2001 Record: 65-97, 5th in AL Central 2001 Results | 2002 Schedule | 2002 Roster | 2001 Statistics: Batting | Pitching Offense (AL rank) Defense (AL rank) 729 runs (10th) Home: 382 runs (10th) Road: 347 (12th) 858 runs allowed (11th) Home: 5.13 ERA (13th) Road: 4.58 ERA (8th) 2001 Stats Leaders   Average: Carlos Beltran, .306 Runs: Beltran, 106 On-base pct: Sweeney, .374 Stolen bases: Beltran, 31 Wins: Jeff Suppan, 10 Saves: Roberto Hernandez, 28 Home runs: Mike Sweeney, 29 RBI: Beltran, 101 Slugging pct.: Sweeney, .542 OPS: Sweeney, 916 ERA: Suppan, 4.37 Strikeouts: Suppan, 120

ESPN's Take Q: How can the Royals win with such a no-name rotation? Jeff Suppan heads a Royals' pitching staff that has shown some promise but not enough to rival the White Sox, Twins or Indians. Chris George leads a group of young arms, but they need time to develop. The Royals will again have problems closing out games. The bullpen is a question mark; Tony Muser does not have the luxury of feeling good about giving the ball to his pen in the seventh inning. Lack of run production from the offense will put too much pressure on their up-and-coming staff. The future is bright with some nice arms in the developmental stages, but for now the Royals are still far away from competing for the AL Central title. -- Tom Candiotti  ESPN.com's Crystal Ball Sorry, Royals fans. Mike Sweeney goes to the Giants at the trading deadline. In 5x5 leagues, Carlos Beltran's fantasy numbers shone in '01. According to ESPN's Player Rater, he was the 33rd best player. And last season's numbers (24 HR, 101 RBI, 106 R, 31 SB, .306 BA) were nearly identical to his '99 rookie campaign, suggesting '00 was just a bad slump. Be weary of closer Roberto Hernandez. He has allowed 16 HRs his past 131 IP. His ERA also jumped over 4.00 for just the second time in nine years. You have to wonder when the 37-year old is finally going to hit the wall. Don't let it happen on your dime. -- Brandon Funston Batting order Chuck Knoblauch, LF Neifi Perez, SS Carlos Beltran, CF Mike Sweeney, 1B Dee Brown, DH Joe Randa, 3B Tucker / Quinn, RF Brent Mayne, C Carlos Febles, 2B Bench Luis Alicea, Angel Berroa, Dave McCarty, Raul Ibanez, Brandon Berger Rotation Jeff Suppan, Chad Durbin, Paul Byrd, Darrell May, Chris George Bullpen Roberto Hernandez, Jason Grimsley, Cory Bailey, Doug Henry, Blake Stein Ken Harvey, 1B Hit a combined .350 at Class A and Double-A last year. Not considered a good fielder, but could crack the majors as a DH.

Catcher: Brent Mayne Came back to Earth after leaving Coors Field last season, hitting just .241 after coming to Kansas City. Made just three errors behind the plate and is known to handle young pitchers well. AL Position Ranking: 13th First Base: Mike Sweeney Hit 29 homers for the second straight season and drove in 99 runs while banging out 46 doubles. Has 345 RBI in the last three seasons and should be due for another big year. AL Position Ranking: 5th Second Base: Carlos Febles Missed six weeks and hit just .200 before being sent to the minors on July 1. Febles returned in August and hit eight homers before the season was over. He also registered 224 assists in just 79 big league games, showing nice range. AL Position Ranking: 14th Third Base: Joe Randa Drove in more than 80 runs for the third straight year and continued to play solid defense. However, after hitting .300 previous two years, dropped to .253. AL Position Ranking: 9th Shortstop: Neifi Perez He excels defensively (he won the 2000 NL Gold Glove), registering 408 assists last season, but fell hard at the plate after coming to K.C. Batted just .241 with one homer after leaving Coors Field. AL Position Ranking: 10th Left Field: Chuck Knoblauch Had career-lows in average (.250) and OBP (.339) last season while struggling to adjust in left field. He did steal 38 bases, though, and if he gets on base in front of Beltran and Sweeney he should score a fair amount of runs. AL Position Ranking: 14th Center Field: Carlos Beltran Follwed a disappointing 2000 season with a big year in 2001. Hit 20 homers and drove in 100 runs for the second time in three years and batted a whopping .387 with runners in scoring position. Also made just five errors in over 400 chances in center field with Gold Glove-caliber range. AL Position Ranking: 3rd Right Field: Michael Tucker / Mark Quinn Tucker improved after being traded to the Cubs last season but struggled all year against lefites, hitting just .211 against them, and chipped in nine outfield assists. Quinn had a disappointing year in 2001, at one point going 214 plate appearances without a walk and eventually being benched in September for lack of defensive hustle. AL Position Ranking: 13th Designated Hitter: Dee Brown Disappointed in his rookie season last year, hitting just .245 with seven home runs. Became the regular left fielder after Jermaine Dye was traded in late July, but managed just 12 exra-base hits the rest of the way. AL Position Ranking: 14th No. 1 Starter: Jeff Suppan Held right-handed hitters to a .235 average in just over 218 innings last year while leading the team with 10 wins. He averaged over 104 pitches per start last season and has reached 200 innings three straight years, so he can carry a heavy workload. AL Ranking among starters: 26th No. 2 Starter: Dan Reichert Will get a full-time shot in the rotation this year after starting a career-high 19 games in 2001. Had the second-highest ERA among Royals starters, and struggles with his control could land him back in the bullpen. AL Ranking among starters: 50th No. 3 Starter: Paul Byrd Won five straight starts in late July and August after coming over in a trade from Philadelphia. Had one of the biggest home-to-road ERA differentials in the majors last season, posting a 6.89 mark at home compared to 2.40 on the road. AL Ranking among starters: 54th No. 4 Starter: Darrell May Has been pitching in Japan since 1998 and was previously in the majors in 1997 when he made 29 appearances for Anaheim. Is 2-2 in his major-league career with a 6.31 ERA in 41 total games but became one of Japan's top strikeout pitchers (168 in 160 innings). AL Ranking among starters: 51st Bullpen: Jason Grimsley, Cory Bailey, Doug Henry, Blake Stein Righties Grimsley and Bailey led the team in ERA from their middle relief spots last season and should shoulder big loads again. Henry struggled throughout the 2001 season while Stein pitched better in relief than in the rotation. No viable left-handed option exists, however. AL Position Ranking: 11th Closer: Roberto Hernandez Saved 28 games and blew six saves, but he still throws hard and should once again be useful in one-inning stints. Held righties to a .230 average but lefties stung him for .299 mark. AL Position Ranking: 11th

Overall Power Index Rankings (AL rank):
Position: 10.56 (12th) | Pitching: 14.33 (14th)

-- Rico Longoria