Team Fantasy Preview - Kansas City Royals
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Throughout the preseason, we will be previewing all 30 teams and what their rosters bring to the fantasy baseball table. This edition covers the Kansas City Royals.
Projected Lineup
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
| ORDER | POSITION | NAME | BATS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SS | Alcides Escobar | R |
| 2 | 3B | Mike Moustakas | L |
| 3 | CF | Lorenzo Cain | R |
| 4 | 1B | Eric Hosmer | L |
| 5 | C | Salvador Perez | R |
| 6 | LF | Alex Gordon | L |
| 7 | RF | Jorge Soler | R |
| 8 | DH | Brandon Moss | L |
| 9 | 2B | Whit Merrifield | R |
| Bench | IF | Cheslor Cuthbert | R |
| Bench | OF | Paulo Orlando | R |
Projected Rotation
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
| ORDER | NAME | THROWS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Danny Duffy | L |
| 2 | Ian Kennedy | R |
| 3 | Jason Vargas | L |
| 4 | Jason Hammel | R |
| 5 | Matt Strahm | L |
Bullpen Hierarchy
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
| ROLE | NAME | THROWS |
|---|---|---|
| Closer | Kelvin Herrera | R |
| Set-Up | Joakim Soria | R |
| RP | Brian Flynn | L |
Top Prospect to Watch in 2017
3B/OF Hunter Dozier. The Royals don't have a player featured among the MLB top 100 prospects but should see contributions from Dozier, who hit .294 at Triple-A debuted and made his MLB debut in 2016. Strahm, the organization's third-best prospect, pitched 22 innings of 1.23 ERA ball for Kansas City and could be next in a long line of dominant Royals setup men.
Who Will Drive You Crazy?
Fresh off a championship season with the Chicago Cubs, Soler will hope to find a full-time job for the first time in his career. Despite plus raw power, he has only hit 27 HRs in 765 big league plate appearances. OFs with 20-homer potential are a dime a dozen these days, and the deep outsides at Kaufmann Stadium tend to suppress power numbers.
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
The One to Own
Cain might be the Royals' best hitter but OF is packed with top flight talent. Hosmer has averaged 89 runs, 98 RBIs and 22 HRs over the past two seasons while sporting a solid .282 BA. In a contract year, expect him to enter 2017 focused on a seven-figure payday. He's the best 1B of the sub-elite tier.
Top Sleeper
Acquired from the Mariners in the Jarrod Dyson deal, Karns will move to one of the AL's premier pitcher's parks and will be backed by a much better defense. His 9.6 K/9 is great; the 4.3 BB/9 was not. If he can scale back the number of free passes he issues, he'll have an opportunity to be a solid mid-rotation fantasy asset. He'll likely go undrafted in 10-team leagues.