After one month of baseball, the Kansas City Royals had exceeded expectations with a 14-13 record and were second in the AL Central. Only the more unexpected Cleveland Indians were better. Since then, the Royals have returned to form, going 18-32 through May and June to this point and have fallen all the way to the basement in the division. It seems to be a fan of the Royals is synonymous with dashed hopes and dreams.

Such was the case with the third baseman and occasional outfielder Alex Gordon whom Kansas City drafted second-overall in 2005. Gordon broke into the majors in 2007 but wasn’t able to establish himself as the player he was projected as. He saw limited playing time in 2009 and 2010. In his first four seasons, he hit just .244 with 45 home runs, 161 RBI and only 162 walks to 362 strikeouts. Clearly, something wasn’t right.

It appears though that Royals fans have yet another glimmer of hope. Almost halfway through 2011, Gordon seems to have figured things out. He’s hit nine homers, 43 RBI, 87 total hits, 30 walks and has a slash line of .290/.358/.480, all of which are on pace to set career records for Gordon. While it’s not helped the Royals avoid losses lately, nobody thought this was going to be the year for the boys in blue.

What Gordon needs now more than anything is to finish the season strong. He’s making a strong case for himself to represent the Royals at the MLB All-Star Game, but he’ll be competing for that honor with Jeff Francoeur and Billy Butler, both of whom have similar numbers this season. None of the three have played in an ASG before either, so the competition between the three will be interesting to watch as decisions are made.