56-year old manager Ned Yost is a veteran of the major league wars but he has come out on the wrong end more often than the right one. The Royals are hoping that changes in 2011. Yost led the Royals to a 55-72 (43.3%) during the regular season in 2010. Yost now has a 512-574 record (47.1%) in his first 7 years as a major league manager. It’s not like Yost will be entering the gun fights this year with a butter knife, but it’s close.

The Royals are hoping that an infusion of youth well spur the bullpen to more success in 2011. 26-year old righty Joakim Soria is back as the Royals’ closer in 2011. Soria pitched in 66 games (0 starts) last year and he was 1-2 with 43 saves, a 1.78 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. Soria has now pitched in 238 games (0 starts) in his first four years with the Royals and he is 8-10 with 132 saves, a 2.01 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. Soria has whiffed 281 batters in 255 innings so far in his career which is pretty impressive. But, the fact that he has only given up 182 hits and 70 walks is even more impressive. Soria has great stuff and he’s very aggressive which makes him one of the very best (if not the best) closers in all of baseball.

29-year old righty Robinson Tejada could be the set-up man for the Royals in 2011. He pitched in 54 games (0 starts) for the Royals last year and he was 3-5 with a 3.54 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. Tejada has now pitched in 114 games (7 starts) in his first three years with the Royals and he is 9-9 with a 3.47 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. Tejada does have control issues as he has walked 95 batters in only 174 innings with the Royals, but he has only given up 120 hits while whiffing 184 batters which is impressive.

23-year old righty Jeremy Jeffress was the Brewers’ #3 ranked prospect coming into this year according to Baseball America. He was part of the haul the Royals got for Zack Greinke over the winter. Jeffress pitched in 10 games (0 starts) for the Brewers last year and he was 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. Jeffress also pitched in 24 games (0 starts) in A+AA-ball last year and he was 1-1 with 4 saves, a 2.23 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. He whiffed 43 batters while only allowing 18 hits in 32 1/3 innings in the minors showing just how nasty he can be. Jeffress will likely be the Royals’ 7th inning guy in 2011.

21-year old lefty Tim Collins comes into this season as the Royals” #13 prospect according to Baseball America. Collins pitched in 56 games (0 starts) in AA+AAA-ball last year and he was 3-1 with 15 saves, a 2.02 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP. He has now pitched in 151 games (0 starts) in his first four years in the minors and he is 16-10 with 32 saves, a 2.26 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. He has only allowed 141 hits in his first 223 innings in the minors and he has 329 whiffs which shows just how nasty he can be. He will likely be the top lefty in the pen for the Royals in 2011.

25-year old righty Kanekoa Texeira could win a job in the pen for the Royals in 2011. He pitched in 27 games (0 starts) for the Royals last year and he was 1-0 with a 4.64 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. Texeira pitched in 43 games (0 starts) for the Royals & Mariners last year and he was 1-1 with a 4.84 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP.

The Royals might try to keep Rule 5 Draft Pick Nathan Adcock. 23-year old righty Nathan Adcock pitched in 37 games (26 starts) in A-ball last year and he was 11-7 with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. Adcock has now pitched in 102 games (90 starts) in his first five years in the minors and he is 24-34 with a 4.19 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP.

28-year old righty Steve Shell could also help out the Royals at some point in 2011. Shell pitched in 21 games (9 starts) in AAA-ball last year and he was 3-2 with a 3.59 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. He last pitched in the majors in 2009 with the Nationals. Shell has pitched in 40 games (0 starts) in his first two years in the majors and he is 2-2 with a 2.45 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP.

25-year old righty Blake Wood will start the year in AAA. He pitched in 51 games (0 starts) for the Royals last season and he was 1-3 with a 5.07 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. Wood throws hard but it didn’t show last year as he only had 31 whiffs in 49 2/3 innings for the Royals in 2010.

27-year old righty Jesse Chavez pitched in 23 games (0 starts) for the Royals last year and he was 2-3 with a 5.88 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP. Chavez has now pitched in 51 games (0 starts) for the Braves & Royals last year and he was 5-5 with a 5.89 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. Chavez has now pitched in 139 games (0 starts) in his first three years in the majors and he is 6-10 with a 5.09 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP.

25-year old righty Greg Holland will start the year in AAA, but he could help the Royals at some point in 2011. Holland pitched in 15 games (0 starts) for the Royals last year and he was 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP. He also pitched in 31 games in AAA-ball last year and he was 3-3 with 3 saves, a 3.81 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE ROYALS BULLPEN IN 2011: B-

You know it’s bad when 27-year old righty Luke Hochevar is in line to start on Opening Day. Hochevar pitched in 18 games (17 starts) for the Royals last season and he was 6-6 with a 4.81 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. He has now pitched in 69 games (65 starts) in his first four years with the Royals and he is 19-32 with a 5.60 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. Hochevar has good stuff but the light hasn’t come on over his head as he still doesn’t know how to pitch.

30-year old lefty Jeff Francis will likely be #2 in line for the Royals this year. He pitched in 20 games (19 starts) for the Rockies last season and he was 4-6 with a 5.00 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. He has now pitched in 150 games (149 starts) in his first six years in the majors and he is 55-50 with a 4.77 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. Francis was a solid pitcher not too long ago but he has had serious shoulder injuries lately, so it will be interesting to see how much he has left.

24-year old righty Vin Mazzaro came over from the A’s in the David DeJesus deal. He will be penciled into the starting rotation. Mazzaro pitched in 24 games (18 starts) for the A’s last season and he was 6-8 with a 4.27 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. He has now pitched in 41 games (35 starts) in his first two years in the majors and he is 10-17 with a 4.72 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP. Mazzaro probably has the highest upside of this bunch, but that’s not saying too much.

33-year old lefty Bruce Chen pitched some of the best baseball of his major league career in 2010 and the Royals hope he can repeat that success in 2011. Chen pitched in 33 games (23 starts) for the Royals last season and he was 12-7 with 1 save, a 4.17 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. He has now pitched in 50 games (32 starts) in two years with the Royals and he is 13-13 with 1 save, a 4.66 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP.

27-year old righty Kyle Davies will likely be the #5 starter for the Royals in 2011. He started 32 games for the Royals last season and he was 8-12 with a 5.34 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. He has now pitched in 86 games (all starts) in his first four years with the Royals and he is 28-35 with a 5.15 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. Davies is what he is…..a bad starting pitcher.

23-year old righty Sean O’Sullivan came over in the Alberto Callaspo deal with the Angels last year. He pitched in 14 games (13 starts) with the Royals last season and he was 3-6 with a 6.11 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. O’Sullivan pitched in 19 games (14 starts) overall for the Angels & Royals last season and he was 4-6 with a 5.49 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. He has now pitched in 31 games (24 starts) in parts of two years in the majors and he is 8-8 with a 5.65 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. I see O’Sullivan as a younger version of Kyle Davies, which isn’t saying too much.

29-year old righty Zach Miner is a longshot for the rotation in 2011. He is still recovering from Tommy John Surgery. He did not pitch at all in 2010. Miner has pitched in 157 games (35 starts) in his first four years in the majors and he is 25-20 with 1 save, a 4.24 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. He might be better off to start in the bullpen due to the injury that caused him to miss all of the 2010 season.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE ROYALS STARTING ROTATION IN 2011: D-

Royals’ GM Drayton Moore loves to collect ex-Braves, and that’s where Jeff Francoeur fits in. 27-year old righty swinging Jeff Francoeur will likely be the starting RF for the Royals in 2011. Francoeur played in 139 games for the Rangers & Mets last season and he was 113 of 454 (.249 avg, .683 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 13 homers, 65 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. He has a career batting average of .268 with a .735 OPS in his first six years in the majors, so the Royals hope his bat improves in 2011. He only had 3 errors in 131 games in RF last season while showing good range. Francoeur also showed off a rifle in RF as he had 11 assists last year while playing there.

Melky Cabrera, Mitch Maier, Gregor Blanco and Brett Carroll could all see P.T. in RF for the Royals in 2011. Cabrera is likely going to be the Royals’ starting CF in 2011, but he might get some P.T. in RF if everything goes as planned for the Royals. Cabrera didn’t have any errors in 25 games in RF last season while showing pretty awful range there. Mitch Maier played in 43 games in RF last season and he had 4 errors there while showing slightly above average range there. Blanco is a natural CF, so he should be able to handle RF defensively. He played 3 error-free games in RF for the Royals last year.

28-year old righty swinging Brett Carroll played in 32 games for the Marlins last season and he was 15 of 76 (.197 avg, .640 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 2 homers, 7 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Carroll has a career batting average of .205 with a .609 OPS in parts of four years, so he’s not much of a hitter. He didn’t make any errors in 20 games in RF for the Marlins last season but he showed pretty awful range. He does have a really good throwing arm as he had 2 assists and not many challenges from opposing runners.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE ROYALS RF IN 2011: D

The Royals plan is to go with 26-year old switch hitting Melky Cabrera as the starting CF in 2011. Cabrera played in 147 games for the Braves last season and he was 117 of 458 (.255 avg, .671 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 4 homers, 42 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. He has a career batting average of .267 with a .707 OPS in his first six years in the majors, so he should be able to rebound somewhat with the bat. Cabrera played in 55 games in CF last season for the Braves and he had 3 errors there while showing pretty awful range. On this bright side, Cabrera had 4 assists in CF so he has a good throwing arm. I don’t expect Cabrera to be able to hold onto the starting job for the whole 2011 season.

24-year old righty swinging Lorenzo Cain should be the starting CF for the Royals in 2011. After all, they did give up Zack Greinke to get hm. Cain played in 43 games for the Brewers in his first taste of the majors last season and he was 45 of 147 (.306 avg, .763 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 1 homer, 13 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. He also played in 84 games in AA+AAA-ball last year and he was 105 of 331 (.317 avg, .834 OPS) with 58 runs scored, 3 homers, 27 RBIs and 26 stolen bases. Cain’s not just a good hitter either as he’s also good with the glove. Cain had 2 errors and 2 assists in 38 games in CF last season for the Brewers while showing off excellent range. If Cain isn’t the starting CF on Opening Day, I bet he will be by June.

27-year old lefty swinging Gregor Blanco will likely make the team out of spring training. Blanco played in 85 games for the Braves & Royals last season and he was 67 of 237 (.283 avg, .727 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 1 homer, 14 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. He only had 1 error in 66 games in CF last season while showing awful range. He did have 4 assists in CF though as he showed off a good throwing arm.

26-year old lefty swinging Jarrod Dyson is the Royals’ #20 prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. Dyson played in 18 games for the Royals last season and he was 12 of 57 (.211 avg, .689 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 1 homer, 5 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. He also played in 71 games in Rookie+A+AA+AAA-ball last year and he was 88 for 294 (.299 avg, .741 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 1 homer, 40 RBIs and 24 stolen bases. Dyson made 2 errors in 15 games in CF for the Royals last season but he also had 2 assists while showing out of this world range. Dyson, like Cain, will probably have to win the starting CF job to make the Opening Day roster.

28-year old lefty swinging Mitch Maier is likely going to make the Royals and come off the bench in 2011. Maier played in 117 games for the Royals last season and he was 98 of 373 (.263 avg, .709 OPS) with 41 runs scored, 5 homers, 39 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He played in 65 games in CF last season and he only had 1 error while showing of this world range. Maier also had 3 assists while in CF, showing off a good arm.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE ROYALS CF IN 2011: B