By Matt Meyers
November 29, 2006

Baseball America's Top 10 Prospects lists are based on projections of a player's long-term worth after discussions with scouting and player-development personnel. All players who haven't exceeded the major league rookie standards of 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched (without regard to service time) are eligible. Ages are as of April 1, 2007.

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TOP TEN PROSPECTS

1. Alex Gordon, 3b 2. Luke Hochevar, rhp 3. Billy Butler, of 4. Chris Lubanski, of 5. Tyler Lumsden, lhp 6. Erik Cordier, rhp 7. Mitch Maier, of 8. Justin Huber, of/1b 9. Billy Buckner, rhp 10. Brent Fisher, lhp

BEST TOOLS

Best Hitter for Average Billy Butler Best Power Hitter Alex Gordon Best Strike-Zone Discipline Alex Gordon Fastest Baserunner Derrick Robinson Best Athlete Derrick Robinson Best Fastball Erik Cordier Best Curveball Luke Hochevar Best Slider Carlos Rosa Best Changeup Danny Christensen Best Control Chris  Nicoll Best Defensive Catcher Adam Donachie Best Defensive Infielder Angel Sanchez Best Infield Arm Angel Sanchez Best Defensive Outfielder Mitch Maier Best Outfield Arm Jose Duarte

PROJECTED 2010 LINEUP

Catcher John Buck First Base Ryan Shealy Second Base Esteban German Third Base Alex Gordon Shortstop Jeff Bianchi Left Field Chris Lubanski Center Field David DeJesus Right Field Mark Teahen Designated Hitter Billy Butler No. 1 Starter Luke Hochevar No. 2 Starter Zack Greinke No. 3 Starter Tyler Lumsden No. 4 Starter Erik Cordier No. 5 Starter Billy Buckner Closer Ambiorix Burgos

TOP PROSPECTS OF THE DECADE

Year Player, Position 2006 1997 Glendon Rusch, lhp Cubs 1998 Dee Brown, of Royals 1999 Carlos Beltran, of Mets 2000 Dee Brown, of Royals 2001 Chris George, lhp Marlins 2002 Angel Berroa, ss Royals 2003 Zack Greinke, rhp Royals 2004 Zack Greinke, rhp Royals 2005 Billy Butler, of Royals 2006 Alex Gordon, 3b Royals

TOP DRAFT PICKS OF THE DECADE

Year Player, Position 2006 1997 Dan Reichert, rhp Nashua (Can-Am) 1998 Jeff Austin, rhp Out of baseball 1999 Kyle Snyder, rhp Red Sox 2000 Mike Stodolka, lhp Royals 2001 Colt Griffin, rhp Royals 2002 Zack Greinke, rhp Royals 2003 Chris Lubanski, of Royals 2004 Billy Butler, of Royals 2005 Alex Gordon, 3b Royals 2006 Luke Hochevar, rhp Royals

LARGEST BONUSES IN CLUB HISTORY

Alex Gordon, 2005 $4,000,000 Luke Hochevar, 2006 $3,500,000 Jeff Austin, 1998 $2,700,000 Mike Stodolka, 2000 $2,500,000 Zack Greinke, 2002 $2,475,000

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During the 1970s and 1980s, the Royals could stake a claim to being baseball's model franchise. Not coincidentally, their demise corresponded with John Schuerholz leaving his Kansas City general manager post to take the same job with the Braves for the 1991 season. Now the Royals hope some of that karma will come back their way.

Kansas City went to the Atlanta well in search of the cure for its problems, hiring assistant GM for baseball operations Dayton Moore to replace Allard Baird as general manager in May. Moore had been with the Braves since 1997 and was an integral part of the best player-development system of the past decade. Now the Royals are banking on Moore being able to turn the "Braves Way" into the new "Royals Way."

In his first few months on the job, Moore wasn't been subtle in his attempt to bring the Atlanta model with him to Kansas City. Among his first orders of business were bringing on J.J. Picollo as farm director and Rene Francisco as director of international scouting, after working closely with both while with the Braves.

With the addition of Francisco, who was responsible for signing the likes of Rafael Furcal, Andy Marte and Odalis Perez for Atlanta, the Royals plan to beef up their scouting operation in Latin America after it was limited by financial constraints in recent years. They're set to open up a new academy in the Dominican Republic in 2007. While their budget for signings may not increase significantly, they'll allocate more time to becoming a presence in the international market.

The other major change that comes from Atlanta's model is the addition of a seventh minor league affiliate. With the new club in the Rookie-level Appalachian League, the Royals will join the Mets as the only organizations with seven U.S. affiliates. The Braves carried at least seven and sometimes eight from 1986-2001 before trimming costs.

"Adding another rookie league club is another opportunity for players to develop, especially pitchers," Moore said. "We felt a strong need to build depth with pitching. If you have 20 pitching prospects, you might get four or five to the big leagues. Some get hurt, some get traded, some underachieve."

Depth of pitching is still a weakness for Royals system, but they began to address that this season. Just before Moore took over, they selected Luke Hochevar with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. Moore pulled off a series of trades that added promising young arms such as lefthander Tyler Lumsden and righthanders Blake Johnson, Julio Pimentel, Joselo Diaz and Daniel Cortes at the cost of Mike MacDougal, Matt Stairs and Elmer Dessens. Moore also grabbed slugger Ryan Shealy from the Rockies in a deal for Jeremy Affeldt and Denny Bautista, two more players who had no future in Kansas City.

As for position players, the Royals have arguably the best 1-2 prospect punch in third baseman Alex Gordon, Baseball America's 2006 Minor League Player of the Year, and outfielder Billy Butler. Both have bats that will play anywhere and are almost major league-ready. The only question remaining is where they'll play.

Gordon is a natural third baseman, but Mark Teahen developed into a solid everyday player in 2006, so one of them will have to move to the outfield. Long viewed as a DH waiting to happen, Butler will get the chance to establish himself as a playable right fielder.

With only one winning season in their last 14, having too many talented players at a position is a new problem for the Royals, one they're not complaining about. With Moore on board and a vision for the future, there's finally cause for hope in Kansas City.

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