Kansas City Royals
 

There was a time not too long ago when the Royals had a proud tradition of building winning teams.  However, that tradition has been filed under "H" for history ever since 1990, when then-GM John Schuerholz gave a boat-load of money to free agent reliever Mark Davis when his club already had a quality closer in Jeff Montgomery.  It was one of the worst free agent signings in history.  That deal set a precedent that is still true today: the Royals are one of the worst in baseball at evaluating what their player assets are and how to maximize their potential.  The irony is that one year later, Schuerholz was invited to oversee a talent-laden Braves organization that had been built by Bobby Cox and Paul Snyder.  The rest, as they say, is revisionist history.
 

Hitting

There's no question the Royals have some talented hitters on their roster.  1B/DH Mike Sweeney is one of the most under-appreciated hitters in baseball, consistently posting on base + slugging in excess of .900, yet receiving very little publicity outside of Kansas City and sabermetric circles.

CF Carlos Beltran is emerging as an offensive force, possessing both good power and excellent speed.  His instincts on the basepaths are unmatched; in 2001, he stole 31 bases and only got caught once.  His 89% career success rate is a whopping 4% better than Tim Raines' all-time mark for career best.  Only 25, if Beltran continues to improve his walk rate to the point where he's drawing 80-100 walks a season, he will be the most dangerous offensive player in the American League.

LF Chuck Knoblauch is trying to rebuild a career that was once headed to Cooperstown.  His well-publicized throwing troubles led to a position switch from second base, leaving him psychologically shaken.  Last year, he posted a career low in on base and nearly a career low in slugging.  While his numbers were adequate for a second baseman, few teams can afford that kind of production out of a left fielder and Kansas City isn't one of them.

Like Knoblauch, RF Michael Tucker doesn't offer particularly good production for a right fielder.  In fact, last year's numbers would rank near the bottom in the majors in both on base and slugging.  Tucker has some value as a 4th outfielder and defensive replacement, but playing him everyday, especially on a team with few offensive weapons, doesn't make much sense.  It makes even less sense when the Royals have an alternative, RF Mark Quinn, who has the talent to be an above average hitter.

The middle infield has some intriguing players.  When 2B Carlos Febles came up from the minors in 1998, he was hailed as the next superstar second baseman.  While he's shown flashes of talent, it's been nothing like his advanced billing.  A seemingly constant string of injuries have muted his production as well.  While he'll probably never become the star once predicted, if he can stay healthy he'll be a pretty solid hitter.  At short, Neifi Perez is holding Angel Berroa's place until the toolsy youngster is ready.  Berroa was the one redeeming acquisition in the deal that sent Johnny Damon packing.  Berroa talent has been compared to that of a young Barry Larkin, although those kind of baserunning instincts have not been in evidence.  Nevertheless, he has good power, a developing knowledge of the strikezone and decent speed.

Joe Randa offers workmanlike production out of third base.  It's odd but just 3 years ago, Randa was considered one of, if not the best third basemen in the American League.  This year, he might not even make the top half.  It's not that his skills have decreased that much, although they have dropped off.  It's just that some really great talent has emerged at the hot corner in that time.

Veteran Brent Mayne will take most of the snaps behind the plate, with AJ Hinch providing the back-up.  With such a young staff, Mayne's guidance and leadership will be as important as his run production.

Dave McCarty, Raul Ibanez and Dermal Brown will provide some decent sock off the bench while splitting the DHing duties and spelling the regulars at first and in the outfield.

The Royals have the hitting talent to compete, at least in terms of raw tools like power and speed.  But they were last in the AL in walks, and not coincidentally posted the AL's worst team on base percentage.  If they can learn a bit more discipline at the plate, they could become a surprisingly good offense.
Rating: 50 (60 on talent)
 

Pitching

I'm tempted to echo the famous line of police officers directing traffic around a wreck: " move along, nothing to see here".  But that wouldn't be entirely accurate.  The Royals do have some talented pitchers.  It's just that they never seem to work out.  One culprit is probably overwork.  Guys like Jose Rosado, who showed such great promise but were asked to put in nearly 700 major league innings before he was 26, have become all to familiar stories.  So it remains to be seen if talented hurlers like lefties Chris George and Jeremy Affeldt and right-handers Chad Durbin, Jeff Austin and Dan Reichert will ever realize their full potential.  If they do, the Royals will have a formidable starting staff, comparable to the A's deep, young talented group.

In the meantime, the Royals will depend on a group of cast-offs to keep the opposition at bay.  RHSP Jeff Suppan has a superior curve, but the rest of his pitches are rather average.  RHSP Blake Stein can throw his fastball in the low-mid 90s but consistency with his offspeed pitches has always been a problem.  RHSP Paul Byrd won 15 games for the Phillies a few years ago, but has yet to recapture the magic from that season.  Journeyman lefty Darrell May is slated to occupy one of the rotation slots as well.

The bullpen isn't much better.  Aging Roberto Hernandez is still the closer, but he showed a precipitous decline in strikeout ratio and a sizable increase in both walks and ERA.  At 37, it's not likely to get much better.  The 7th and 8th innings will be handled by RHRPs Mac Suzuki, Cory Bailey and Jason Grimsley.  Suzuki actually pitched better as a starter and would probably be better than any of the current "veteran" solutions.  Hopefully, most of the young pitchers will be used in long relief this year to gain experience without jeopardizing their arms.
Rating: 40 (55 if the youngsters ever develop)
 

Defense

The Royals have quality glovemen in the center of the diamond.  Perez is a perennial gold glove candidate at short, as is Beltran in center.  Mayne is not exactly intimidating behind the plate, but offers serviceable defense.  Randa, Quinn and Febles are also at least average.  Tucker is a solid fielder at all 3 outfield positions.  The story is not as pretty elsewhere.  Knoblauch has trouble tracking balls and his arm is weak, even for a left fielder.  Sweeney began his career as a catcher, but has always been pretty much a DH in the field.
Rating: 55
 

Management

GM Allard Baird has been targeted by Oakland GM Billy Beane to be his primary supplier of talent outside the organization.  He's obtained Jermaine Dye, Jeremy Giambi and Johnny Damon from the Royals and basically all the Royals have to show for it is one quality prospect.  As for manager Tony Muser, Baird says he's the right man to prepare this young team for success in the majors.  However, Muser has never been particularly careful with his young starters, his concept of discipline is somewhat medieval and he runs out more line-ups than a New York bunko squad sees in a decade.  Have you ever seen "The Sleeper"?  In it, Miles Monroe (Woody Allen's character) is frozen for 200 years and is awakened by an underground movement to overthrow the government.  In a moment of consternation, he says , "I haven't seen my analyst in over 200 years.  He was a strict Freudian.  Had I been going all this time I might almost be cured."  For all intents and purposes, Muser is a "strict Freudian" when it comes to preparing major leaguers and Baird is oblivious to it.
Rating: 30