Will Brian Bannister Lead the Royals to the Promised Land?

Flashing the Trivia: Which player in Kansas City Royals history has had the most expensive baseball card?

Hello Leatherheads, it's been awhile. Sorry about the delay I've been aiding my girlfriend with car shopping of late. My dad is going to check out one of the cars I found today, so we will see what happens.

Ha, when a car salesman walks away from you because you prove him wrong that the price is terrible and find things wrong with the car that he was concealing, (Five Star Auto Sales, you remember that place Jesse?, haha) you know your in good shape. I'm sure he wasn't too happy when I said, "I'll be back in two weeks to take this car once you lower your price because no one will buy it." But it was fun.

So for the Kansas City Royals preview. Ehh, I guess early season analysis. In the early goings, the biggest story this season has been the success of many of the small market teams. Tampa Bay, Florida, and Minnesota all lead their divisions and Oakland is only half a game back in the AL West. So where are the Royals in all of this? Fourth place in the Central. Oh well, they are one and a half games up on the Detroit Tigers.

Makes you wonder if Ambiorix Burgos will ever leave the minors.

Let's quickly go to the lineup from top-to-bottom:

David DeJesus has done well this season hitting .311 with 3 HRs and 16 RBIs, in only 90 at-bats. He's been in a platoon with Joey Gathright out in centerfield, though Gathright hasn't been as successful (.250 AVG, 0 HRs, 3 RBIs in 92 at-bats). But whenever Gathright can get on base (with an .278 OBP, it doesn't happen too often) he's a huge threat, leading the team with 10 steals this season. DeJesus should hit .280 with 8 HRs and 60 RBIs. Gathright should keep that .250 AVG, hit three home runs, and end up with around 20 RBIs. That's if he makes in through the season. He would be the perfect pinch runner or fourth outfielder for a contender in the playoffs, especially with his above average defense.

Mark Grudzielanek is a very consistent player, you know exactly what you will get out of him. He will hit for a decent average and get on base quite a bit. A good contact hitter, but carries very little power. In other words, he's Luis Castillo but can't steal bases. His veteran leadership is misplaced on a team full of players that are either mediocre or young and looking to make an impact. He's another player that would work well on a team during a playoff push. Look for him to move in return for prospects close to the trade deadline. He should hit .280 with 5 HRS and 55 RBIS, keeping pace with his career numbers.

Billy Butler hit the baseball radar two seasons ago when he hit .331 and had 96 RBIs for the Double-A Wichita Wranglers. Last year he hit .292 with 8 HRs and 52 RBIs for the Royals in 329 at-bats. He's also been stellar at first base committing only 2 errors there last year and zero this year (he had one error in left field last year). Many baseball analysts think he will break out this year, I think he has another year or two before he truly breaks out. But .285 with 15 HRs and 70 RBIs doesn't seem out of reach.

Jose Guillen carries a past riddled with attitude and steroid issues but continues to hit well year after year. He continues to split time in left field and at DH as the Royals try to get Gathright in left as much as they can. Gathright is speedy but doesn't have the range and arm Guillen has. He is coming off the best year of any Royal, hitting .290 with 20 HRs and 99 RBIs. This year he's off to his usual slow start (.245 with 5 HRs and 30 RBIs in 159 at-bats) but he should bounce back. He's already showing the signs as he was just named American League Player of the Week by hitting .458 with 2 HRs and 13 RBIs. Pending injury or suspension, I see no reason why Guillen can't come close to duplicating his numbers from last season. Perhaps .285 with 20 HRs and 90 RBIs.

Alex Gordon is having a great year thus far after hitting only .245 with 15 HRs and 60 RBIs last season. So far he is having the best year of any Royal this year hitting .286 with 5 HRs and 20 RBIs. He's been an above average fielder at third and even first base when need be. He'll be a great player but his baseball card will never be worth more than it was in 2006. Topps made his rookie card when he was not even a rookie yet, nor on the 25 man roster, thus making his card over $2000 at face value. Look for Gordon to hit .285 with 20 HRs and 75 RBIs, and him breaking out next season.

Mark Teahen came over from the Athletics a few years back and was suppose to become a very good player. Well, I guess there's a reason why Billy Beane let him go. He hasn't been bad, just, below average. Last year he hit .285 with 7 HRs and 60 RBIs. With similar numbers the year before, this is what has become expected of him. Personally, I think the Royals really hope Gathright can come around so they can move Guillen to Teahen's spot in right. I don't think he would be starting on any other team, let's see if he gets moved before the deadline...

John Buck would usually be in this spot but he's been on a leave of absence to attend to his wife and his new twin boys, born last Thursday. Buck remains a big question mark, he's almost 28 years old and has never finished a year hitting over .250. This lack of faith is a big reason why the Royals went out and got former Marlins starting catcher Miguel Olivo to back him up. Buck's leash is getting shorter, if he hits under .275 for the next few seasons, that will be it for him. I'd say he hits .265 with 15 HRs and 55 RBIs.

Tony Pena is well, terrible. There's no reason why he belongs in any teams bench, let alone starting lineup. Last season, when he literally wasn't seeing the ball (wrong contact prescription) he hit .267 with 2 HRs and 47 RBIs. This season, wearing true prescription glasses, he is hitting .167 with 0 HRs and 7 RBIs in 126 at-bats. In an article about Pena's vision issues from Tuesday, May 13th, Dick Kaegel wrote that Pena's numbers from 2007 were "better than expected." That can't be good. Being that inept at the plate would mean he must be Ozzie Smith in the field, not exactly. He has a .959 fielding percentage with 6 errors in only 105 attempts, barely average. So, .250 with 2 HRs and 40 RBIs, might even be a stretch, but I'll give it to him.


Now to the Rotation (2007 stats):

1. Gil Meche (9-13, 3.67 ERA, 156 SO in 186.2 IP)
2. Brian Bannister (12-9, 3.87 ERA, 77 SO in 165 IP)
3. Zack Greinke (7-7, 3.69 ERA, 106 SO, in 122 IP)
4. Luke Hochevar (0-1, 2.13 ERA, 5 SO, in 12.2 IP)
5. Brett Tomko (4-12, 4.75 ERA, 105 SO, in 27.1 IP)


The Royals have a surprisingly decent rotation. Meche shook off a bad rap and a large contract to finish with a career-best ERA and universal acceptance as the staff ace. Brian Bannister had a great rookie year last season after coming over from the Mets for Ambiorix Burgos (ugghh). Greinke had a good year last year and has been great so far this year. (5-1, 2.18 ERA, 43 SO, in 62 IP). Obviously he won't keep that up, but his ERA might just end up around 3.50. Hochevar had a great start to his major league career last year. The Royals first ever number 1 pick back in 2006 is off to a good start this year (3-3, 4.29 ERA, 26 SO, in 35.2 IP). He'll be fine but I don't think will ever be more than a number 3 starter. Brett Tomko is the only major weak spot. He probably won't last long in the rotation, I'm sure they'll bring a young kid up from AAA once they fall out of contention to take his spot.

The Back end of the bullpen (2007 numbers):

RH set-up man: Leo Nunez (2-4, 3.92 ERA, 37 SO, in 43.2 IP)
LH set-up man: Jimmy Gobble (4-1, 3.02 ERA, 50 SO in 53.2 IP)
Closer: Joakim Soria (2-3, 2.48 ERA, 75 SO in 69 IP)

Soria is a soon-to-be All-Star closer who has been lights-out this season (0-0, .98 ERA, 22 SO in 18.1 IP). Nunez has been great this year as well (3-0, 1.53 ERA, 13 SO in 17.2 IP) and with Soria will finally solidify the back-end of the Royals bullpen. Gobble has been pretty decent this year (0-0, 3.48 ERA, 13 SO in 10.1 IP). The best part, all three are 25-years-old and younger. The bad part, these three are by far the bright spots of the bullpen. The Royals middle relief is not good to say the least.

Final Point
The Royals, for once, have a bright future but have to wait while some of their younger players evolve. Their pitching is at least above average but they need some offensive weapons to emerge before they at least make a push at the wild card spot.


Well Christina finally found a car so I'll be posting more, sorry for the delays. Now hopefully she nails her interview that I'm driving her to in the morning. Thanks everyone, and keep reading!!!


Flashing the Trivia: Alex Gordon's 2006 Topps Rookie Card. This card was worth over $2500 after it was printed when Gordon was still in AAA. In order for a rookie card to be created that player must be on the 40-man roster, in 2006, Gordon was not.

Sources: mlb.com, baseball-reference.com, http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/9044/bannisteret5.jpg