RotoBaller's 2017 team preview series rolls on. As part of RotoBaller's ongoing effort to help you win your leagues, we're previewing all 30 MLB teams. We're taking a look at each team's hitters, pitchers, prospects and offseason moves to help you prepare for the upcoming fantasy season.

Today, we'll cover the 2017 Kansas City Royals Team Outlook, and preview their potential fantasy baseball contributions.

Editor's note: for even more draft prep, visit our awesome 2017 fantasy baseball rankings dashboard. It has lots of in-depth staff rankings and draft strategy columns. You will find tiered rankings for every position, 2017 impact rookie rankings, AL/NL only league ranks and lots more. Bookmark the page, and win your drafts.

Offseason Moves

The Royals came up short in their bid for a repeat or a third consecutive American League pennant, finishing third in the Central with a .500 record. Until the last few days, when they signed Brandon Moss and Jason Hammel, they’d sat out free agency entirely, allowing Kendrys Morales and Edinson Volquez to sign elsewhere. Kansas City made a pair of trades, shipping closer Wade Davis to Chicago for outfielder Jorge Soler, then clearing space for Soler by trading Jarrod Dyson for Seattle for pitcher Nate Karns.

Unfortunately, of course, the biggest story of their offseason was the untimely death of Yordano Ventura in an auto accident. Ventura was still very much a work in progress in terms of both his pitching and his character, but he was an exciting player with obvious talent, and he was just 25 years old. We’ve been robbed of the chance to see him reach his full potential.

Hitting Overview 

While not the the only factor in the Royals’ failure to defend their title, injuries did take a toll on their lineup. Mike Moustakas went down with a torn ACL after just a month. Both Lorenzo Cain and Alex Gordon missed big chunks of time as well, and underachieved when they did play. Moustakas looked to be building on his 2015 breakout before the injury. Kansas City will need him to continue both outfielders to bounce back to All-Star form to have a chance at wresting control of the division back from the Indians. Gordon was always a better player in real baseball than fantasy (which he’s definitely crying himself to sleep over after signing a $72 million contract), and enters his age-33 season having missed significant time in each of the last two seasons. Cain, meanwhile, has only once surpassed 600 plate appearances. That was during his breakout in 2015. Both could certainly be useful fantasy options, but they carry plenty of risk.

Fantasy owners who drafted Eric Hosmer were likely pleased with the return, as he finally cracked the 20 HR and 100 RBI thresholds last season. Unfortunately, that came with a corresponding 30-point drop in batting average. He’s a better CI option than primary first baseman, given the other talent at the position. Catcher Salvador Perez is a workhorse, but that’s a double-edged sword, as he’s faded badly in the second half in each of the last three years. Moss should replace the pop of Morales, though he’ll almost certainly be a toxic asset in batting average. Soler still has potential, but he may not be the star many expected. In the middle infield, you’ll get stolen bases and maybe a passable average from Alcides Escobar, and probably just stolen bases from Raul Mondesi.

Pitching Overview

Danny Duffy finally broke out in his age 27 season, posting a 3.51 ERA and 1.14 WHIP while striking out over a batter per inning. He wasn’t perfect – he struggled with keeping the ball in the yard and sputtered at the end of the season – but there’s plenty of like here. Speaking of homer problems, they’ve plagued Ian Kennedy for most of his career, but he’s managed to be a serviceable fantasy option more often than not thanks to his solid strikeout and walk rates. Hammel profiles similarly, assuming his elbow is healthy. Karns had some success in 2015, but that was with the Rays regularly pulling him to avoid a third time through the order. The wild card here is rookie Matt Strahm, who flashed big stuff in the bullpen last season and may yet crack the rotation.

Strahm will probably end up in the eighth setting up Kelvin Herrera, who should immediately slide into the top 10 fantasy relievers now that he’ll be locking down games on the reg. The lone holdover from the dominant bullpen that propelled the Royals to their surprising 2014 run, Herrera had the best season of his career by basically any measure outside of ERA. Joakim Soria is the other name of interest in the bullpen, though he faltered a bit in 2016.

Prospects Overview

Mondesi is barely old enough to drink legally and ran a 31 percent strikeout rate at Triple-A last season, so expecting him to hit much at the MLB level may be a stretch in 2017. He did show some pop to go along with his blazing speed, though, and the latter makes him at least worth a look in deep and AL-only leagues. Apart from he and Strahm, there’s not much here for fantasy owners.

Conclusion

With several players on track to hit free agency next winter, 2017 is probably the last shot for the Royals’ current core. Even if they fall short, this has been one of the most successful eras in franchise history. Kansas City lacks a no-doubt fantasy stud, but the majority of their regulars should prove useful and they have some talented arms as well.