Who needs George Brett when you have Alex Gordon!?

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Yes, I'm back, and after yet another computer crash .

Anyways, I started this Kansas City Royals team recently, not intending to turn it into a dynasty on these boards, but I enjoyed the first season with the team a lot and I'm excited about the direction the team is headed, so I decided to turn it into one!

In my next post I'll just briefly recap the team's first season, draft picks, trades, etc., but right now....

A few brief notes....

• I'm using the League Settings CatKnight posted here. I think I changed mine a little, but I don't remember, and if you really care, just ask.
• I'll employ the Special Rules concerning the team's number of wins and changing Fan Loyalty, contained in the same post.
• Inflation is turned off.
• I'm using OFG's FA'cy rules.
• I can only make trades through the Trading Block and by accepting CPU offers.
• I reserve the right to reverse trades the computer makes that I deem unfair for a particular side.
• I may or may not employ a Rule V draft. Its more like I will than won't.

Other than that, I'm basically just going to use any means necessary to make sure the league stays as balanced as possible, while still trying to keep myself competitive.

I'm going to try to keep myself on a rough schedule of doing an in-game month per week, so it would take me about five weeks to finish each season.

I'm not exactly sure what perspective I'm going to do this from yet. I was thinking about doing it from an objective perspective, as if I was blogging on this as if it was a team in real life or something like that, but that's tricky when I'll still be playing GM for the team. (It's hard to berate myself for a trade I made .) I'll probably play around with it a little for a while before I come up with something (more or less) concrete.

I do know HOW I'm going to do my updates, however. I'm going to do it on a week-by-week (more like every two series) basis, highlighting one "Game of the Week", something that has playoff or divisional implications, or perhaps a great pitcher's duel, or just a game that ended up being really exciting and great, and doing a (relatively) detailed write-up on that one, and for all the other games in that week, I'll just write a sentence or two about what happened. It'll probably make more sense once I actually do one, but that's more or less my current premise.

Anyways, next up I'm just going to do a little synopsis of the season I just finished.


Awards:
OF Joey Gathright - Gold Glove (1), 2008


All-Stars:
3B Alex Gordon (1), 362,008
1B Mark Teixeira (2)


League Leaders:
1B Mark Teixeira - AL RBI Leader (136)


1st Round Picks:
Travis Morgan (#4 Overall)


Playoff Appearances:
N/A

[RedsoxRockies]

I think you have passed me in mot dynasty attempts . But I will keep trying!

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

'08 Kansas City Royals Season
Record: 79-83

Trades:

**Some of these ratings are estimates, as I don't remember what they were at the time of the trade, and the ones that aren't are at +/-3 Scouting**

Kansas City Royals and Atlanta Braves (4/19/08)

Kansas City Royals get:

1B Mark Teixeira (88)
C Sal Fasano (70)
RP Phil Stockman (74/77)

Atlanta Braves get:

OF/3B Mark Teahen (84)
RP Ron Mahay (81)
SP John Bale (80/81)

I thought it was a pretty damn good trade for me, but in reality it was probably pretty even. Teahan was hitting almost .330 for me at the time of the trade and ended up hitting .273 with 14 homers for the Braves. Tex' ended up hitting 33 homers for me, led the league in RBI's with 136 (between KC and Atlanta), and I resigned him to a 4 year, 28 million dollar extension (7 mil per season). This deal was offered to me.


Kansas City Royals and Pittsburgh Pirates (7/26/08)

Kansas City Royals get:

1B Adam LaRoche (84)
SP Zach Duke (74/77)

Pittsburgh Pirates get:

2B Mark Grudzielanek (78)
1B Bill Butler (80/84)
1B Ryan Shealy (79)
2,000,000 cash

I was sitting only 3 or 4 games back at around the trade deadline, and in need of a #5 hitter behind Tex', so that's where this trade came from. Duke never pitched an inning for me, and LaRoche wasn't anything special, managing an OPS of only .760 with me. Butler doesn't have much of a glove, but the kid can really hit and he will more than likely become a solid ML 1B/LF/DH. I made this trade through the block.


Draft Picks:

**I used FRS's roster on this, so the actual draft picks were already assigned to my team, but since I picked so high as the Royals, I did get a couple more good prospects at the top of the draft, so I'll talk about them a bit here**

1st round pick (#4 overall) - SP Travis Morgan (53/90)
19 years old, 6'0", 195 lbs., R/R, 19 years old
96 END, 58 CON, 59 POW, 59 MOV, 68 FASTBALL, 50 PALMBALL, 54 CIRCLE CHANGE
81 DEF, 84 HIT, 79 HEA

With the two guys that I really wanted gone to Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh, I settled on this rightie out of High School. Hes very raw at this point, but if he develops properly he should be an above average starter in all facets of pitching. He had some problems with walks in his first pro season, walking 26 to just 31 K's in 44 1/3 innings. He pitched well aside though, going 5-1 with a 3.45 ERA in six starts. Hes still a long time from seeing the mound in KC, but he gives reason to be excited.


Awards:

3B Alex Gordon was selected to the All-Star Game as the start DH with 362,008 votes

1B Mark Teixeira was selected to the All-Star Game as a reserve and won the AL RBI Title with 136

CF Joey Gathright won a Gold Glove for his defensive play in the outfield


Milestones:

2B Mark Grudzielanek collected his 2000th career hit on July 19th, 2008


Contracts:

April 1st, 2008

SP Hideo Nomo released
C Ken Huckaby released
P Chin-Hui Tsao released

October 31, 2008

1B Mark Teixeira signed a four year extension at 7,000,000
C John Buck was awarded 2,150,000 in arbitration
CF Joey Gathright was awarded 2,500,000 in arbitration
C Miguel Olivo was released
1B Adam LaRoche was awarded 3,000,000 in arbitration
IF Esteban German was awarded 1,600,000 in arbitration
2B Travis Dawkins was released
SS Jason Smith was released
SS Angel Berroa signed a three year extension at 600,000
SP Zack Greinke was awarded 3,600,000 in arbitration
SP Brett Tomko was released
RP Leo Nunez was awarded 1,100,000 in arbitration
SP Kyle Davies was awarded 600,000 in arbitration
RP Ramon Ramirez was awarded 1,700,000 in arbitration
RP Jimmy Gobble signed a three year extension at 1,200,000
SP Horacio Ramirez was released
RP Jeff Fulchino was awarded 500,000 in arbitration
RP Mike Maroth was released
SP Luke Hudson was awarded 600,000 in arbitration
SP Jason Standridge was released
RP Tim Hamulack was awarded 600,000 in arbitration
SP Zach Duke was awarded 500,000 in arbitration
RP John Foster was released
RP Jose Capellan was awarded 500,000 in arbitration
SP Brandon Duckworth was signed to a one year extension at 750,000

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

I think you have passed me in mot dynasty attempts . But I will keep trying!

I know not this word "mot".

[metsguy234]

I know not this word "mot".

I believe it is "most". And I believe I would win by ALOT in that category...

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

I believe it is "most". And I believe I would win by ALOT in that category...

I knew it was a typo, I just wasn't sure of what. But most seems right .

[PotatoOfCouch13]

If you're not going to use George Brett, can I borrow him?

Good luck. Hopefully this one will last!

[RedsoxRockies]

I knew it was a typo, I just wasn't sure of what. But most seems right .

It was most

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Starting Lineup

1. CF Joey Gathright (81/83)
27 years old, 5'10", 170 lbs., L/R
89 CON, 61 POW, 93 SPD, 79 EYE
97 ARM, 95 RNG, 97 FLDG, 80 HEA

Gathright returns for his fourth season with Kansas City as the team's leadoff hitter and starting center fielder. Gathright is coming off unarguably the best season of his career. In 140 games last season, Gathright hit .302/.359/.384, logging 171 hits and stealing 49 bases, only seven off league leader Carlos Gomez's 56. But Gathright wasn’t just a stud at the plate, he also cemented himself as one of the premier defensive outfielders in baseball, winning his first career Gold Glove award. After Gathright's career season, he comes into this season with some expectations to try to duplicate his numbers from last season, and if he can come close to duplicating that, the Royals should have one of the better leadoff men in the AL, if not all of baseball, on their hands.

Predicted '09 Stats - .284/.349/.344, 1 HR, 33 SB, 84 R



2. LF David Dejesus (82)
29 years old, 6'0", 178 lbs., L/L
CON 86, 75 POW, 83 SPD, 77 EYE
ARM 72, 94 RNG, 97 FLDG, 76 HEA

Dejesus is coming off another excellent season for the only Major League team hes ever known. After having a bit of a down year in '07, batting only .260/.351/.372, David rebounded nicely last season, hitting .304/.379/.465 with 15 homers and 69 RBI's, in what was easily the best season of his career. Dejesus has been a remarkably underrated and consistent player throughout his career, and with any luck that will hold true again this year. Although Dejesus doesn’t have the arm the man playing in the field directly next to him does, he can give him a run for his money in terms of range and fielding ability, giving the Royals two premier defensive outfielders on the left side of the field, something I’m sure their pitchers will love. Dejesus has been remarkably underrated and consistent in his six year career, and hopefully that holds true again this year.

Predicted '09 Stats - .287/.360/.435, 11 HR‘s, 8 SB, 82 R, 80 RBI‘s



3. 3B Alex Gordon (92/96)
25 years old, 6'1", 220 lbs., L/R
CON 89, 87 POW, 85 SPD, 75 EYE
ARM 79, 75 RNG, 85 FLDG, 95 HEA

Alex really broke out in his sophomore ‘08 campaign as a 24 year old and established himself as the clear face of the Royals franchise and signaled the team’s new direction. Alex posted some oddly round, but exciting, numbers with his .310/.380/.540 line, including 35 bombs, 129 ribbies, 13 steals, 36 doubles, 200 hits, and 105 runs, while playing in all 162 of the team’s games. He did show a tendency to be a little strikeout prone, by going down on strikes 171 times last season, but I’ll take 171 K’s with those numbers any day of the week. Alex should only continue to get better as he enters his peak and could put up some really monster numbers in this, his third, big league season.

Predicted '09 Stats - .311/.387/.537, 23 HR‘s, 18 SB, 93 R, 105 RBI‘s



4. 1B Mark Teixeira (88)
28 years old, 6'2", 215 lbs., S/R
CON 86, 87 POW, 63 SPD, 83 EYE
ARM 77, 75 RNG, 93 FLDG, 93 HEA

After his acquisition two weeks into the ‘07 season, Mark Teixeira slotted in to the Royals number four hole to constitute one of the most productive 3-4 combo’s in baseball. Although Tex’, as he came to be known between fans and players alike, started his Royals career somewhat slowly, struggling to hit above .240 or .250 for a long stretch of time after first joining the team, he still posted some monster numbers in his first season with KC. Teixeira finished the season with a .294/.383/.559 line in 145 games with the Royals, as well as smacking 33 bombs and driving in 127 runners. Between KC and Atlanta he managed to hit .292/.381/.557 with 37 homers and 136 runs batted in. If Tex’ is even close to as good this season as he was last season, meat of the Royals order should be in great shape.

Predicted '09 Stats - .294/.381/.511 29 HR‘s, 2 SB, 101 R, 116 RBI‘s



5. 1B/DH Adam LaRoche (85)
29 years old, 6'3", 180 lbs., L/L
CON 78, 86 POW, 71 SPD, 78 EYE
ARM 78, 83 RNG, 81 FLDG, 92 HEA

Although LaRoche managed to slug the ball all over the place in his 57 games with the Royals, after being acquired at the deadline, he was pretty sub-par as a Royal otherwise. LaRoche hit just one homer fewer (12) with the Royals in 232 at bats, than he did with the Pirates in 352 at bats. Aside from that, he managed to hit just .250/.303/.457 as a Royal. He is in his contract year, so its not out of the realm of possibility, its probably likely in fact, that he could put up some monster numbers this season so he can net some big bucks when he resigns or if he hit’s the open market.

Predicted '09 Stats - .276/.358/.493 18 HR‘s, 1 SB, 62 R, 74 RBI‘s



6. RF Shane Costa (79/85)
27 years old, 6'0", 221 lbs., L/R
CON 85, 79 POW, 79 SPD, 70 EYE
ARM 81, 90 RNG, 85 FLDG, 79 HEA

Costa appeared in only five games with the Royals last season, getting four at bats and drawing one walk and getting walked again intentionally, he did, however, do a pretty good number on AAA pitching. In 137 games with the Royals top minor league affiliate, the Triple-A Omaha Royals, he went .321/.364/.489, with eight homers, 83 RBI's, 11 steals, 178 hits, and an amazing 65 doubles. Now, it would be ridiculous to expect him to post those kind of numbers in what will be his first full season starting at the Major League level, or really any season, but he should prove to be a league average, perhaps slightly worse, right fielder.

Predicted '09 Stats - .281/.329/.422 8 HR's, 6 SB, 66 R, 69 RBI's



7. SS Mike Aviles (84)
28 years old, 5'9", 180 lbs., R/R
CON 87, 76 POW, 80 SPD, 66 EYE
ARM 79, 78 RNG, 79 FLDG, 75 HEA

Aviles snuck into 15 games with the Royals last season, but this season will be, in effect, his rookie season, despite being 28 years old. Aviles played in only 83 of the Baby Royals games, but excelled in those games, hitting .345/.380/.554 with 11 dingers, 62 ribbies, and 119 hits in only 345 at bats. As stated before, Aviles is already 28 years old and isn't the future of the team at shortstop, but Mike Moustakas was converted to SS so hopefully Aviles can hold down the fort until hes ready in a couple years.

Predicted '09 Stats - .296/.334/.441, 12 HR's, 8 SB, 76 R, 85 RBI's



8. C John Buck (79)
28 years old, 6'3", 210 lbs., R/R
CON 71, 81 POW, 63 SPD, 71 EYE
ARM 85, 83 HND, 81 FLDG, 83 HEA

John Buck was one of the crown jewels of the deal that sent Carlos Beltran to the Astros for a half season, but he has struggled some what at the plate since reaching the Major League level, perhaps reaching an all-time low in '07. Despite hitting 24 homers and slugging .433 in 138 games last season, he struggled to hit for average or reach base, hitting for an average of just .243 and getting on base at a .299 clip, for a miserly .732 OPS. Buck does somewhat make up for his offensive deficiencies with his work behind the plate as a catcher, possessing a great throwing arm, the ability to block nearly any ball in the dirt, as well as calling a great game and handling the pitchers well.

Predicted '09 Stats - .245/.314/.418, 16 HR, 1 SB, 55 R, 66 RBI's



9. 2B Alberto Callaspo (82)
25 years old, 5'10", 175 lbs., S/R
CON 94, 72 POW, 78 SPD, 80 EYE
ARM 76, 63 HND, 74 FLDG, 73 HEA

In his first season as a full-time start, Alberto Callaspo provided some above-average offense for a second basemen. He hit .299/.346/.436 with 11 homers, 50 runs batted in, and 147 hits in 138 games as the Royals starting second basemen, and at the tender age of 25. Callaspo's defense does leave a lot to be desire, especially at an up the middle position, so its likely that LaRoche will sit against lefties and that Callaspo will DH, as well as some other lineup juggling going on to accommodate.

Predicted '09 Stats - .297/.352/.420, 8 HR, 6 SB, 79 R, 77 RBI's

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Starting Rotation

SP#1 Zack Greinke (88)
25 years old, 6'2", 201 lbs., R/R
84 4-SEAM, 92 HARD CURVE, 76 4-SEAM, 70 SLIDER
73 END, 85 CON, 89 POW, 84 MOV
81 DEF, 70 HIT, 70 HEA

Grienke last season finally tapped into his once limitless potential last season. Grienke pitched 213 innings, going 15-10 and striking out 205 to just 53 walks, giving him an absurd K/BB ratio of approximately 4:1 (3.87:1 if you want to get down to the nitty-gritty.), as well as maintaining an opposing batting average of .261. Grienke is still only 25 and has an excellent curveball and fastball, both of which he can locate and miss bats with. He could finally be poised for a breakout season (Cy Young maybe?), and if that happens this team could do some great things.

Predicted '09 Stats - 9-4, 121.1 IP, 114 K's, 2.89 ERA




SP#2 Jonny Cueto (87/91)
23 years old, 5'10", 185 lbs., R/R
82 FASTBALL, 90 SLIDER, 74 CHANGE
80 END, 87 CON, 93 POW, 74 MOV
75 DEF, 72 HIT, 76 HEA

Cueto suffered through a rough rookie season last year, going 8-14 in 30 starts with an ERA of 5.00 and a BAA of .272. However, despite the rough rookie season, this kid has loads of potential, as he has shown with his 4-1 record, 2.15 ERA, 33 strikeouts to five walks, and .207 BAA in five starts in Spring Training. He is a pretty advanced pitcher for someone his age, and he could establish himself as a Cy Young contender for years to come this season. The Royals season may depend greatly on his young arm, as well as the arms of Greinke and some pitchers I have yet to break down.

Predicted '09 Stats - 9-6, 137.2 IP, 145 K's, 3.27 ERA




SP#3 Brian Bannister (82)
28 years old, 6'2", 205 lbs., R/R
80 FASTBALL, 72 CUTTER, 66 CURVE
82 END, 80 CON, 74 POW, 74 MOV
79 DEF, 77 HIT, 75 HEA

Cueto's rookie season may have been bad, but Bannister's season last year was even worse. Bannister went 10-11 with a 5.51 ERA and 47 walks to only 89 strikeouts, while putting up an ugly .290 BAA, in 143.2 innings. Part of the problem with Bannister, is that he is a ground ball pitcher, with a ground ball percent of 60%, and while that's not a bad thing in itself, but he was doomed to fail with the infield defense we were running out there every day. With the improved infield defense, he should manage to have a solid, 4.20 - 4.40 ERA season.

Predicted '09 Stats - 11-7, 165.1 IP, 103 K's, 3.86 ERA




SP#4 Luke Hochevar (82)
25 years old, 6'5", 206 lbs., R/R
78 FASTBALL, 63 CHANGE, 87 2-SEAM, 59 SLIDER
84 END, 87 CON, 88 POW, 64 MOV
73 DEF, 72 HIT, 77 HEA

Luke has only five games in the big leagues, one start, but in those games he has been quite good, pitching 18 innings with an ERA of 2.00 and a BAA of .197. Now, obviously those numbers aren't enough to judge how effective of a Major League pitcher he'll be, but hes been solid in the minors. In 26 starts last year, at AAA, he went 10-6 with a 4.36 ERA and 157 K's, and only 44 walks, in 171.1 innings. He certainly has the stuff to be an above-average big league starter, but only time will tell.

Predicted '09 Stats - 10-7, 152 IP, 143 K's, 3.97 ERA




SP#5 Tim Melville (78/100)
19 years old, 6'4", 180 lbs., R/R
92 FASTBALL, 71 CHANGE, 78 CURVE, 59 SPLITTER
69 END, 68 CON, 95 POW, 67 MOV
72 DEF, 69 HIT, 72 HEA

Tim is the future of this Royals pitching staff, plain and simple. Tim has extremely limited professional experience, only eight starts at A-ball and five starts in Spring Training this year, but hes only 19 years old and his stuff is unquestionable. This kid has limitless potential and if he can bust on the scene with a big rookie season, which isn't out of the question at all, this team could go very, very far.

Predicted '09 Stats - 6-3, 80.1 IP, 91 K's, 3.36 ERA

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Bench

1. C Brayan Pena (79)
27 years old, 5'11", 222 lbs., S/R
87 CON, 71 POW, 71 SPD, 69 EYE
77 ARM, 85 RNG, 77 FLDG, 75 HEA

Although Pena has yet to succeed at the Major League level, he has put up excellent numbers in the minors and could make it difficult for Buck to keep the starting catcher's job. Last season in AAA Pena batted .331/.377/.484 with 10 jacks and 97 RBI's, while striking out only 56 times. If Buck has a paricularly bad stretch it's more than likely, certain even, that Pena will take over the starting catcher's job, for a while at least.




2. IF Esteban German (80)
31 years old, 5'9", 165 lbs., R/R
86 CON, 68 POW, 89 SPD, 81 EYE
76 ARM, 68 RNG, 78 FLDG, 76 HEA

German is another guy that could give the players in front of them a run for their money if they struggle a bit, especially with the team's relative lack of talent at shortstop and second base. Last season he didn't even get in 100 at bats, but performed relatively well anyways, batting .289/.320/.361 in 97 at bats. He has some offensive tools, including the ability to get on base with his eye as well as his bat, and to wreak some havoc on the bases once he makes it there. If Aviles struggles too much, don't be surprised if German ends up getting in some games.




3. OF Jose Guillen (77)
32 years old, 5'11", 170 lbs., R/R
77 CON, 81 POW, 67 SPD, 69 EYE
84 ARM, 74 RNG, 71 FLDG, 75 HEA

Guillen split time starting and sitting the bench last season, and didn't perform particularly well in either role. On the season he hit .255/.314/.451 in 255 at bats, that type of offense simply isn't acceptable from a corner outfielder. Guillen will probably get a decent amount of at bats, particularly against lefties, and will likely end up playing DH and some outfield.




4. SS Tony Pena (78)
28 years old, 6'1", 180 lbs., R/R
78 CON, 67 POW, 79 SPD, 61 EYE
84 ARM, 83 RNG, 79 FLDG, 89 HEA

Pena is the son of legendary Reds and Pirates catcher, and Hall of Famer, Tony Pena. There is one thing Pena Jr. definitely did not inherit from dear old dad, and that one thing is the ability to hit. Pena hit a respectable .269 last season in 568 at bats, but had an OBP of just .287 and a slugging percent of only .380. Pena likely won't see much time at the plate, but he has an excellent glove and should see himself as a defensive replacement at SS and 2B late in games quite often.




5. 1B Ross Gload (79)
32 years old, 6'", 185 lbs., L/L
89 CON, 77 POW, 69 SPD, 71 EYE
75 ARM, 76 RNG, 93 FLDG, 75 HEA

Gload got quite a bit of time starting last season, and while I'm not expecting him to supplant Tex' as the starting first basemen, he should still see several at bat's, due to his ability to hit righties. Last season in 470 at bats he hit .281/.321/.428 with 13 bombs and 56 RBI's, primarily getting time starting in left and right field. If nothing else, he could serve as fantastic trade bait.

[snapper]

Don't start Melville in the majors. You'll kill his career. He should be in AA.

Let him get to at least 22 before you call him up. Sign some filler in ST.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

He'll be fine. I ran a test sim on this file, just to see how I could expect to do, and he ended up winning like 12 or 13 games with an ERA a tad over 4.60 (4.66 I think).

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

I have one analytical/roster type post left to do, on the bullpen, and then I plan to get the season underway !

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Bullpen

CL Joakim Soria (90)
24 years old, 6'2", 170 lbs., R/R
97 FASTBALL, 75 KNUCKLEBALL
21 END, 80 CON, 94 POW, 87 MOV
69 DEF, 72 HIT, 82 HEA

After being selected by the Royals in '06 from the San Diego Padres in the Rule V Draft, it didn't take Soria long to establish himself as one of the best, up-and-comers in Major League Baseball. Soria had a fantastic rookie season, pitching in 62 games, logging 69 innings with a 2.48 ERA, striking out 25, walking just 19, and maintaining an absurdly low batting average against of .184, while saving 17 games. His sophomore season, last season, wasn't quite as good, but it was still pretty damn good for a 24 year old kid selected in the Rule V Draft. Soria pitched 55 innings, 47 games, keeping an ERA of 4.09 with 57 K's and 28 saves. Soria is right up there with Jon Papelbon, K-Rod, and Joe Nathan as one of the best closers in the game, and at 24 years old he should be closing games in Kansas City for a long, long time.

Predicted '09 Stats - 37 SV's, 69 IP, 68 K's, 2.61 ERA



SU Ramon Ramirez (88)
27 years old, 5'11", 195 lbs., R/R
94 FASTBALL, 88 HARDCURVE, 80 CHANGE
20 END, 98 CON, 95 POW, 78 MOV
64 DEF, 74 HIT, 77 HEA

After getting knocked around with the Rockies in '07, Ramon found himself setting up games in Kansas City, but with the way he pitched you might say he was setting them down. Ramon's first season in Kansas City was fantastic and he was as close to automatic in the 8th inning as you can get. Pitching 86 1/3 innings, Ramon struck out 86, walked only 16, had a BAA of .234, and a sparkling ERA of 2.71. Ramon and Soria make for one of the best back-end's of the bullpen in baseball and if we're leading the game heading into the seventh or eighth inning, the game is as good as over.

Predicted '09 Stats - 7 SV's, 66 IP, 69 K's, 2.59 ERA



SR#1 Jimmy Gobble (82)
27 years old, 6'3", 190 lbs., L/L
76 FASTBALL, 84 HARDCURVE, 69 CHANGE
20 END, 72 CON, 85 POW, 76 MOV
72 DEF, 70 HIT, 77 HEA

Gobble isn't anything special, but he did have a solid season last year and hes the type of pitcher every bullpen needs in order to be successful. Gobble appeared in 81 games, logging 76 innings, and had the second lowest ERA of his career with a 4.03 mark. His K/BB ratio was an ugly 1.5:1, and his BAA was .272, but he managed to get the job done regardless, and as long as he gets it done I don't care how he does it.

Predicted '09 Stats - 2 SV's, 107 IP, 99 K's, 4.04 ERA



SR#2 Leo Nunez (81)
25 years old, 6'1", 160 lbs., R/R
83 FASTBALL, 75 SLIDER
22 END, 68 CON, 87 POW, 75 MOV
76 DEF, 72 HIT, 72 HEA

Nunez is another one of the Royals several good bullpen arms. Last season in 119.1 innings pitched Nunez went 6-4, had an ERA of 4.37 and struck out 99 batters. Nunez isn't anything special and he won't be winning a Cy Young or making an All-Star Game anytime soon, but hes a solid Major League reliever, something that is somewhat of a commodity.

Predicted '09 Stats - 0 SV's, 182 IP, 168 K's, 3.71 ERA



MR Tim Hamulack (77)
32 years old, 6'4", 220 lbs., R/L
83 FASTBALL, 75 CHANGE, 68 HARDCURVE
22 END, 68 CON, 84 POW, 76 MOV
64 DEF, 71 HIT, 69 HEA

Hamulack has only 36 1/3 innings of Major League experience with a 7.43 ERA, but we're gonna give him a chance. Besides, he put up excellent numbers at AAA last season, pitching 86 innings with a 2.62 ERA and .185 BAA, and his stuff is nearly as good as Leo's. We're not expecting him to come in and be great, but he could be a diamond in the rough this season.

Predicted '09 Stats - 0 SV's, 49.1 IP, 45 K's, 4.38 ERA



LR Kyle Davies (77)
25 years old, 6'2", 208 lbs., R/R
66 FASTBALL, 80 CHANGE, 72 HARDCURVE
82 END, 69 CON, 74 POW, 78 MOV
64 DEF, 71 HIT, 69 HEA

Davies has been primarily a starter in his career, however not a very good one. In his career, in 90 games, Davies has a 6.42 ERA, 283 K's to 228 walks, and a .289 opposing batting average. Mostly Kyle will be expected to just eat innings and save the bullpen when/if a starter gets hit around and make an occasional spot start.

Predicted '09 Stats - 0 SV's, 136 IP, 98 K's, 4.83 ERA