When Zack Greinke isn’t on the mound I feel sorry for manager Trey Hillman who looks like he’s entering a gun fight with the butter knife. The Royals were only 65-97 (40.1%) last season but it’s hard to fault him because of the utter lack of talent on the Royals’ roster. In his two years with the Royals, Hillman is 140-184 (43.2%). Hillman is working on a one-year deal so he won’t likely get a fourth year with the Royals unless the team is close to .500 in 2010.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE MANAGER IN 2010: C-

25-year old righty Joakim Soria is one of the best closers in all of baseball. The Royals need him to stay healthy all year in 2010 because they can’t afford to lose any games that they are winning after 8 innings. Soria pitched in 47 games (0 starts) for the Royals last season in which he was 3-2 with 30 saves, a 2.21 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. He has now pitched in 172 games (0 starts) in his three years with the Royals and he is 7-8 with 89 saves, a 2.09 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. Soria has only allowed 129 hits and whiffed 210 batters in only 189 1/3 innings in his career with the Royals showing just how nasty he can be. The Royals can’t afford to be without him at all in 2010.

The Royals flirted this spring with the idea of using 33-year old righty Kyle Farnsworth in the starting rotation but he will remain one of the set-up men in the pen. Farnsworth pitched in 41 games (0 starts) for the Royals last season and he was 1-5 with a 4.58 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. Farnsworth certainly looks the part as he has some of the nastiest stuff of any reliever in all of baseball and he doesn’t mind throwing inside to make a point. But, he has just never really learned how to pitch.

31-year old righty Juan Cruz was also a huge disappointment (like Farnsworth) in his first year in K.C. Cruz pitched in 46 games (0 starts) for the Royals last season and he was 3-4 with 2 saves, a 5.72 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. Like Farnsworth, Cruz has great stuff but he just doesn’t know how to pitch.

28-year old righty Brad Thompson will likely be the Royals’ long man in 2010. Thompson pitched in 32 games (8 starts) for the Cards last season in which he was 2-6 with a 4.84 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. Thompson has the ability to spot start or pitch multiple innings per outing which should be an asset to the Royals in 2010.

25-year old righty Carlos Rosa is another hard thrower who looked good at the end of 2009 for the Royals. Rosa pitched in 7 games (0 starts) for the Royals last season and he was 0-0 with 1 save, a 3.38 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. Rosa also pitched in 43 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball last season in which he was 2-8 with 7 saves, a 4.56 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. Although his minor league numbers weren’t that impressive he did whiff 80 batters in 71 innings in the minors showing the stuff is there.

39-year old righty Matt Herges could get some innings for the Royals in 2010. Herges pitched in 30 games (0 starts) for the Indians & Rockies last season in which he was 3-1 with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. Unlike most pitchers in the Royals’ pen, Herges knows how to pitch but he can’t light up the radar gun.

30-year old righty Roman Colon is another electric arm for the Royals. He pitched in 43 games (0 starts) for the Royals last season and he was 2-3 with a 4.83 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. I have a feeling that Colon will pitch better for the Royals in 2010.

22-year old lefty Edgar Osuna might just get a spot in the Royals’ pen in 2010. He was a Rule 5 Draft Pick over the winter. Osuna pitched in 27 games (26 starts) in A+AA-ball last season in which he was 7-10 with a 4.02 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. Osuna has pitched 4 years in the minors in which he has worked in 76 games (48 starts) in which he is 22-19 with 9 saves, a 3.37 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BULLPEN IN 2010: C-

26-year old righty Zack Greinke will be out to defend his American League Cy Young Award that he earned last season. He started 33 games for the Royals last year and he was 16-8 with a 2.16 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. He gave up 195 hits in 229 1/3 innings while whiffing 242 batters showing just how dominating he was. He also had pinpoint control only walking 51 batters last season as he came right after hitters. Greinke has a awesome arsenal of stuff and he should have won 20+ games in 2010. Hopefully the bullpen and offense improve in 2010 for the Royals to help Greinke out in 2010.

31-year old Gil Meche had his worst season for the Royals but he will still be the #2 guy heading into 2010. Meche started 23 games for the Royals last season and he was 6-10 with a 5.09 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP. The Royals need Meche to stay injury free in 2010. In his first three years with the Royals, Meche started 91 games in which he was 29-34 with a 4.12 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP.

29-year old righty Brian Bannister will likely be mis-cast as the Royals’ #3 starter in 2010. He would be a decent #5 starter but that’s about it. Bannister started 26 games for the Royals last season and he was 7-12 with a 4.73 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. In his three years with the Royals, Bannister has started 85 games in which he is 28-37 with a 4.83 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP.

26-year old righty Luke Hochevar has good stuff but he has never converted into results for the Royals. Hochevar started 25 games for the Royals last year and he was 7-13 with a 6.55 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. He gave up 167 hits (23 homers) in only 143 innings for the Royals last year. Even if he makes the Royals’ opening starting rotation he won’t last long unless he improves big time.

26-year old righty Kyle Davies started 22 games for the Royals last season and he was 8-9 with a 5.27 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. Davis had two big problems last season as he walked 66 batters and gave up 18 homers in only 123 innings for the Royals in 2010. Unless he can fix those two things in 2010 I doubt that he will be in the rotation long in 2010.

27-year old righty Robinson Tejada will also make a big push to make the Royals’ rotation in 2010. Tejada pitched in 35 games (6 starts) for the Royals last season and he was 4-2 with a 3.54 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. He only gave up 43 hits while whiffing 87 batters in 73 2/3 innings but he also walked 50 hitters. If Tejada could throw more strikes the Royals might really have something in him. In his 2 years with the Royals, Tejada has pitched in 60 games (7 starts) in which he is 6-4 with a 3.42 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP.

32-year old lefty Bruce Chen is back trying to win a rotation spot. He pitched in 17 games (9 starts) for the Royals last year and he was 1-6 with a 5.78 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP. Chen just doesn’t have the stuff to be a solid starter in the major leagues anymore.

31-year old righty Jorge Campillo pitched in 5 games (0 starts) for the Braves last season and he was 1-0 with a 4.15 ERA and a 2.31 WHIP. He also pitched in 2 games (1 start) in AA+AAA ball last year where he was 0-0 with 1 save, a 3.60 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. If Campillo is healthy he could help the Royals at some point in 2010.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE ROTATION IN 2010: D+

30-year old lefty swinging David DeJesus will be shifting from LF to RF in 2010 for the Royals. DeJesus played in 144 games for the Royals last season and he was 157 of 558 (.281 avg, .781 OPS) with 74 runs scored, 13 homers, 71 RBIs and 4 stolen bases (he was caught stealing 9 times). DeJesus is a poor man’s Johnny Damon. DeJesus only played in 2 games in RF for the Royals last season and he didn’t make any errors while showing outstanding range. He did have 13 assists in LF so his throwing arm could play well in RF this season.

30-year old lefty swinging Rick Ankiel is the starting CF this season but he can handle RF. Ankiel played in 27 games for the Cardinals last season in RF and he made 1 error while showing pathetic range. He also had 2 assists in RF last season.

33-year old righty swinging Jose Guillen is going to be the full-time DH for the Royals but he could go back to the OF if the need arises in 2010. He played in 65 games in RF for the Royals last season while making 4 errors and showing poor range. He also had 4 assists in RF as he still sports a strong throwing arm.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RF IN 2010: B-

The Royals signed 30-year old lefty swinging Rick Ankiel to serve as their starting CF in 2010. Ankiel played in 122 games for the Cardinals last season and he was 86 of 372 (.231 avg, .672 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 11 homers, 38 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Ankiel has a career batting average of .251 with a .763 OPS in 342 games so the Royals expect him to improve on his 2009 numbers. Ankiel played in 66 games in CF last season and he made 4 errors while showing slightly above average range. He only had 1 assist while in CF but he sports a strong throwing arm.

27-year old lefty swinging Mitch Maier will likely be Ankiel’s top backup in 2010. Maier played in 127 games for the Royals last season and he was 83 of 341 (.243 avg, .665 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 3 homers, 31 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Maier played in 85 error-free games in CF last season while showing good range. He also had an amazing 10 assists in CF as he showed off a remarkable throwing arm. Maier will likely be the Royals’ #4 outfielder this season.

33-year old lefty swinging Scott Podsednik played in 49 games in CF last season for the White Sox in which he made 1 error while showing slightly above average range. He also had 3 assists in CF as runners tried to challenge his arm quite a bit.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CF IN 2010: C