While the Baltimore Orioles are an intriguing choice for surprising team next year, the Kansas City Royals will have a Tampa Bay Rays-like turn-around next season and the 5+ years after that. Being such a bad team for so many years has allowed Dayton Moore and the KC front office to completely re-stock the farm system to the point where they will be able to continually push quality players year after year to create, finally, a quality team in Kansas City.
Starting with Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, and Alex Gordon, the Royals are already starting to churn out these top-notch players. Gordon, the much hyped second overall draft pick, has finally broken out, with a .297 batting average and an .858 OPS this season. Hosmer and Moustakas, who will be relied on to man the infield corners for the next decade, are breaking into the big leagues this season, with Hosmer starting out hot and coming back down to earth as the season's gone on, and Moustakas plain struggling through the entire season. But with time and experience, these two are bound to become longtime stars for Kansas City. Outfielder Wil Myers is another top prospect, although he and SS Christian Colon are seen as being a few years away from contributing at the Major League level. But within the next few years, expect a talented and exciting core of position players to lead the Royals back from obscurity.
But where the Royals are really going to be a powerhouse is on the mound. The way the Rays have churned out pitcher after pitcher is the blueprint the Royals will inevitably follow, with guys like Danny Duffy, Mike Montgomery, John Lamb, and Chris Dwyer on their way to stardom. Joakim Soria and Aaron Crow are a dominant tandem at the back of the bullpen already.
The best part about all of this is the fact that the Royals play in one of the weakest divisions in all of baseball. As talented as the Orioles are, with the Red Sox and Yankees playing in their division, they are going to have to be unbelievably good to contend, whereas 90 or so wins for the Royals could mean a potential playoff spot. With all this talent as a result of years of ineptitude starting to develop, the Kansas City Royals are bound to be serious contenders within the next few years, as I could see a jump to .500 next year before the subsequent jump to contention in the years after that.
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