Royals' third shot at Tomlin

Keep an eye on Indians starter Josh Tomlin tonight and this week. Tomlin, who has looked extremely effective in his seven starts this season (4-1), faces the Kansas City Royals for the third time Monday night. The previous two meetings, the Royals failed to string together hits and save for a pair of solo homers in game two put little pressure on Tomlin. Now with a new and potent lefty bat in the lineup in Eric Hosmer, we'll see if the third time is the charm for Kansas City. Tomlin's gotten by while surrendering a hefty eight home runs in 46 2/3 innings so far this season. If Tomlin does get past KC, he'll face a tough lineup in the Cincinnati Reds over the weekend.

Fantasy Impact: We'll see if the Royals can better game plan for Tomlin after seeing him twice in the span of six days back in late April. Tomlin's peripheral numbers are underwhelming. He's striking out just five batters per nine innings and the longball could eventually become a problem - that is if at team can produce some more hits against him. Tomlin has sparkled, allowing just 1.7 walks per nine innings and six hits per nine. The hits numbers are atypical for a guy who doesn't strike people out. Tomlin has pitched like a fantasy ace over the early part of this season. We'll see if the team that's seen him the most can actually expose him. Otherwise, we might be witnessing the emergence one of those few guys that can really pitch and get by without much help from strikeouts.

Starting Farnsworth

The Kansas City Royals will be trying Kyle Farnsworth out as a starter in spring training. Farnsworth hasn't thrown regularly in a rotation since his first two seasons with the Cubs. He's turning 34 this season and hasn't reached 100 innings at the big league level since his rookie season.

Fantasy Impact: He's a flier as a starter, at best. Farnsworth actually has a decent shot of sticking in the rotation - not because he's good enough to do it, but because the Royals' starting pitching is lacking enough to consider him. Farnsworth's mid-4 ERA the past several seasons is nothing impressive, but he can help with strikeout totals thanks to a career ratio of better than one per inning. He'll still be an afterthought in most fantasy leagues and is better left undrafted.

Soria sent to DL

Joakim Soria finds himself on the DL with his shoulder issues, as the Royals announce their bullpen-by-committee approach will continue. Juan Cruz is the most obvious choice to stand in for Soria for the next two weeks.

Fantasy Impact: Cruz has the stuff to be a closer, and his 1.88 ERA and 1.12 WHIP should entice owners needing stopgap options for their bullpen. Soria's shoulder is a definite concern and should be monitored closely. He's an elite closer when healthy, so if he's dropped on the waiver wire, pick him up for a DL slot.

Sabathia money

CC Sabathia earned every bit of his big-money contract with the Yankees today, rolling into the eighth inning against Kansas City with six strikeouts and no earned runs. The Yankees used his stellar performance for a comfortable 6-1 win.

Sabathia is owed $161-million over the next seven seasons in Yankee pinstripes. He started 35 games for the Indians and Brewers last season, so if he keeps up that pace for the next seven years, Sabathia will earn $657,142.86 each time he climbs the hill.

Snowed Out

Chicagoans woke up to snow on the ground Monday morning. Therefore, no baseball between the White Sox and Royals on opening day. They'll play the opener Tuesday.

Soria gets sorted

Royals closer Joakim Soria made good in his last spring training outing, firing a perfect ninth inning in a 5-4 win over Texas. That's a lot better than his last two appearances when he gave up 5 runs in 1 2/3 innings. The Royals attributed his problems to illness, lack of normalcy due to pitching in the World Baseball Classic and a minor groin issue.

Fantasy Impact: Soria is one of the handful of elite closers in the game. His numbers are off the charts, and if the Royals approach a .500 record in 2009, he'll draw comparisons to Mariano Rivera, Jonathan Papelbon, Joe Nathan and Brad Lidge.

We got next

John Shea with The San Francisco Chronicle digs up a little blurb on something I've been thinking about for the past week or so: which MLB team has the best chance of becoming this year's Tampa Bay Rays? Along with the obvious Cincinnati Reds pick, Shea also goes with the Kansas City Royals and the Baltimore Orioles. I like his KC pick best.

Royals: They're optimistic after an 18-6 September, their best month since July 1994. They improved their win total three straight years. Starter Kyle Davies, 25, was 4-1 with a 2.27 ERA in the final month, closer Joakim Soria, 24, earned 42 saves (more than anyone in the AL except Francisco Rodriguez) with a 1.60 ERA and third baseman Alex Gordon, 25, and DH-first baseman Billy Butler, 22, may be ready to break out.

I'm in complete agreement with that assessment, but I think the key for the Royals will be a healthy and productive Gil Meche.

I do not, however, agree with his Orioles pick. Baltimore not only has no shot at the postseason, they also have no chance to finish higher than fourth in the AL East.

Royals sign Juan Cruz

Free agent pitcher Juan Cruz landed with the Kansas City Royals, signing a two-year, $6 million contract. He'll pitch in the setup role just like he did in Arizona.

Cruz, 30, spent the last three years with Arizona. He was 4-0 last season with a 2.61 ERA in 57 appearances. He struck out 71 batters last season in 51 2/3 innings while allowing 34 hits and 31 walks.

The Royals cleared space for Cruz on their 40-man roster by designating veteran utilityman Esteban German for assignment. The move provides the club with 10 days to trade or release German.

Cruz, a right-hander, is an eight-year veteran who is 29-31 with a 4.00 ERA in 297 career games with four clubs. He has 38 career starts but spent the last two seasons pitching exclusively in relief.

Cruz's fantasy value probably drops from last year to this year. He's a power pitcher, so he'll get strikeouts, but he won't have much of a chance for saves with Joakim Soria firmly entrenched as the Royals closer. Cruz might find less of an opportunity for holds as well, as Kansas City won just 75 games last year while Arizona won 82. You can't hold leads if you don't have them.

Teahen at second

This article is mostly about Ryan Shealy and Ross Gload, who are competing for mere roster spots with the Royals at this time. More interesting, however, is where Mark Teahen was playing.

The two starting intrasquad lineups each included two designated hitters in a 10-player format:

CF Coco Crisp, SS Mike Aviles, LF David DeJesus, DH Ross Gload, 1B Billy Butler, C John Buck, 2B Willie Bloomquist, 3B Esteban German, RF Derrick Robinson and DH John Suomi.

CF Mitch Maier, SS Tony Peña, 1B Mike Jacobs, DH Ryan Shealy, 3B Alex Gordon, C Miguel Olivo, 2B Mark Teahen, DH Alberto Callaspo, LF Chris Lubanski and RF José Duarte.

Rumored to play some at second base this year, Teahen owners in deeper keeper formats may want to pay attention.

Fantasy Impact: Teahen's been more of an afterthought in recent fantasy seasons. If he was in your starting lineup, you were likely looking for a better alternative. With this look at second, his fantasy value becomes intriguing. Teahen at second is much more valuable than Teahen in the outfield or at the corner. He'd become an instant rival for Orlando Hudson in terms of one of the higher end options at the position.

Jacobs dealt to KC

The Marlins traded slugging first baseman Mike Jacobs to Kansas City for right-handed reliever Leo Nunez. Jacobs can rip, but can he make contact?

Jacobs, 28, set careers highs with 32 homers and 93 RBIs last season, but his on-base percentage was just .299 and he struck out 119 times in 447 at-bats.

Jacobs also could have received a big raise in salary arbitration, an unpalatable scenario for the spendthrift Marlins, who must deal with a whopping 17 arbitration-eligible players this winter.

So much for that $40 million bubble the Marlins will spend toward this offseason. They'll probably throw a fair amount of it at players they already have on the roster.

As for Jacobs, he gives the Royals what Billy Butler couldn't: a lot of pop. He won't give them or your fantasy team much else. Treat Nunez as a middle reliever. He doesn't project as anything else at this time.