BREAKOUT PLAYER -- YUNIESKY BETANCOURT
Team / / Seattle Mariners
Position / / Shortstop
Comment / / Mariners manager Mike Hargrove said Betancourt could end up being the best defensive player he has ever managed. And, remember, Hargrove wrote Omar Vizquel's name into the lineup. Yes, Betancourt, a 25-year-old Cuban refugee, has that much defensive potential: great hands, great instincts and a strong, accurate arm. He also can hit a little. He batted .289 last year in 157 major league games in what was just his second pro season. This could be the year he wins his first of many Gold Gloves.
SEATTLE MARINERS
LAST SEASON // 78-84 // FOURTH PLACE
LINEUP 2006 STATISTICS
CF Grady Sizemore .290, 134 runs, 22 SBs
RF Trot Nixon .268, 8 HRs, 52 RBIs
DH Travis Hafner .308, 42 HRs, 117 RBIs
C Victor Martinez .316, 16 HRs, 93 RBIs
1B Ryan Garko .292, 7 HRs, 45 RBIs
LF David Dellucci .292, 13 HRs, 39 RBIs
SS Jhonny Peralta .257, 13 HRs, 68 RBIs
2B Josh Barfield .280, 13 HRs, 58 RBIs
3B Andy Marte .226, 5 HRs, 23 RBIs
ROTATION
LHP C.C. Sabathia 12-11, 3.22 ERA, 172 K's
RHP Jake Westbrook 15-10, 4.17 ERA, 109 K's
LHP Cliff Lee-i 14-11, 4.40 ERA, 129 K's
LHP Jeremy Sowers 7-4, 3.57 ERA, 35 K's
RHP Paul Byrd 10-9, 4.88 ERA, 88 K's
BULLPEN
RHP Joe Borowski 3-3, 3.75 ERA, 36 saves
RHP Roberto Hernandez 0-3, 3.11 ERA, 2 saves
RHP Rafael Betancourt 3-4, 3.81 ERA, 3 saves
BREAKOUT PLAYER / / ALEX GORDON
Team / / Kansas City Royals
Position / / Third baseman
Comment / / Gordon, the No. 2 pick in the 2005 amateur draft, is so good that when he came out of the University of Nebraska, pretty much every scout had him rated ahead of Nationals standout Ryan Zimmerman. Gordon, a 23-year-old left-handed hitter with power, speed and a strong arm, will get an opportunity this season and won't disappoint.
KANSAS CITY ROYALS
LAST SEASON / / 62-100 / / FIFTH PLACE
LINEUP 2006 STATISTICS
CF David DeJesus .295, 83 runs, 6 SBs
2B Mark Grudzielanek .297, 7 HRs, 52 RBIs
RF Mark Teahen .290, 18 HRs, 69 RBIs
DH Mike Sweeney .258, 8 HRs, 33 RBIs
1B Ryan Shealy .277, 7 HRs, 37 RBIs
3B Alex Gordon 29 HRs in Double-A
LF Emil Brown .287, 15 HRs, 81 RBIs
C John Buck .245, 11 HRs, 50 RBIs
SS Tony Pena Jr. .227 in 44 ABs
ROTATION
RHP Gil Meche 11-8, 4.48 ERA, 156 K's
LHP Odalis Perez 6-8, 6.20 ERA, 81 K's
RHP Zack Greinke 1-0, 4.26 ERA in 6 1 / 3 inn.
RHP Luke Hudson-i 7-6, 5.12 ERA, 64 K's
LHP Jorge de la Rosa 5-6, 6.49 ERA, 67 K's
BULLPEN
RHP Octavio Dotel 0-0, 10.80 ERA, 0 saves
RHP David Riske 1-2, 3.89 ERA, 0 saves
RHP Ken Ray 1-1, 4.52 ERA, 5 saves
Manager / / Buddy Bell, third season with the Royals, ninth overall
Payroll / / $55 million to $60 million
X-factor / / Pitcher Zack Greinke could become a staff leader if he's truly past the personal problems that hindered him a year ago.
Best case / / Alex Gordon, one of the game's top prospects, goes right into the lineup and evokes memories of a young George Brett. ... Ryan Shealy builds on the second-half progress he made after coming over in a trade.
Worst case / / Spending $55 million on Gil Meche proves to be one of the worst ideas since the Dodgers cast the same amount toward Darren Dreifort. ... Octavio Dotel can't reclaim his closer's stuff and the bullpen is an abject failure.
i - injured
CAPSULES FROM THE SOUTH FLORIDA SUN-SENTINEL