With the St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins set to kick off Opening Week on Wednesday night, the book is officially closed on Spring Training '12 around the league. While records are entirely meaningless in the spring, it's entirely possible that Kansas City's 15-16 mark in the spring is a sign of things to come.
Royals fans will certainly be hoping that Eric Hosmer's stellar spring is a sign of things to come -- and they almost certainly will be. Hosmer led the Royals with 81 spring at bats, and made the most of them. Hosmer hit .407/.462/.691 in the Cactus League, striking out only 12 times and walking 10 times while having 13 of his 33 hits go for extra bases.
Lorenzo Cain, Billy Butler and Alex Gordon all sported OPS' over 1.000 as well, with Cain hitting five homers, while Butler and Gordon added four each.
Luke Hochevar also gave Royals fans reason for optimism in the spring. Hochevar struck out 21 while walking just two in 19 innings, giving up six runs on 21 hits.
It's been a long time since the Royals have been a playoff threat, but things are certainly looking brighter in KC.
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