Kansas City, Mo. ? Not since George Brett, Hal McRae and Amos Otis were in their heyday has Kansas City wielded a batting order as potentially potent as Carlos Beltran, Mike Sweeney and Juan Gonzalez.

Batting leadoff ahead of Beltran probably will be shortstop Angel Berroa, last season’s American League rookie of the year.

Overseeing the endeavor will be Tony Pena, the reigning A.L. manager of the year.

Optimism — a word rarely used the past 15 years when discussing the Royals — seems to abound. There is a baseball buzz around town as the Royals get set to open spring training today in Surprise, Ariz.

Kansas City has gone from 100-game loser to Central Division favorite in just two years.

“Everywhere I go in Kansas City, people want to talk about the Royals,” owner David Glass said. “I was at the airport this morning and all the people out there, we had a great meeting about the Royals. You go to the restaurants, the stores, and there is an excitement in the air. People believe that we have a team that can compete.”

If they stay healthy and manage to develop a couple of young starting pitchers, the Royals believe they could build on last season’s 21-game improvement from 2002 by ending a postseason drought that began with the final out of their 1985 World Series victory.

Pitchers and catchers will hold their first workout today, with the full squad reporting Feb. 25. The main order of business will be getting the starting rotation into shape.

“I’m not concerned about our offense,” Glass said. “Last year we scored more runs than five of the eight playoff teams. But our pitching didn’t hold the opposition to few enough runs. One of my goals this year is for us to allow one run less per game. If we do that, then I predict we’ll win our division.”

Darrell May, the Royals’ pitcher of the year last season, probably will be starter No. 1. Also being counted on is Brian Anderson, a late-season addition in 2003 who was re-signed during a busy offseason that included the acquisition of workhorse reliever Scott Sullivan, veteran catcher Benito Santiago and Gonzalez.

“I don’t want to call them major concerns. But I will say the starting pitching is a question mark,” said general manager Allard Baird. “Do I think there’s enough physical ability to do the job? Yes. Are they going to be ready? That’s what we’re going to have to wait and see.”

Another key spring goal is getting closer Mike MacDougal back to the form that made him an All-Star last year. The free-spirited redhead had 24 saves and a 2.59 ERA in the first half. But he slumped to just three saves and an ERA of 6.85 in the second.

Also getting plenty of attention will be left-hander Jeremy Affeldt. If the Royals’ training staff can think of a way to keep a persistent blister from popping up again on his pitching hand, he will contend for the rotation. If not, he’s headed for the bullpen.

The Royals signed Gonzalez to a one-year free-agent contract with the hope he can recover from a couple of injury-marred seasons in Texas.

The two-time MVP played in just 82 games last year, hitting .294 with 24 homers and 70 RBIs before a calf injury ended his season. He’ll play right field and bat cleanup for the Royals, who are looking for a repeat of his last full season in Cleveland, when he hit .325 with 35 home runs and 140 RBIs.

Beltran, a five-tool player, Sweeney, a three-time All-Star first baseman, and Gonzalez offer a lot of pop in an offense that was already pretty good.