AL Dark Horse?

The Kansas City Royals are one the teams making the biggest noise this preseason. While its difficult to accurately gauge what a team or a player will look like when the games begin to matter, several Royals have made their mark in Spring Training.

Out of both the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues, a pair of Royals outfielders claim the first and third places with the best average. Twenty-five year old, Lorenzo Cain leads all players with a .431 AVG and the five-year veteran, Alex Gordon is third at .426. The outfield is not the only place Royals have been successful. Last season, Eric Hosmer proved to Kansas City that he is the first baseman of the future. This preseason, he is  picking up where he left off. Hosmer leads all players with 22 RBI's, three more than the next closest player. 

To quote Buster Olney's twitter, "If there was a Cy Young Award for spring training, this guy would win it --[insert link of a picture of Luis Mendoza here]-- and he's with the Kansas City Royals."   Mendoza has been the most impressive pitcher for any team this preseason, winning a league-high 4 games and a sporting a league-low 0.54 ERA. Due to his dominant performances, he has been granted one of the two final spots in the Royals rotation.

While it is preseason, Kansas City possesses promising young pieces that can make an impact in the season if they can remain healthy. Look for the Royals to make a strong push for one of the two Wild Card spots.