It wasn't that long ago, but Royals third baseman Alex Gordon used to be the next big thing. In 2005, he won nearly every individual award handed out in college baseball, batting .372 with a .518 OBP and a .715 SLG during his junior year at Nebraska while also showing enough athleticism to add 23 stolen bases in 26 attempts. The Royals made him the second overall pick in the 2005 draft, after the Diamondbacks selected Justin Upton.

The following year, in his professional full-season debut, he earned Texas League Player of the Year honors at Double-A, batting .325 with a .427 OBP and a .588 SLG, while seemingly getting better as the season wore on, as in the last two months of the year, he hit .357 with 19 home runs and 67 RBI in 59 games. People were comparing him to George Brett, and it didn't seem like an exaggeration.

Fast-forward to this pre-season and Alex Gordon finds himself at a crossroads. He's truly at a point that will make or break his career. At this point he can turn out to be Clint Hurdle or George Brett, and no one has any idea how it will work out.

Last year Alex played only seven games before getting hurt and needed surgery to repair a tear in his right hip cartilage.

He was back in July, but struggled and was demoted back at Triple-A Omaha. Gordon returned on July 17th but struggled again. He did finish by hitting .280 with three homers and 11 RBI in the final month of the season, perhaps a sign that his health had returned.

In hindsight, Gordon's 590 at-bats were not really enough for him to learn his craft as a professional. The reality is that he was left to learn on the job against Major League pitching and that's not an easy thing for anyone to do.

Those 590 at-bats are equivalent to one full Major League season. Looking at the damage he was able to do against other players with similar amateur backgrounds gives you a feel for the type of stats people think he can put up. In 590 minor league at-bats Gordon hit .325 with 34 HR's, 124 RBI, 22 SB's, 133 RS, .435 OBP and .583 SLG . That type of performance is truly All-Star caliber and I believe he's still capable of attaining that lofty status.

My suggestion to all you fantasy participants is to take a flyer on him, chances are you won't have to pay much. I think you'll be happy you did.

BTW - I think the Royals will end up with a nice 1, 2 punch in Alex Gordon and Billy Butler this year. I can't say I recommend anyone else that holds a bat in their line-up, but I think you would be well serve to have these two young men in your fantasy line-up. - Paul Leume

Paul is a MLB columnist from Montreal, Canada. Paul, a one-time beat writer covering the Montreal Expos for the Montreal Gazette is a proud grandfather of 3 girls and now spends his time offering his thoughts and prospective on Major League Baseball on a variety of blogs and websites throughout Al Gore's internet.

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