1. RHP Gil Meche

2. RHP Zack Greinke

3. RHP Kyle Davies

4. LHP Horacio Ramirez or RHP Luke Hochevar

5. RHP Sidney Ponson or RHP Brian Bannister

ROTATION ANALYSIS: Meche will draw his third straight Opening Day start. He and Greinke, who was 13-10 with a 3.47 ERA last season, give the Royals a solid one-two at the top of the rotation.

Davies picked up in spring training where he left off last September, when he was 4-1 with a 2.27 ERA. The last two slots in the rotation are wide open with four candidates competing, and none so far has stepped to the front.

BULLPEN:

RHP Joakim Soria (closer)

RHP Kyle Farnsworth

LHP Ron Mahay

RHP Juan Cruz

RHP Doug Waechter

RHP Robinson Tejada

RHP Joel Peralta

BULLPEN ANALYSIS: Soria, a former Rule 5 pick from the Padres, developed into an All-Star closer last season. Farnsworth, Cruz and Waechter have been added to the 'pen since last season.

LHP John Bale underwent thyroid surgery and might not be ready when the season opens, which means Mahay could be the only southpaw in the bullpen in early April. Waechter was set back in the early spring by a finger blister and was 0-2 in his first two appearances. Don't be surprised if non-roster invitee Jamey Wright forges his way onto the roster in place of Peralta. The last two spots were wide open going into the final week of spring training.

LINEUP:

1. CF Coco Crisp

2. LF David DeJesus

3. 2B Mark Teahen

4. RF Jose Guillen

5. 1B Mike Jacobs

6. DH Billy Butler

7. 3B Alex Gordon

8. C Miguel Olivo

9. SS Mike Aviles

LINEUP ANALYSIS: Teahen was hitting .500 in a dozen spring games, and his bat could be sufficient to win the second base job over Alberto Callaspo and Willie Bloomquist. Teahen, who has played mostly outfield the last two years, is still learning the nuances of second base, a position he has not played since he was a freshman in college. If Teahen is not the starting second baseman, Aviles will likely bat second and DeJesus third.

Crisp gives the Royals their first true leadoff hitter since Johnny Damon. Jacobs hit 32 home runs last season with the Marlins, while no Royal has hit that many since Jermaine Dye's 33 in 2000. The addition of Crisp and Jacobs should lead to more runs. Only Oakland and Seattle scored fewer runs than the Royals (691) last year in the American League.

RESERVES:

C John Buck

INF-OF Willie Bloomquist

INF Alberto Callaspo

INF-OF Ross Gload

RESERVES ANALYSIS: Buck has been the Royals' starting catcher the last four years, but after hitting .224 and .222 the last two seasons, he lost that job to Miguel Olivo.

The rest of the reserves will depend on who wins the second base job. Look for Teahen, Callaspo and Bloomquist to continue their second base competition into the season. C Brayan Pena, who is out of options, also could earn a roster spot. He has played other positions, including third and the outfield, in spring training.

ROOKIE WATCH: The Royals probably will start the season without a rookie, but keep a close eye on hard-throwing RHP Daniel Cortes. He will begin the season in the minors, but if he gets off to a good start and someone in the rotation falters or is injured, he could be in the majors quickly. 1B Kila Ka'aihue hit 38 home runs, 37 of them in the minors, in 2008 but will start this season with Class AAA Omaha. If the Royals need power during the season, Ka'aihue could be summoned. If the bullpen needs relief, RHP Devon Lowery, who like Ka'aihue made his big-league debut last September, could be promoted. Lowery was 1-0 with a save and a 0.00 ERA in five relief appearances before being optioned to Omaha.

MEDICAL WATCH:

LHP John Bale had thyroid surgery March 3 and is throwing off the mound, but it appears iffy whether he will be ready by the April 6 opener.