Ken Harvey

Harvey's horrible 2005 season began with the Royals choosing to keep Calvin Pickering on the roster rather than their 2004 All-Star representative. He smoked Triple-A pitching while Pickering failed miserably. By the end of April, Harvey was back in the majors and continued his hot hitting. Two weeks later, his back tightened up. Harvey tried to play through the pain but wasn't effective. To add to his problems, he had surgery to repair a tear of his Achilles' tendon in December and may miss most of 2006. He wasn't offered a contract by the Royals, so he'll be a free agent when healthy.

Harvey took a .375 batting average into June and became the Royals’ lone representative at the All-Star game. Shoulder problems and a bruised forearm gnawed at him in mid-June and sent him spiraling. He hit .235 in July, .254 in August and .205 in September as numerous aches and pains haunted him. Harvey’s a chunky guy, which puts stress on his lower body. When healthy, Harvey is an All-Star caliber hitter capable of hitting 20-plus home runs and hitting over .350. Health, however, is a big issue and one he will have to overcome in 2005 to continue to be a major cog in the Royals’ plans.

Harvey's emergence came at a perfect time, allowing him to play a nice first base when Mike Sweeney couldn't. He'll need to improve his walk totals and power numbers to maintain that job, and the signing of Matt Stairs clouds that possibility. He has the ability, certainly, but struggled at times. Right-handers gave him some trouble, keeping him to a .234 average.

If not for an eye-popping MVP campaign in the Arizona Fall League, Harvey might have wished 2002 had never happened. He improved his home-run totals, but his average dropped to .277 and his strikeout totals ballooned to 87. But, in the AFL, he hit over .400 with power and played a nice first base. The Royals have a lot of options at designated hitter, but none are better than this huge specimen (6-foot, 4-inches).