2008 Kansas City Royals Picks & Predictions

May 22, 2008

There’s no doubt that the Royals are trying to put a winning product on the field. This year you’ll see a new manager (Trey Hillman) and some more pop in the lineup (Jose Guillen). Find out if these changes can keep the Royals out of the AL Central basement in Dave’s 2008 Kansas City Royals predictions and season preview.

Pitching

Pitching has been, and will continue to be, a big problem for the Royals until they can develop some top prospects or sign a big free agent. They picked up Gil Meche last season to fill one slot in the rotation. Meche was really solid for the Royals, pitching 216 innings. His 3.67 ERA impressed, but his 9-13 record did not. That’s what happens when pitching on a team which provides little run support. Brian Bannister was a pleasant surprise after joining the rotation full time in late May. He went 12-9 with a 3.87 ERA, but I’m not sure he can repeat. Zach Greinke is a guy the Royals are excited about. He went 7-7 with a 3.69 ERA last season and appears to have all the tools to be a 20-game winner. Of course, we have to lower this to a 15-game winner when we’re talking about the Royals.

Joakim Soria had a brilliant rookie season in the closer role. I have no reason to believe he won’t continue his success. The rest of the pen must still prove itself. Middle relief looks like it will continue to be a problem for Kansas City.

Offense

There’s not much to write in this category after another poor year in the batter’s box. The Royals are hoping that Jose Guillen will build off of a 23 homerun/99 RBI season in Seattle. Experience tells me that it’s harder to put up big numbers on a poor team so we shall see. Mark Teahen is one of the more anonymous middle order guys in the league. Coming off a 7 homerun /60 RBI season, it’s not hard to see why. Alex Gordon is a star in the making. He had 15 homeruns and 60 RBIs last season. Now that the mega-hype has died down, he should be able to relax and really put up big numbers.

Defense

Rookie shortstop Tony Pena meshed well with veteran second baseman Mark Grudzielanek in providing solid up-the-middle defense in 2007. First base is a problem spot and will likely be given to the best bat and not the best glove, but that wouldn’t be the first time a team has done that. Teahen made a solid transition last season from third base to right field so I no longer worry about his outfield play. David DeJesus and Jose Guillen will be in center and left respectively. Neither is going to win you a Gold Glove, but they definitely are not weak spots. John Buck is not who the Royals wanted to have behind the plate on Opening Day but that looks like who it will be. Don’t be surprised to see Miguel Olivo, who started the past two seasons for Florida, getting plenty of action this season.

The Royals have some decent players, but they don’t have anyone who is better at their position than anyone else in the AL Central. It’s hard to win when that is the case. The Royals should get over the 70-win hump, but I don’t see them making it out of the cellar.

Dave Price makes beating the MLB odds look easy. Every day of the season you can expect 1-7 MLB picks with game analysis from a proven winner. No other handicapper puts more time and effort into providing their clients with winning plays on a consistent basis.

Odds to win AL Central: 50/1

Odds to win AL Pennant: 50/1

Odds to win World Series: 100/1

AL Central

2008 Kansas City Royals Picks & Predictions

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