic depending on who you talk to.

P.S. An added bonus of Teahen is he makes Gload superfluous and expendable.

Mitch Maier- He's a 4th OF who hit okay in limited duty last year. He's solid in the field and a little light with the bat. I admire him though b/c he got hit in the face with a pitch and was back later that year. He'll likely spend most of the year in AAA, but injuries could see him in KC before September. Projections for full playing time would be .270/.310/.400 with 7HR.

Shane Costa- He's a AAAA player who can't hit in the majors. Some say he hasn't gotten a full opportunity and it seems like an okay argument. The problem is nobody has the patience to watch him flail away in the bigs for more than a few games. Projection is .285/.330/.420 with 10HR with full PT.

Chris Lubanski- The former top pick is changing my mind on him every time I think. One minute I write him off as a bust, the next I think he could still turn out okay. He was a high pick in the draft who went from speedy CF to bulky LF and traded his speed for power. He's struggled initially at each level before hitting and may do the same at AAA. He also has shown improving plate discipline. If the Royals have another Mike Aviles breakout candidate its this 24 year old OF. In a full playing time role I predict he would go .220/.290/.450 with 15 HR. He could do much better though, and with injuries or trades could see KC before September.

Position by Position:3rd Base

Alex Gordon- So much to say about Alex Gordon. He was primed for greatness from the start. He was a 2-time Gatorade High School Player of the Year. He then went to Nebraska then and began his Blitzkrieg assault. When the smoke cleared Alex was standing as the Golden Spikes Award Winner and tabbed as the number 2 overall pick by the Royals. He was also given a then club record bonus. Alex then began beating up minor league pitchers like they broke in at 3 in the morning en route to becoming minor league player of the year. Alex was starting to draw comparisons to another KC Royals 3B named Brett. He then made the club after only one year in the minors. In his first AB the stage was primed as he stood in against Curt Schilling with the bases loaded and... The Mighty Alex struck out. This was the tone for the first half of his rookie year as he disapointed most all pundits as he was near consensus preseason rookie of the year. He did show some improvement in the 2nd half though. His 2nd year was supposed to be his breakout year and it was to an extent, as Gordon raised his OBP by 40 points and showed the 2nd half splits of the player he was expected to be. Still to this point in his career he's been overshadowed by Ryan Zimmerman and even more so by Evan Longoria. Gordon seems to have lost his crown as the top young 3B in the game. This year is a crossroads for Gordon. Down one road is the path ESPN expects him to take. This path is to go on having an above average career as a .350-.360 obp 15HR guy since "all the unrealistic expectations are gone". The other path leads to becoming an elite 3rd baseman and claiming his place in the sun as one of the game's best. As a Royals fan, if its not the latter this team doesn't have any chance of contending for a World Series until Moustakas and Hosmer arrive. The reason to hope with Gordon is that he never saw AAA pitching so he may be slowly adjusting because of that. Hopefully this means Moose and Hosmer will see AAA. Alex's strengths are his ablility to hit for power, average, run the bases well, draw a walk and he even has the potential to be a good 3B with his solid range and laser rocket arm. His weakness is that he's often too patient at the plate as he set an MLB record for most called strike 3's last season. He also regressed some on defense. Alex could be the next big thing and I think he will. He could very well anchor a lineup like another 3B Dayton Moore may know named Chipper Jones. This year I predict Gordon hits .310/.410/.530 with 34HR's. Evan who?

Position by Position: Shortstop

Mike Aviles- Aviles seems to be living out that cliched high school yearbook quote of "What a long, strange trip its been". He's gone from $1,000 bonus signability draft pick, to minor league depth, to Major League rookie sensation. I saw him in his first start in KC last year in person. He botched 2 double plays and struck out a couple times if I remember correct. He looked like he had no business in the bigs. Then he started hitting last year and after a small slump, readjusted and began again. Aviles ended up playing an okay SS last year too despite being a little range challenged in my opinion. His strengths are his good contact skills, average power, and steady glove while his weakness is mainly just how much of a free swinger he is. Advanced stat metrics also point out his his BAIBP was extremely high (.384?) last year when contrasted to his line drive rate. His expected BAIBP was aroun 60 to 70 points lower. I predict though that Aviles makes up for his dropoff in average with a little more patience and goes .295/.355/.450 on the year with 15 HR's.

Tony Pena Jr.- Not much to say here. He's above average with the glove (not great as some believe) and can't hit worth a lick. I think he should be reassigned to a low level as a pitcher. He may have some potential as a pitcher. If not he's an AAA player this year who would hit .200/.210/.250 over a whole season. Maybe that's harsh but he sucks.

Position by Position: 2nd Baseman

Alberto Callaspo- Callaspo was acquired before the 08 season in a trade for pitcher Billy Buckner. At the time I liked the trade because Buckner was a #5 starter while Bert had won batting titles in the minors. He had some trouble in the off-field altercation department, but still looked like the replacement for Grudz. Last year his off field issues continued as he had a DUI. Now I'm still a fan of Callaspo and hope he can overcome his off-field issues to win the starting 2nd base job. His strength is that he is an excellent contact hitter, has a decent eye and a good glove man. His weaknesses though are he has somewhat limited range (this is the reason why I think the Royals should trade him or cut him if he isn't going to be their starting 2nd baseman since he can only play one position and thus is a waste of a roster spot as a backup), no power and well off-field issues. Still I predict Bert wins the 2B job and puts up a .290/.360/.400 line.

Willie Bloomquist- When Willie signed with the Royals for guaranteed money and a 2-year deal everyone was furious. They pointed out he had one extra base hit last year and slugged .285 or something. I actually didn't mind the move. He's a good defender and can play every position but catcher. Bloomy also is a good base stealer. Obviously his lack of power and sometimes overall hitting ability are worrysome if he becomes everyday 2nd baseman, but he's a good starter when you need defense for a ground ball pitcher like Luke Hochevar and a good defensive replacement for late in game, who even adds roster flexibility. He's a little overpaid, but Guillen, HoRam, Farnsworth, and Olivo are too. He hits .275/.330/.380 this year with 3HR and 15 SB.

Tug Hulett- acquired off waivers he has a cool name and decent minor league stats. An okay bat and a good eye from what I can tell. I hear he's an okay defender and can play most infield positions though not as well as Bloomquist. He's mostly an AAA guy who can come up after an injury. He goes .240/.330/.400 w/10hr if he gets full playing time, but he wont so don't expect big things, but consider him a sleeper.

Position by Position: 1st Base

Mike Jacobs- so at first when the Royals traded for Jacobs I was sooo mad! Shealy won't get a chance, Kila is blocked, No Adam Dunn, and not to mention Leo Nunez was a pretty good reliever. Now let me start by saying I feel the same way about each of those, but I don't hate Mike Jacobs anymore. Why? Well at first when we got him I got all caught up in the sabermetrics people saying he sucks because he doesn't walk much. Then again he does hit for plus power. The 2nd reason I hated the trade was that it blocked Kila Ka'aihue. Kila had been tearing up the minors last year and looked like a bona fide power hitting, high on base percentage 1B. The third reason I hated the move at the time time was it killed any shot at adam dunn. Dunn is the typical obp/HR guy that I like and would have been a guarenteed value to our offense. At 10M per year though (he signed a 2 year 20M deal with the nationals) he's much more expensive than Jacobs. So what are the strengths of Mike Jacobs? He hits a lot of home runs.... that's it. His weaknesses are he doesn't walk, is slow, can't field. Now the speed and fielding of a 1st basemen aren't a huge, but walks are. This spring training though has given me hope in Jacobs in that maybe he can continue walking at a decent rate as he has so far and be valueable. After all shouldn't plate patience in spring be the one thing that carries over into the season? So projection time I'll say he goes .265/.345/.515 with 31 HR's. If this happens Royals win the trade.

Billy Butler- Billy is a hitter. That's just it. He smacks the ball. Butler is one of the prized Royal's prospects the team needs to step forward this year and for the future. Butler just raked everywhere he went in the minors. The only issue with him was can he field anywhere? Butler started as a 3B, then moved to OF for the majority of his time in the minors. This begs the question who saw Billy Butler run and thought he could EVER be anywhere in the field besides 1B. Butler has struggled in the field since coming to the majors, and also seems to have left his patience and some of his hitting in the minors with him. In stints back in the minors since being called up he's hit, but he'll need to bring his bat to the majors in full( he has to hit righties also) for the Royals to stay on track. His strengths are he hits for average and some power. His weaknesses are his fielding and questionable attitude. Projection is .300/.380/.500 with 18HR's. His batting style is like Sweeney's in that he's a line drive type hitter and thus more of a gap hitter than a slugger.

Kila Ka'iahue- Kila came from nowhere to become a fan favorite despite only a few at bats in the bigs. Kila represented hope that the Gload era was over. Many scouts are skeptical of him as he came from nowhere. Kila's strengths are his great patience and plus power. He lacks great bat speed though and is slow. Kila is okay in the field from what I've heard. A good comparison for him may be Carlos Pena. He'd go .250/.365/.500 with 25HR's in a years playing time in my opinion which may be optimistic. Expect him to start in AAA and come up after an injury.

Ryan Shealy- Shealy looked like he could hit in his first year in KC, then looked awful in his 2nd. Last year in September he hit HR's like crazy when called up. This once again peaked the curiousity of people, and made us wonder why Gload was the primary starter the whole year. Odd thing about him is he is a righty who hits righties and struggles vs. lefties. He'd go .275/.340/.490 for a whole season by my projection with 20HR's. I'm a shealy fan and think with him showing promise last spring its not the time to part ways with him.

Ross Gload- He does what Teahen does, but worse and with no upside or possibility for improvement. Find a farm for useless utility players and send Gload there to play with Desi Relaford and Luis Alicia.
.275/.315/.350 for a whole year projection with 5 HR's. Put this dog down.
*sidenote- my douchebag roomate likes ross gload.

Position by Position: Catchers

Buck- was a huge part of the Beltran deal thus giving everyone unrealistic expectations. Its time to accept he is what he is, a solid defensive catcher who can call a good game. The fact that Meche and Zack love him is a good enough reason to keep him around. His biggest weaknesses are he doesn't throw out runners or hit for average. He's also never going to be a 20-30 hr guy barring a kevin seitzer miracle. He'll look like a good catcher when he's on a hot streak at the plate then you'll forget he exist for 2 more months. Overall he's a .240/.310/420 hitter with 15 HRs if he's a fulltime starter.

Olivo- I find this guy to be very overrated. Most of what people like about him is due to watching Buck's shortcomings. He throws out more runners than Buck but isn't necessarily a great defensive player. He mashes lefties, but isn't a great hitter. To me he's similar to Buck, but doesn't call as good of a game. His weaknesses include his alergy to walks (career high obp is in the .270s), utter uselessness hitting righties, and the fact that the pitchers haven't warmed to him yet. In my opinion as a full time starter he'd hit about .250/.265/.450 with oh 17 HR. To me I'd rather have Buck and trade Olivo. If only cause is he better enough than Buck (if he is) that you want to risk making Grienke and Meche mad?

Branyan Pena & J.R. House- These guys to me are like a rookie 3rd string quarterback for your NFL team from a college you liked. They're exciting if for no other reason than they're something differant, but the only place they'll have an impact likely is in Madden. This is the case with House and Pena barring injury or a trade. Lets start with Pena though as it is possible he could see some playing time this year. Pena came from the Braves and has always been a good contact hitter in the minors. He's in his mid twenties and has yet to get a legitimate shot. His biggest weaknesses are a weak arm, bad defense behind the plate, limited power, and from one radio personality I hear he lacks the leadership skills a catcher needs. Honestly though his arm can't throw out less runners than Buck, and his defense could improve still at this stage. Over a full season I see him as a guy who would hit .290/.350/.400 with 5 HR. This isn't bad as you'd love that obp out of your catcher and that's a good average. On a team without a glut at 1B he could provide extra value by maybe also learning to play there. It doesn't appear he's ready for the show yet though as he's likely going to be in AAA this year mostly. He is on the 40-man though. JR House has less of a chance of playing than Pena but more upside to me. House was a top propect for the pirates and was going to force their all-star at the time (Jason Kendall) to switch positions. Then injuries derailed his career and limited him behind the plate. This of course hurt him and its unclear if his bad would profile well enough for a move to 1B. In the meantime what's left is a defensively-challenged, ex top-prospect, who still hasn't gotten a shot at the big league level for large period of time. Some may call him the new Justin Huber. To me though he's a guy who the Royals should give a long look to. How bad can his defense be? His best projections are amazing. I'd be willing to venture as an everyday starter he'd hit .280/340/.430. Since he has average power I'll also go 15 HR just like Buck. Now this is awesome production from a C but if he's capable of this and hasn't gotten a shot then his defense must be putrid from his injuries. Again one wonders though could defense be bad enough to offset this production? House will start the year in AAA and likely be there till sept. However if there's another Mike Aviles this year who comes out of nowhere to just rake, then House would be my guess and therefore a Top preseason Mike Aviles award candidate.

Lineup Time

How I'd do it

1. Crisp CF
2. Dejesus LF
3. Gordon 3B
4. Jacobs 1B
5. Butler DH
6. Aviles SS
7. Guillen RF
8. Buck C
9. Callaspo 2B

Bench
1. B. Pena C
2. Bloomquist IF
3. Teahen 3B/OF

Last 1 in:
1B Ryan Shealy

First 4 out:
C Olivo
1B Gload
SS Pena
1B Kila Ka'aihue

More likely though the starting lineup will be

C Olivo
1B Jacobs
2B Callaspo
3B Gordon
SS Pena
LF Dejesus
CF Crisp
RF Guillen
DH Butler

Bench
1. Buck
2. Teahen
3. Bloomquist
4. Gload

Really only 1 roster spot is up for grabs which is the one I project Gload to get.

Lineup Time