Up here in Seattle yesterday, our ESPN affiliate did a segment about which players were the most important to Seattle in 2012, so it got me to thinking about KC athletes as well. I don't follow MLS, so with just Chiefs and Royals in mind, who do you have? Here's my top 5: 1. Matt Cassel - I feel that if the dude who shares my last name can get it figured out, that means the Chiefs are winning more ball games and turning some of those Succop 3s into Bowe 6s. He did lose however his biggest playmaker just 5 quarters into 2011, which leads me to..... 2. Jamaal Charles - I understand that even with him breaking in 2009, the Chiefs were sitll a losing team, but I feel that the gameplan going into 2011 was centered around him, so once he went down, the playbook became more shorter and more bland, leading to a higher probability factor. 3. Eric Hosmer - I think if KC is to get back on the baseball map with the current corp they have, Hosmer has to be the center of it. With Gordon finally breaking out last year, it does still hurt that his bat had to move to LF. While his numbers were studly, they'd be even better if he were the 3B still. But then you'd have to move The Mous. If Hosmer can be penciled in as the #3 hitter for the next 5-7 years, I think your corp stays a little stronger, especially if Gordon is leading off. Let him steal 10-15, cut down on the strikeouts, and suddenly a guy like Butler might have a chance to drive in 100. 4. Tamba Hali - The quickest way to disrupt an opposing offense's passing attack is to constantly be in the QB's face. Hali is such a stud, period, that I feel I don't need to type much. 5. Billy Butler - While the power never truly developed to the 25+ some said he would have, he's maintained a nice average while still giving you somewhere around 20 HRs. As the 4 hitter, He provides a good average, decent BB:K rate, especially while the 3 in front of him project to be the best he's ever had in his career. Having him behind Hosmer really takes the pressure off of Moustakas who can probably start the year anywhere from 5th-7th.