Five years. In five years, the Kansas City Royals will have a World Series championship. I am sure of it. You all can laugh it up now, but a new era of success is just on the horizon. The White Sox are aging. Sure the Twins will have Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Francisco Liriano and Matt Garza, but not much else (Johan Santana will be an Angel, Met, Yankee or Red Sox by then). And the Tigers will still have Jeremy Bonderman, Justin Verlander and Andrew Miller, but now offense. The Indians are the only other team I see as a true threat to the Royals over the next few years. They have young talented pitchers and position players. But the Royals could be awesome, and very soon. They already have some pieces of the nucleus in place. Mark Teahen got shifted to right field, but is very athletic and making the shift very smoothly. Not to mention he is capable of being a 25-30 home run .300 hitter. Also David DeJesus has been on a tear this season, currently batting over .340 with 3 home runs. Not bad for a leadoff hitter. After three years of underachieving, John Buck has played with a fervor this season, batting over .400 thus far. It helps when you actually have competition breathing down your neck. Ryan Shealy has struggled so far this season, but is similar to Teahen in that he is capable of 25-30 homers. Tony Pena Jr. might not seem to be hitting well, but when he has, it has been dynamic with four triples already. And he has been simply electric in the field at shortstop. And of course there is Alex Gordon. Gordon has struggled mightily early this season, but seems to finally be turning a corner. He has begun to show some power, and with more experience more consistency will come. Gordon could project to a .320/40/120 kind of player. He has that kind of talent. Then you look in the minors, and see that more talent is just bursting to show what they can do on the big stage. Billy Butler is considered by many to be the best hitter in the minors. It is unknown whether he will be a left fielder or a designated hitter, but when he gets up to the majors, he will hit. He has the potential to be a batting chamion and a home run king. And then there is still Chris Lubanski, a solid all around player, Mitch Maier, a versatile outfielder with a good bat, and Jeff Bianchi, a shortstop with loads of potential. In 2008, I see a potential Royals lineup looking like this: 1. DeJesus 2. Lubanski 3. Gordon 4. Butler 5. Teahen 6. Shealy 7. Buck 8. Grudzielanek 9. Pena Jr. It's no guarantee that Mark Grudzielanek will still be around, but he plays a great second base, and wouldn't need to provide much fire power with all the other mashers on offense. Now of course comes the pitching. Everybody has been mocking the Royals for the acquisition of Gil Meche, paying him $55 million. But over the first month, he has looked good, posting a 2.22 ERA. That seems like ace numbers to me. Zack Greinke looked good his first couple of starts, but has been beaten up a bit over the last couple. However, he has regained his confidence and still has great stuff, so I expect him to become a rock in the rotation. Over the last year, General Manager Dayton Moore has been acquiring pitchers by the dozens, and they have been thrown into the fire, seeing if any emerge. It looks promising for one of those players, Jorge De La Rosa. The southpaw has had a couple of outstanding starts this season, and if he can maintain that control, he could become a very good starter. Down in the minors, there is last years' number one overall pick, Luke Hochever. Hochever is currently in AA, but if the pitching woes continue, he may find himself in the majors by season's end. Hochever has the look of an ace, and could be the stud pitcher the Royals have been looking for. Throw in potential studs Tyler Lumsden and Billy Buckner, and the Royals appear to have some good ones on the way up. So, in 2008 I project the Royals rotation to look like this: 1. Meche 2. Hochever 3. Greinke 4. De La Rosa 5. Lumsden. That would be two lefties at the back of the rotation, so it might look different. But that could be a very strong rotation. Mixed with a solid bullpen and the potential juggernaut on offense, this is a team that looks like World Series contenders. So you just wait baseball world. The Royals might be a laughingstock now, but they will rule the baseball world soon.