1. RHP Gil Meche

2. RHP Zack Greinke

3. RHP Kyle Davies

4. RHP Sidney Ponson (inactive as of opening day)

5. LHP Horacio Ramirez

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.

Ponson, a veteran the Royals did not sign until March 17, will start the home opener on April 10 against the Yankees. However, he may not be added to big-league roster until that day, giving the Royals the luxury of opening the season with another position player. Ramirez will start April 12 against the Yankees, but the fifth slot does not come around again to April 25, so he will also be used out of the bullpen in the first month.

RHP Luke Hochevar, the first overall pick in the 2006 draft, and RHP Brian Bannister, who was 12-9 with a 3.87 ERA as a rookie in 2007, but was 9-16 with a 5.76 ERA in 2008, were optioned to Class AAA Omaha.

BULLPEN:

RHP Joakim Soria (closer)

RHP Kyle Farnsworth

LHP Ron Mahay

RHP Juan Cruz

RHP Doug Waechter

RHP Robinson Tejada

RHP Jamey Wright

BULLPEN ANALYSIS: Soria gave up five runs and eight hits in 1 2/3 innings in his final two Arizona games, but the Royals claim they are not concerned about the All-Star closer. Farnsworth, Cruz and Waechter have been added to the 'pen since last season.

LHP John Bale underwent thyroid surgery, and he won't be ready when the season opens, which means Mahay could be the only southpaw in the bullpen in early April.

Wright, who came to camp as a non-roster invitee, will be the Royals' long man. He made 75 relief appearances last year for the Rangers.

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: While Teahen likely will be the opening-day second baseman and bat third, he won't be there every day. When Willie Bloomquist or Alberto Callaspo start at second, they will bat ninth. In that lineup, Aviles would move to second in the batting order, while DeJesus would hit third. 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.

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

C/INF/OF Brayan Pena

INF Tony Pena Jr.

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.

Brayan Pena is a third catcher, but he can also play third base, first base and left. He is out of minor league options. The Royals will Tony Pena Jr. for a few extra days, which might make it easier for him to clear waivers and be outrighted to Class AAA Omaha.

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 (thyroid surgery on March 3) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 27. When he regains his strength and stamina, he will be activated, but he likely will pitch at least one or two games on a minor league rehab assignment first.