The following article appeared in the Topeka Capital-Journal on March 31 – you can read it here.

Baseball seasons are not a sprint. They are most definitely a marathon.

Particularly for bad teams, which the 2019 Royals will most likely be, this means that what fans are talking about at the start of the season is probably not what they’ll be talking about at the end.

That being understood, here are the Royals’ Top 5 Stories for 2019:

1) Emphasis on speed: Baseball may be a marathon, but that didn’t stop the Royals from packing their roster with sprinters. Over the past couple of decades, major league baseball has deemphasized speed, making feast-or-famine power hitters the top commodity.

The Royals, however, have chosen to zig where others zag. Embracing the true concept of “moneyball” – seizing upon undervalued commodities to create mismatches – the Royals have stocked their lineup with guys who cover a lot of ground defensively and create havoc on the basepaths. The Royals won a championship in 2015 by emphasizing defense and relief pitching. But now speed is the name of their game.

To stolen base king Whit Merrifield and blazingly fast Adalberto Mondesi, the Royals have added one of the game’s top speedsters in Billy Hamilton. As if that wasn’t enough, they are retaining the services of a “designated runner” in Terrence Gore, probably the fastest of the group.

The Royals are basically running an experiment on the rest of the league: can you do what others aren’t doing so well that it creates a mismatch? Time will tell. But if the Royals wind up losers, it won’t be because they didn’t try something creative.

2) Salvy’s absence: How much will Salvador Perez, out for the year with an arm injury, be missed? So much of what Perez brings to the team can’t be quantified. So it will be difficult to tell. But he will certainly be missed by adoring fans who love his smile, his comedy and his Salvy Splashes.

In terms of defense, the acquisition of Martin Maldonado will greatly soften the blow. Recently acquired to fill in for Perez, Maldonado has an elite arm and the other defensive skills to go with it. Whether he can immediately step in and manage the pitching staff is questionable. But Perez will be with the team for much of the year, which will help.

3) Rebuilding the bullpen: The Royals bullpen can’t be any worse than it was last season. Four guys – Blaine Boyer, Justin Grimm, Brandon Maurer and Burch Smith – combined to allow 181 hits and 141 runs over 143.2 innings. All four are gone, and the Royals are banking that a couple of newly-acquired veterans will be a tremendous upgrade.

The Royals plan to employ a “closer by committee” approach. Returner Wily Peralta was a perfect in 14 save opportunities last season. He’s joined by Brad Boxberger, who saved 32 games in Arizona last season, and 41 games back in 2015. Also new to the pen will be veteran lefty Jake Diekman.

4) The potential of Mondesi: If you watched the opening day win over Chicago, you saw his rare combination of speed and power. The 23-year-old lashed two triples to open the campaign.

In less than half a season last year, Mondesi cracked 14 homers and stole 32 bases. If he can just get on base at a high enough rate, he will be the Royals’ next superstar.

5) The resurgence of Kyle Zimmer and Bubba Starling: Remember those two names? In 2011 and 2012, the Royals selected Starling, then Zimmer, with their first picks in the amateur draft. They paid them each a lot of money, and placed upon them the hope for their future.

Injury upon injury produced perpetual setbacks for the two prospects. Starling couldn’t hit. Zimmer disappeared completely. And with a gaping hole in their farm system, the Royals couldn’t help but regret the two picks. The book appeared to be all but closed on Starling and Zimmer.

This spring, however, Zimmer performed a Lazarus-like comeback, shocking the Royals in spring camp, then dominating in every live exhibition. Now the guy who when healthy has reputedly the best “stuff” in the Royals organization, is a surprise addition to the big league club. We’ll see if he’s still healthy and effective come September, but for now, his resurgence is a great story.

Starling, meanwhile, finally appeared healthy and able to hit this spring. He’ll start the season at Triple-A, but he might eventually join Zimmer in Kansas City as another successful reclamation project. Getting something out of these two onetime prospects would provide quite a lift to the Royals’ rebuild.