Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports
You heard it here first (or at least I think you did), but I see the 2013 Kansas City Royals contending in 2013. In fact, I think they’re a potential playoff team. Why am I so confident? Because the Royals have some of the best young players in the American League, and added James Shields from the Tampa Bay Rays to be a top-of-the-rotation guy. I see this team very close to contending for a AL Central title and pennant in the next few years, but this season will be the start of their run.
If you look all over this roster, almost all of their position players are home-grown. Billy Butler (pictured above) is one of the league’s best hitter. Third baseman Mike Moustakas showed signs of taking his game to the next level. First baseman Eric Hosmer also will do some damage to the baseball. There’s so many things for Royals’ fans to enjoy in 2013, and a winning ball club may be on their list as well. If this team has a lead late, they have a solid bullpen with Greg Holland to close things out.
While the favorite in the AL Central will be the Detroit Tigers, the Royals are going to be the annoying kid on the playground that no one wants to play. They’re going to out-slug teams, and will occasionally out-pitch their opponents as well. Let the good times roll in Kansas City. For the sake of baseball, it is good to see teams like the Royals have a shot.
