Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Milwaukee Brewers 2010 Team Previews

This week I am previewing the Kansas City Royals, the Los Angeles Angels, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Milwaukee Brewers for the 2010 season. I am getting more excited about this season as I go along with these previews, though it is sort of annoying guys like Brandon Webb has a setback in regards to his health and I have already predicted the D-backs would have a good year. Oh well. Onto this week's team previews...

Kansas City Royals

Lineup

There was a time when I thought Dayton Moore would be the successor to John Schuerholz in the Atlanta Braves' front office. Thank God this never came to pass because as far as building the Kansas City Royals he isn't doing a hell of a job at this point. This Royals lineup...ugh. I guess my 1st question is why the Royals are satisfied with taking other teams failed prospects and having a team that just isn't good? I want to like the Royals, I really do. I can't though. This is just not a good lineup. The city of Kansas City deserves better than this. The Royals willingly signed Jason Kendall this offseason. Why? I know it is supposedly for the sake of defense and that is fine when you have a team with decent hitters other places in the lineup and a starting rotation that will prevent the other team from scoring runs. The Royals have neither of these though. I like Billy Butler, Alex Gordon when he is healthy and Rick Ankiel has some things I like about him as well. Still, Ankiel is 30 years old so it is not like he is building block and Butler and Gordon can't do it all alone. In fact, this lineup has no building blocks, just expensive useless players like Jose Guillen and just fairly useless players like Scott Podsednik. What's the plan here? I don't see a single player in this lineup, other than Butler and maybe Gordon, I would want on this team in 2 years. Betancourt is actually still playing SS for them and will provide his typical zero hitting again. The Royals are hoping Josh Fields is going to be able to provide some punch in this lineup and the rest of the guys can provide enough hitting to not be last in the AL Central.

Rotation

They have Zach Greinke. That's about it. Gil Meche isn't as useless as everyone thought he was going to be when he signed the 5 year $55 million deal two full seasons ago. Luke Hochevar shouldn't have been drafted by the Royals the 1st time, much less the 2nd time. Yeah, he has potential, but he also has the ability to have an ERA near 7.00 this year. Rotation spots #3-#5 are a poo-poo platter of young guys who were supposed to be good in the majors, but guess what? They aren't. Maybe these guys could be better with a little bit of offense, but that isn't going to happen. So not only can the Royals not develop any good, young pitcher even though they have a high draft pick every year, they can't even develop other team's good young pitchers either. The competition for rotation spots #3-#5 have failed hyped players from the Mets (2 of them), the Braves, and the Pirates competing for the spot. Also, there is Robinson Tejada who will get a look also. I want to like the Royals rotation just from looking at the names, but the bottom line is these aren't the Marlins pitchers who aren't good, but still young enough to learn. The projected #3-#5 starters are 26, 26, 29, and 27. The Royals have taken on Phillip Humber and Bryan Bullington, and why not, the Pirates and Twins probably just couldn't develop these guys properly right? When have the Twins ever developed a prospect? I don't see a plan for this team at all, other than to take other team's leftover pitchers, and that's not working for them well at all.

Bullpen

I had heard Kyle Farnsworth may be starting for the Royals, but he seems to be firmly entrenched as the set up guy to Joakim Soria. Dusty Hughes is on some lists as the potential breakout rookie for the Royals and if he was going to break out, that would be fantastic. It wouldn't make a huge difference because there is not a whole lot more here. Juan Cruz, Ramon Colon, Carlos Rosa, and Anthony Lerew are the set up guys for Joakim Soria. Soria is a pretty quality closer. This is like having a Girl Scout troop protect the physical safety of the President of the United States. It seems mean, but other than Soria there isn't anyone in the bullpen of the Royals that inspires confidence for me. Just like other spots on this roster, the bullpen consists of 1-2 legitimate MLB players and then players who either never have been good or are trying to be good again. The bullpen is the place where bad teams should be able to have young guys in the organization who aren't great starters but have good, live arms...but that's not the case here. Shouldn't a shitty team have some young, homegrown pitching on the roster or the bullpen?

What I Like

I like Billy Butler, Joakim Soria, Zach Greinke and some of the Royals outfield. Other than that, I am not enamored with this team in any way. I also like the fact the backups for the Royals, guys like Willie Bloomquist, Brayan Pena, Josh Fields, and Brian Anderson are almost as good as the starters for the Royals. Unfortunately that is also not a good thing. DeJesus and Podsednik are decent outfielders but not exactly the power hitting guys a team dreams of in LF and RF. Alberto Callaspo wasn't a terrible player last year and quite possibly he could have a good year in 2010 as well. That's something good. Greinke is a fantastic starter but he can only do so much on team like this. He would have had a lot more wins if he played on a different team. There is no point in trading him because the Royals front office can't identify talent well enough to even get decent players in return.

What I Don't Like

I think I have made it quite clear what I don't like about this team. The starting rotation, the lineup and bullpen. I think this lineup is weak and relies WAY too much on guys who can't hit the ball well and other guys to have bounce-back seasons (Alex Gordon). I know Jason Kendall is a good defensive catcher but there has to be a point where the Royals need to score runs as well and Kendall isn't that guy. Maybe Josh Fields and Brian Anderson love their change of setting and start to become major league quality players, but I don't think this lineup has much potential. The rotation is even worse. If this were a 2006 Minor League All-Star team I would be much more impressed. At this point, it's just sad seeing the Royals try to turn these guy's careers around. There also isn't a whole lot in the bullpen that I like.

Final record

The Royals were terrible last year, the year before that and before that. I don't know if this is an improved team or not. It certainly doesn't look like it. They do play in the same division as the Indians though, which gives them hope of winning some games. Maybe I am being pessimistic and Jose Guillen will turn it around, Alex Gordon will have a great season and a couple of guys in the rotation remember what made them so well hyped. I doubt it though. This is one more bad free agent signing away from depressing me as much as the Astros.

Last year: 65-97
This year: 71-91

Los Angeles Angels

Lineup

I didn't think I would like the Angels as much as I do. In all seriousness, I think I may like this year's lineup better than the one featuring Vlad, Matthews, and Figgins. I think they have a little more power this year with Matsui and Wood added to the lineup, along with other power guys in the order like Morales, Hunter, and Rivera. Overall top-to-bottom, I think this is a pretty good lineup which has guys who can get on base, hit for power, and it has good depth with Jeff Mathis, Reggie Willits, and Maicer Itzturis as the main backups. Of course Itzturis is the backup at nearly every position in the infield, so if he gets hurt, the Angels will lose some of the flexibility they have in the infield. I think Brandon Wood is going to be ready to hit at the major league level and this lineup is still a good lineup even if he doesn't.

Rotation

This is the part of the Angels team I am not quite as giddy about as some other people seem to currently be. Lackey wasn't a true #1 starter but he was doing a good job of impersonating one in Los Angeles over the past couple of years. The Angels have a set starting rotation with Erwin Santana, Jered Weaver, Joe Saunders, Scott Kazmir and Joel Pineiro. I feel like I should like this rotation a little more than I do. It's a B+ rotation in my mind. I guess I feel like they should have a possible #1 in Weaver and the rest of the rotation are guys I would feel a little bit better about the pitching rotation. Santana took a step back last year due to some injuries so that may not end up being a trend and he can rebound, Saunders had a great record for a guy who let opponents hit almost .280 against him and other than in 2008 he has been a fairly average pitcher, Scott Kazmir definitely has some potential to be a solid #2 and Joel Pineiro no longer has Dave Duncan around to help his career. Again, it's not a bad rotation, but if you made me compare it to the other playoff contenders in the AL, I don't know if I like the Angels rotation as much this year. If there are injuries it sounds like Matt Palmer would jump in and be the #6 guy.

Bullpen

Brian Fuentes had some struggles last year as the Angels closer but he ended up the year with fairly good numbers. I like the signing of Fernando Rodney and if Scott Shields bounces back nicely this year from his surgery that makes for a pretty good set up combination for the Angels. If I am being nitpicky, the Angels don't really have anyone who can be the LH reliever out of the bullpen other than Fuentes. I know that is being fairly picky with a bullpen that features solid guys like Brian Stokes, Kevin Jespen, and Jason Bulger. A lot of this pen's effectiveness depends on the health of Rodney and Shields. If they are both healthy then the Angels will have a good 7th, 8th and 9th inning guys to rely on. I know the Angels seem to always win this division and are able to pull through injuries, but I don't know how much I like the make up of this pen if Rodney and Shields weren't fully healthy, which has been a problem for them of late.

What I Like

I like the lineup for the Angels and I like how they have 5 solid pitchers in the rotation. This is a team that has had success and knows what it is doing. Mike Scioscia is a great manager and I have very little doubt he will be able to pull this team through any problems they have this year. The popular pick in the West this year is the Mariners and I haven't previewed them yet so I can't say for sure what I think about them. Let me just say from what I know about the Angels and the Mariners, the Angels have a lot more hitting than the Mariners and their defense isn't terrible either. So without having previewed the Mariners yet, I probably like the Angels more. I like the rotation of the Angels because it has 5 quality pitchers in it and the bullpen because, injuries aside, it should be a quality bullpen. This is an Angels team that is built to win the AL West for a few more years.

What I Don't Like

As much as I would like to say I think differently, there is something about this Angels rotation that I just don't like. It's quality from #1-#5, don't get me wrong. Maybe I am getting too hung up on who the #1 starter is going to be or whether pitchers like Santana will be able to bounce back and Pineiro will be able to have success away from Dave Duncan. Either way, there is something about this rotation that doesn't sit well with me. For what they are expected to compete for, which is a World Series, I don't know if this rotation can get that done. Another thing I don't like about this team is that it is built with some older players as its core, especially in the outfield. "Getting old" is a disease that tends to hit players on a team together, or at least feels like it does. Abreu, Matsui, Hunter, and Rivera are all on the wrong side of 30. They are still quality baseball players, but besides 3 of the 4 being Yankees cast-offs, they are also players who could get old quickly. I am not saying it will happen, I just think these are the things I worry about when making a prediction for this team.

Final record

I still think this is an Angels team that is good enough to win the AL West. Kendry Morales had a great year last year and I can't help but wonder if he could do it again this year. If he is able to, that will give the Angels a boost and a legitimate power hitter in the middle of the order if some of the "older" guys have injuries or are ineffective. I like this team, I just have a hard time figuring out exactly how much I like them. I could easily talk myself out of picking this team to win the AL West due to my questions about the rotation and the fact this team seems to lack a #1 pitcher and a star hitter (which could be Morales). Really that is a bad reason to not like a team. I don't think this will be as good a team as last year's Angel team but they will still be in the hunt for the AL West.

Last year: 97-65
This year: 92-70

Los Angeles Dodgers

Lineup

I personally like this lineup, but of course I am sucker for a lineup full of young guys with potential. I didn't think I would ever normally include something like this in a team preview, but this team has been hamstrung financially by the McCourt's divorce and the some of the holes in the lineup (and the overall team) weren't able to get fixed because of this. The injury bug has already hit the Dodgers with Russell Martin being injured for a few weeks to open the season. Overall, I actually like this lineup of the Dodgers. I am not in love with the OBP of Furcal and Belliard in the infield, and really the catcher position, even with Russell Martin healthy, it is sort of a black hole. This is a lineup that needs to compete with the D-backs and Rockies in the West with a couple of guys I don't have completely confidence in. Of course the Dodgers won the NL West last year with this same lineup, so it seems like it would be good enough to win the West again. I have heard Manny Ramirez had an "off" year last year and that is partially true, but he did miss some games to his PED suspension and his numbers weren't that bad overall. They just weren't good like Manny's numbers usually are. I like the middle of order with Kemp, Ethier, and Ramirez. I didn't expect Casey Blake to put up the numbers he put up last year, so I am going to say based on his age and ability at this point in his career I expect him to regress a little bit. Overall, I do like the lineup for the Dodgers pretty well. Furcal needs to bounce back and the only additions the Dodgers made were Jamey Carroll and Reed Johnson, which is pretty much no additions. There is very little depth on this team, so a serious injury or suspension like happened last year to Ramirez, would greatly hurt this team.

Rotation

I feel a lot like this is a good NL rotation, but I do want to see even more progression on the part of Billingsley and Kershaw, which I think we will see. I love Clayton Kershaw, but of course who doesn't like him? I feel like Billingsley regressed a little bit last year and I hope that isn't that case for this year. I don't know if Kuroda is a 3rd starter and I am not sure if Padilla is a 4th starter either. The real race on this team is for the 5th starter spot. MLB.com doesn't even have a 5th starter on the depth chart for the Dodgers at this point. It looks like it is between James McDonald, Scott Elbert, Eric Stults, Charlie Haeger, and Carlos Monasterios. Given those candidates for the 5th starter spot, I think either McDonald or Elbert will get that spot...or at least should. There is a chance if McDonald doesn't win the spot and Elbert is sent back down, Stults might end up in the #5 spot. Either way, I am not overly impressed with this pitching rotation for the Dodgers. It's not like Padilla is going to get any better at the age of 32 and Kuroda is 35 years old so he won't progress too much more either. It's a good rotation with Kershaw and Billingsley at the top, but I feel like the McCourt's divorce really hurt the rotation by not allowing the team to add another pitcher who could be a true #3 starter. I would feel better if there was another guy between Billingsley and Kuroda for this year.

Bullpen

The Dodgers have an advantage other teams don't in that they have a young, great closer in Jonathan Broxton and a reliable set up guy with George Sherrill, who can close games if necessary. Both Broxton and Sherrill had some trouble with blown saves last year but I feel like Broxton is going to get better with this second full season as the closer. His stuff is nasty and he is only 25 years old. The loser(s) of the 5th starter spot will probably end up here in the bullpen, which only goes to strengthen it. I really think I like this bullpen with Belisario, Kuo, Troncoso, and whichever person doesn't get the #5 starter spot (minus Elbert who will probably go to the minors if he doesn't win the #5 spot). This is a good bullpen, though given Torre's sometimes tendency to latch on to pitchers he likes and overuse them, there is always a concern for some of these guys...especially since it is a fairly young bullpen. If the Dodgers have a lead in the late innings, I feel confident the pen is going to be able to hold it, provided Broxton gets over his blown saves problem from last year, which I think will happen.

What I Like

This is a good Dodgers middle of the order with Kemp, Ethier, and Ramirez. Furcal underwhelmed me last year and I do wonder if Casey Blake can continue to hit well. For a National League lineup, this is a pretty strong overall lineup though. I like the first 2 guys in the starting rotation for the Dodgers and after that they do have two guys who are pretty well known, as far as we should know what they will provide to a team, in Kuroda and Padilla. The Dodgers also have some good options for the #5 spot. I don't have any concerns for the starting rotation other than I am not sure if it is a great rotation that can win the NL West. The bullpen has two great guys in Sherrill and Broxton, surrounded with a couple of guys who had good years last year. This is a good Dodgers team, but it is also a team with holes that I am not completely confident can win the NL West.

What I Don't Like

I like the Dodgers lineup, though they still have holes that are pretty obvious. I don't know how far a team can go with Ronnie Belliard as the starting 2B, but I guess we will find out this year. Also, I can't think of anything this team has done to improve themselves in the offseason. We all love Reed Johnson and Jamey Carroll, but when those are the two major additions a team has to their roster, that team better have won the World Series last year and have no holes or be the Pittsburgh Pirates. I don't like Vincente Padilla as a 4th starter and I am not sure Kuroda is a 3rd starter either. In a division where there is good pitching at the top of the rotation the Dodgers have that, but I don't know if I feel comfortable giving Padilla 30 starts or even if Kuroda can make 30 starts at this point in his career. I don't like that an injury to the rotation could set this team back because they haven't got a lot of depth here. I also like Broxton, but I am a little nervous that he had blown some saves last year. It's not like he had a bad streak or anything and his saves weren't back-to-back, but he just would randomly blow saves during the season. He also blew saves at a rate that I feel was a little high for a guy with his stuff.

Final record

Sometimes I ask myself when looking at a team, "what has this team done to improve itself?" and I really can't find anything the Dodgers have done to make themselves a better team. They have added Reed Johnson, Jamey Carroll, and Russ Ortiz. They have lost Randy Wolf, Orlando Hudson, Jon Garland, Jim Thome, and Mark Loretta. The team has gotten worse in my mind. So while I like the lineup, I don't like some of the holes I see in the lineup, including catcher and second base. The rotation lacks the depth it had last year and I would really like to see another starter thrown in there between Billingsley and Kuroda. This team isn't good enough to withstand an injury or two. Every team struggles with injuries, but other than in the bullpen I don't think the Dodgers could handle anyone in the outfield being out for a long period of time. A weaker offense, less depth, a weaker rotation (even with improved pitching from Kershaw and Billingsley), and a tough division all adds up to a Dodgers team that doesn't do as well this year as last year.

Last year: 95-67
This year: 86-76

Milwaukee Brewers

Lineup

Any lineup with Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun in the order automatically looks like a good lineup. I like this lineup pretty well for the Brewers. They are a good example of a team that has a budget and still has managed to improve their team. We have to remember that Rickie Weeks missed a good portion of last year with an injury when he was playing very well before he got hurt, and JJ Hardy had taken a step back last year. If Gregg Zaun has another year left in him then they have upgraded the catching position as well. Everyone knows that Alcides Escobar is going to be something special so getting rid of Hardy had to happen regardless and the Brewers got Carlos Gomez back in a trade, which was a win for them. The one complaint I have about this lineup is they need to find a way to get Mat Gamel at-bats. I know Casey McGehee played well last year but there has to be a way to get Gamel in the lineup everyday. I also don't like the regression that Corey Hart seems to have made since 2007. Maybe that is the real Corey Hart though since he hasn't had numbers that good before or since then. Gomez improves the speed and defense in the outfield, Weeks is supposed to be back and healthy and the Brewers have two sluggers in Braun and Fielder with two excellent young players in Escobar and Gamel. I like this lineup.

Rotation

I don't hate this rotation for the Brewers. It is a good rotation. I expect Gallardo to go nowhere but up this year, Wolf was an incredibly great and fairly expensive signing, Davis may be average but he can also eat innings and pitched well when he was last in Milwaukee, Suppan is just mediocre, and I think it is a good competition between Bush, Suppan, and Parra for the 4th/5th starters spot. Rick Peterson has been added as the pitching coach, which should help these guys. My main problem is probably familiar to those who just read my Dodgers preview. There is a high ceiling guy in Gallardo and then a bunch of #3/#4/#5 starters. It's not a bad staff, but it is also a staff that isn't going to be winning any playoff series in my opinion. Last year was Randy Wolf's healthiest and most productive year in a long time...he also just happened to be a free agent. I think I know what that means, though I can guess. Suppan never was that great, Parra and Bush may never be that great and Doug Davis is an innings eating type guy and not much more. There is just nothing to get excited about, that's all. If I am supposed to be excited, I am not.

Bullpen

Trevor Hoffman is still a quality closer and Hawkins is a great set up guy. That's a great start for a bullpen. The Brewers also have Claudio Vargas in the bullpen to serve as the long relief guy. Todd Coffey had a great year last year, as did the LH representative in the bullpen, Mitch Stetter. If I had to rank this bullpen, I would put them in the upper middle pack of the National League. A lot like the rotation, I am not extremely excited, but this bullpen is going to hold leads when they are given them. The only thing I could say negative really is that Hoffman is old. If he doesn't pitch well or gets injured, then the bullpen is going to struggle. Hawkins is not a closer and I don't see anyone else on the roster who could fill the job either. Any team would be hurt if they lost their closer, but Hoffman is 42 years old, so there is an increased risk for him to break down in theory. Overall, this is a pretty good bullpen for the Brewers.

What I Like

I like the way the Brewers have filled their needs in the offseason without spending a bunch of money and they actually improved the team as well. I expect Carlos Gomez to have a breakout year at some point (as does many other people probably) and this could be the year. Escobar for Hardy at shortstop is shortly going to be a big upgrade and they have built a rotation with depth by adding Wolf and Davis. The Brewers bench isn't exactly deep, Jody Gerut seems to be the backup at every outfield spot and Craig Counsell is the same in the infield. Jim Edmonds is in the Brewers camp for this spring and if he could even provide something off the bench (assuming he makes the roster) then that would be a big plus. If I were the Brewers I would give Mat Gamel plenty of at-bats and use Casey Magahee as a backup, but I know that's a tough call the Brewers may not be ready to make. George Kottaras is a decent backup catcher as well. There isn't a lot of bench depth for the Brewers, but there are some decent players on the bench. I like the fact the Brewers have 5 starting pitchers that are major league quality pitchers too and the fact the bullpen has improved with LaTroy Hawkins as the set up guy.

What I Don't Like

I don't like the rotation for the Brewers just overall in regards to quality. They do have 5 major league quality pitchers but I feel like they don't have a real #2 pitcher on the roster, assuming Gallardo is a #1 pitcher of course. It's not that the rotation is bad, but the starters for the #4/#5 spot are Suppan, Bush, and Parra. Suppan is regressing, Parra really struggled last year and Dave Bush isn't anything better than the #4 starter. A team with Doug Davis as the #3 starter is a team that may not be able to win their division. I also don't really like what I saw from Corey Hart last year and the fact Carlos Gomez needs to actually get on-base at a decent rate (which he hasn't been able to do) so that he can actually use his speed to the advantage of the Brewers worries me. It's fine to be fast, but it also helps if you get on-base. Overall, there isn't too much to not like about this team. I would like to see them have some more quality depth and an upgrade in the rotation, but they have upgraded in the offseason so I guess the depth and rotation has been upgraded...just maybe not enough to win the division.

Final record

It's a purely above average team with a lineup that could win the division, but with a pitching staff that doesn't seem to be able to do better than 2nd in the NL Central. It's not exactly the fault of the Brewers front office, they have done the best they can with the pieces and money they have. I am not sure this is the team that can win the NL Central. It looks at this point like they are going to try and re-sign Prince Fielder, which is a positive move for them, but I can't help but wonder how much that will cost them. 10% of me wonders if they should trade him, but that probably wouldn't play well in Milwaukee. I like the Brewers overall, but once I look at the rotation a little bit more and see some of the potential holes in the lineup, like CF, C, and possibly RF depending on how Corey Hart plays, I can't pick them to win the division.

Last year: 80-82
This year: 84-78

Next week I will cover 4 more teams.