Something about the Royals seems so close, yet so far away.

They have some elite talent in their organization -- finishing in last place year after year does that for them -- but that elite talent has yet to pay off at the major-league level. Kila Ka'aihue has yet to make more than a token appearance, Billy Butler has yet to show more than marginal power, and Alex Gordon, the supposed end-all, be-all of third-base prospects, has yet to hit better than .260.

But talent has a way of finding a way, and if it all goes the Royals' way this season, they might just have a chance of competing in the AL Central.

They already got a pleasant surprise in shortstop Mike Aviles, who didn't exactly rate among that elite talent but hit .325 with 10 home runs as a rookie last year to give the Royals a plus offensive player at a normally weak position. Filling in the gaps around him and the rest of their home-grown players, the Royals acquired Mike Jacobs and Coco Crisp, who join last year's mercenary, Jose Guillen, to give the team some halfway respectable power and speed up and down the lineup.

It's a blueprint several successful organizations have followed. They use their draft picks to form a solid nucleus and find low-priced, under-the-radar veterans to push them over the edge. The Royals have incorporated the added wrinkle of scooping up ex-prospects considered lost causes, landing slugger Ryan Shealy that way, not to mention starting pitchers Brian Bannister and Kyle Davies. Of course, none of Ka'aihue, Shealy or 15-homer man Mark Teahen have regular jobs right now, which only means the Royals have plenty of contingency plans if a player gets hurt or underperforms. They've even set one of those plans in motion already, giving Teahen a look at second base this spring as a possible alternative to light-hitting Alberto Callaspo.

Bannister and Davies, as previously mentioned, comprise part of the Royals rotation, but only the back part of it -- the part that probably won't matter in Fantasy. Leading man Gil Meche again had an underrated season, but this one even more impressive considering his 11-3 record and 3.09 ERA over his final 21 starts. Throw out his 7.81 ERA in April, and he becomes a top-40 Fantasy pitcher. The real prize in the rotation, though, is former sixth overall pick Zack Greinke, who continued his subtle improvements by topping 200 innings for the first time last year. Luke Hochevar and Horacio Ramirez lead the battle for the fifth spot in the rotation, and while Hochevar has far more upside, he likely won't make enough progress this year to matter in Fantasy.

The bullpen begins and ends with closer Joakim Soria, who saved 42 games with a 1.60 ERA last year. He might have trouble reaching those numbers again unless all the pieces of the puzzle really do come together for the Royals, making them unexpected contenders. Could it happen? It has before, but if you draft your Fantasy team under the assumption that everything goes right for this team and its players, you'll probably end up getting burned.

Potential Breakout: Billy Butler, DH

You might wonder what happened to Butler's power last year, but it did improve when he came back from a minor-league stint in late June, slugging .444 the rest of the way. Still not impressed? Well, just you wait, because this 22-year-old's first-round pedigree and minor-league numbers suggest he'll become a perennial All-Star in the future. And his stunningly low strikeout rate for a power hitter at his stage of development suggests that future will come sooner rather than later. It's a late-round pick. You want to use it on Aaron Rowand instead?

Potential Bust: Mike Jacobs, 1B

It's not so much that Jacobs can't equal the 32 home runs and 93 RBI he accumulated last year. It's that he might not get the chance. Oh sure, the Royals love him now. A proven middle-of-the-order hitter at a price they can afford, he seems like a slam dunk to remain in their lineup. But proven doesn't always mean better, and considering the Royals also have late bloomer Shealy on the bench and statistical marvel Ka'aihue in the minors, Jacobs might have no choice but to fade into the background. He still has some Fantasy appeal, obviously, but think twice about taking him as your corner infielder.

Potential Sleeper: Kyle Davies, SP

Digging deep on this one. Davies won't get any attention in mixed leagues. In fact, he probably won't get much even in AL-only leagues. But the 25-year-old former top prospect in the Braves organization gave some subtle indications he might have turned the corner last year. Check out his September, when he went 4-1 with a 2.27 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 6.8 strikeout rate and .198 batting average against. Obviously, one five-start period doesn't tell the whole story, but since that five-start period came at the end of the season, we have no way of knowing if it's a momentary blip or part of a gradual rise. Given his pedigree, he had done nothing but underperform up to this point, so it could very well prove the latter. Draft him late in AL-only leagues and keep an eye on him in all leagues to see how he performs out of the gate.

Kansas City Royals Outlook
Projected lineup
Pos.
Projected rotation
1 David DeJesus LF 1 Gil Meche RH
2 Coco Crisp CF 2 Zack Greinke RH
3 Mike Aviles SS 3 Brian Bannister RH
4 Jose Guillen RF 4 Kyle Davies RH
5 Mike Jacobs 1B 5 Luke Hochevar RH
6 Billy Butler DH Alt Horacio Ramirez LH
7 Alex Gordon 3B Top bullpen arms
8 Miguel Olivo C CL Joakim Soria RH
9 Alberto Callaspo 2B SU Kyle Farnsworth RH
Top bench options RP Ron Mahay LH
R Mark Teahen OF RP Robinson Tejeda RH
R Ryan Shealy 1B RP Doug Waechter RH
Rookies/Prospects Age Pos. 2008 high Destination
1 Kila Ka'aihue 24 1B Majors Triple-A
An excellent hitter with few other skills. Could he become next Big Papi?
2 Michael Moustakas 20 3B Class A Class A
No longer a shortstop, but has elite power potential. Still developing.
3 Daniel Cortes 22 RH SP Double-A Triple-A
Has makings of frontline starter, but Royals won't rush him to bigs.
4 Carlos Rosa 24 RH SP Majors Triple-A
Still on fence as starter or reliever. Could make bullpen this spring.
5 Eric Hosmer 19 1B Class A Class A
First-rounder in 2008 an elite power prospect, but has long way to go.
Best of the rest: SP Mike Montgomery, SP Danny Duffy, SP Danny Gutierrez, OF Mitch Maier, SP Blake Wood, OF Chris Lubanski, RP Ray Liotta, SP Julio Pimentel, SP Tim Melville, SS Chris McConnell and RP Devon Lowery.

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