The Kansas City Royals over under in Las Vegas is 73.5 wins for the 2008 season. This is a good number for them as I could see reasons for taking either over or under. I have to side with the under though as I don’t think the Royals improved enough on offense. But, if Alex Gordon and Mark Teahan hit like everyone thinks they can then the Royals could win more than 73 games in 2008.

The Royals are hoping that Brian Bannister and Zack Greinke can continue their success in 2008. But, 29-year old righty Gil Meche is still the ace of the staff. He started 34 games for the Royals last season and he was 9-13 with a 3.67 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. He should have won at least 15 games last season but the Royals offense didn’t help him too much when he pitched.

27-year old righty Brian Bannister will be the #2 starter for the Royals. He doesn’t have a big arm or lights out stuff but he knows how to pitch. He started 27 games for the Royals last season and he was 12-9 with a 3.87 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. Look for him to have a solid season in 2008 for the Royals.

24-year old righty Zack Greinke will be the #3 starter for the Royals and he has the best stuff of any pitcher in the rotation. He pitched in 52 games (14 starts) for the Royals last season and he was 7-7 with a 3.69 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. I will go out on a limb and say that Greinke will lead the Royals in wins this season.

35-year old righty Brett Tomko will be the #4 starter for the Royals this season. He pitched in 40 games (19 starts) for the Padres & Dodgers last season and he was 4-12 with a 5.55 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. He’s a much better pitcher than that as he has pitched in 346 games (250 starts) and he was a career record of 93-92 with a 4.62 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP.

34-year old lefty John Bale won the #5 starter job for the Royals in spring training. He pitched in 26 games (0 starts) for the Royals last season and he was 1-1 with a 4.05 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. He also pitched in 11 games (2 starts) in AA+AAA ball last season and he was 0-1 with a 3.24 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP.

If the Royals have any injuries in the rotation, Kyle Davies, Jorge de la Rosa, Luke Hochevar, Mike Maroth and Brian Lawrence will be awaiting a call in the minors.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: C+

32-year old righty swinging Jose Guillen will be the new starting RF for the Royals after he serves a 15-game suspension for using performance enhancing drugs. He played in 153 games for the Mariners last season and he was 172 for 593 (.290 avg, .813 OPS) with 84 runs scored, 23 homers and 99 RBIs. He’s somewhat overrated on defense as he made 8 errors in 150 games in RF last season while showing below average range. He does have a decent throwing arm as he had 9 assists last season.

Shane Costa will likely be Guillen’s backup this season. He played in 13 games in RF last season for the Royals and he didn’t make an error while showing outstanding range.

25-year old lefty swinging Mitch Maier also has a shot to make the Royals. He played in 140 games in AAA ball last season and he was 152 for 544 (.279 avg, .748 OPS) with 75 runs scored, 14 homers and 62 RBIs.

Mark Teahan will likely play some RF until Guillen returns from his suspension with Joey Gathright playing left field.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: B

28-year old lefty swinging David DeJesus never has lived up to the comparisons to Johnny Damon. He played in 157 games for the Royals last season and he was 157 for 605 (.260 avg, .723 OPS) with 101 runs scored, 7 homers, 58 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. He made 4 errors in 157 games in CF last season while showing average range.

Joey Gathright will also get some time in CF this season. He made 1 error in 10 games in CF for the Royals while showing below average range, but he has the speed to sometimes out run mistakes.

33-year old righty swinging Damon Hollins is having a good spring and he might make the Royals final roster. He didn’t play last season but he doesn’t look rusty. Hollins has played in 256 games in his major league career and he is 172 for 712 (.242 avg, .701 OPS) with 85 runs scored, 28 homers, 86 RBIs and 11 stolen bases.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: C

The Royals will be moving Mark Teahan for the third straight season to make room in RF for Jose Guillen. The 26-year old lefty swinging Teahan played in 144 games for the Royals last season and he was 155 for 544 (.285 avg, .763 OPS) with 78 runs scored, 7 homers, 60 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. The Royals hope that Teahan will find his power stroke again. Teahan adjusted well to RF last season as he made 6 errors in 137 games while showing outstanding range. He also had 17 assists in RF lasts season showing an outstanding throwing arm. He should do well in LF for the Royals this season.

27-year old lefty swinging Joey Gathright played in 74 games for the Royals last season and he was 70 for 228 (.307 avg, .713 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 19 RBIs and 0 stolen bases. Gathright played in 64 games in LF last season for the Royals and he made 3 errors while showing outstanding range.

26-year old lefty swinging Shane Costa could also get some P.T. in LF at some point in 2008 for the Royals. He played in 55 games last season for the Royals and he was 23 for 103 (.223 avg, .558 OPS) with 13 runs scored and 12 RBIs. Costa played in 15 games in LF last season for the Royals and he made 1 error while showing outstanding range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: C+