The Kings have been in the post-season for 16 of the 24 years that SLOP has existed. Last year, they claimed their 3rd title with probably their weakest roster ever. Still, the steady Kings are back to defend it.
In a normal year, there's just no way this team would be good enough to contend for a pennant, but in these parity-striken days, it's very possible they'll be fine.
It's basically the same club as last year, sans
P Rick Knight who is still a free agent and could very well be brought back into the fold before the start of the year. Offensively,
Marco Espada and aging vet
Johnny Ressano are back to anchor this team's offense.
Hurlers
Tommy Schwarz and
Dave Cobb aren't world beaters, but young effective pitchers backed by one of the best bullpens in the business.
A lot of their potential success will be dependent on whether players produce a year older, but provided they do, it's hard to think the Kings will finish anywhere outside of the Top 3 given they haven't done so in over 10 years.