Chris George

It will be five years since George was selected for the Futures Game, nicknamed “Sandy” by Olympic coach Tommy Lasorda and given a red carpet to the Kansas City rotation. Since then, George has struggled with control, leaving his low-90s fastball up and out over the plate. Another sub par season well underway in 2004, George somehow found four-to-six miles-per-hour on his fastball, making his offspeed stuff less mouth-watering. He wasn’t able to sustain his success in a September jump back to Kansas City, which keeps his future in doubt.

George's nine wins led Kansas City for much of the season, but a 7.11 ERA shows they were hardly his wins alone. A good, young lefty with a fastball in the 90s, George has troubles pitching up in the strike zone and pays dearly for it. Not a lock for a job this spring, George will need to keep the ball down and throw strikes to start the season in Kansas City.

A quick road through the minors gave way to a massive yield sign in the majors. The top prospect was 0-4 last season, got hurt, went to Omaha on a rehab assignment, pitched poorly there, too, and never made it back to Kansas City. He can throw hard and scouts think a lot of him; he's just not getting it done. Just 23, he can still be a long-term member of the Royal rotation beginning in 2003, depending on his spring effort.