Season preview

Spring training is coming to a close and the regular season is almost upon us. Many of the the normal powerhouse teams are very much in the World Series conversation (Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, Phillies, and Angels to name a few) with a few teams that are new to the national spotlight (mainly the Rays) but two teams that everyone should be keeping an eye on are the Kansas City Royals and the Texas Rangers.

The Royals have very quietly upgraded over the last few years with homegrown hitters like Alex Gordon (big sleeper this year), Mark Teahen, David Dejesus, Mike Aviles, and Billy Butler, some young pitching: Zack Greinke and Luke Hochevar, and several underrated newcomers via free agency and trades: Mike Jacobs, Cocoa Crisp, Jose Guillen, and Juan Cruz. This team could surprise many people this year, and while it might not end in a playoff birth, look for them to make some serious noise and be in contention late into the year.

The Rangers, in my opinion, had the smallest risk, biggest reward winter out of all 30 teams in baseball. They signed several players who only a year or two ago would have been highly sought after free agents like Andruw Jones-a former 50 home run hitter and several time gold glove winner, Derrick Turnbow-a former near 40 save closer for the Brewers who just needs a little tweaking in arm slot and delivery to get back to that sort of dominance, a former number 1 overall pick in Kris Benson, a reliable reliver in Eddie Guardado who last time around with the Rangers netted them some nice prospects, a fairly reliable relief pitcher/starter in Jimmy Gobble and the perfect mentor for Elvis Andrus-Omar Vizquel. Jones, Turnbow, Gobble, and Vizquel were all signed to Minor League contracts meaning that if that don't pan out like they should, they cost next to nothing on the Rangers salary, but could potentially pay huge dividends down the stretch. Also, the Rangers have stocked their farm system with a ton of great talent thanks to some excellent trades and drafting. Their lineup should be one of if not the strongest in the game, their defense should be at the very least average, and their bullpen should be top notch. The only thing that concerns me about them is the rotation. If that does plague them this year though, they have plenty of young guns they could and probably should bring up in 2010 like Neftali Feliz, Derek Holland, Tommy Hunter, Eric Hurley, and Matt Harrison.