<table> </table> PEORIA, Ariz. | One of the unspoken secrets of this year&#8217;s Royals camp is that the competition is more or less closed. Yes, there are two or three pitching spots that are somewhat up for grabs. But that&#8217;s really about it. There are, you figure, 13 spots on the roster for everyday players. You can count along, if you like:</p><p>In the infield, you have Alex Gordon, Tony Pe&#241;a, Mark Grudzielanek and Ross Gload &#8212; that&#8217;s four. The outfield has Jose Guillen (after his suspension), David DeJesus and Mark Teahen. Add two catchers &#8212; John Buck and Miguel Olivo (after his suspension) &#8212; and Billy Butler as a designated hitter and first baseman and that&#8217;s 10. Three spots left.</p><p>One of those spots will definitely go to Alberto Callaspo. Royals GM Dayton Moore traded for him in the offseason and calls him the team&#8217;s second baseman of the future. One of those spots will go to Joey Gathright, who had a good 2007 season and is the only viable backup outfielder who can play center. That leaves one spot, and you figure that spot will go to Esteban German, who can play a number of positions and has a career .373 on-base percentage, easily the best of anyone on the team.</p><p>And that&#8217;s it. That&#8217;s the baker&#8217;s dozen. Thanks everyone for showing up. Please be sure to collect all your stuff when you leave.</p><p>The Big 13, you will notice, does not include Justin Huber, the longtime prospect from Australia who is still only 25 years old, still swings a good bat and still can&#8217;t find his place in the big leagues. Huber came over on that 18-hour flight from Australia seven years ago as, perhaps, the greatest baseball prospect ever from Down Under. Dave Nilsson had become an Aussie hero for his play with the Milwaukee Brewers &#8212; the guy hit 105 homers in the majors and came back home at 29 to play in the Olympics &#8212; and Australian baseball was booming. Huber remembers 400 kids playing in his Little League. Huber was at the head of the class.</p><p>Well, baseball has faded in Australia. The Australian Baseball League has folded, and rumors of its return keep getting quashed. The kids aren&#8217;t playing much Little League baseball. And Huber&#8217;s once unlimited career looks to be at a crossroads.</p><p>He signed with the New York Mets as a catcher in 2001. He hit right away. Huber had a .314 average as an 18-year-old in the Appalachian League, and the next year he was already in high Class A &#8212; way ahead of schedule. Two years later, when he was 21, he hit .275 at three minor-league levels with a little power, he walked a lot, he showed some power, he was considered by many to be one of the better prospects in baseball.</p><p>That&#8217;s when former Royals general manager Allard Baird traded for him in what he, quietly, among friends, considered an absolute steal. In the last game before the deal, Huber tore the cartilage in his left knee. The Royals still went through with the deal &#8212; that&#8217;s how much they liked his potential. But he was done catching.</p><p>The Royals tried him at first base. They were hoping he would take to the position and be in the big leagues within a year. It didn&#8217;t happen. Huber struggled so much defensively that the Royals soon moved him to the outfield. Things didn&#8217;t go much smoother for him out there. It wasn&#8217;t from a lack of effort &#8212; Huber is one of those players <em>everyone</em> roots for because of how hard he works. They also like his great Australian accent. People will go up to him and ask him to say: &#8220;Foster&#8217;s: Australian for beer.&#8221;