26-year old righty reliever Joakim Soria will be the Royals’ lone representative in the All-Star Game. This will be the second time Soria has been on the All-Star team in his career to date. He has pitched in 31 games (0 starts) for the Royals this season and he is 0-1 with 22 saves, a 2.56 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. Soria has shown pinpoint control so far this season walking only 8 batters while whiffing 38 in only 31 2/3 innings pitched. Soria is the best player on the Royals so he deserves this honor.

26-year old righty starting pitcher Zack Greinke of the Royals has won the 2009 Cy Young Award in the American League. He pitched in 33 games (all starts) for the Royals last season and he was 16-8 with a 2.16 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. Greinke only allowed 195 hits in 229 1/3 innings while whiffing 242 batters showing how dominating he was last season. The Royals hope that Greinke can keep pitching like he did last season as he finally looks to have matured into a dominator on the mound. Greinke has now pitched in 171 games (136 starts) in his major league career and he is 50-53 with a 3.73 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. Greinke deserved the award despite the Royals’ rough year as he easily would have won 20+ games with another team.

UPDATE: Greinke has also finished tied with Robinson Cano for 17th in the MVP voting for the American League.