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Outfielder Billy Butler is one of the game's best hitting prospects and, by most accounts, the best hitter in Royals camp. There's no doubt he's ready to hit in the big leagues, but by all accounts, he is a bad defensive player. He's a good kid who tries, cares and wants to improve, but if he were better defensively, he'd play every day for the Royals at age 20.

Third baseman Ryan Braun was the story early in Brewers camp: He hit three homers in his first two exhibition games, and in batting practice sessions he regularly tore holes in the sky. Third base was an open competition coming into camp, and if Braun were more adept defensively, he might have been the Brewers' opening day third baseman. But he has throwing issues, mostly because he rushes his motion. "He's a good athlete; I'd put him in center field,'' one GM said of Braun.

It won't be long before Butler and Braun are marvelous hitters in the major leagues, but these stories of defensive inadequacy are too familiar. The Devil Rays are trying to find a position for B.J. Upton, but it doesn't appear that it's going to be shortstop, third base or second base. "I saw him in right field this spring,'' a scout said, "and he looks like he belongs [there].''

Toronto outfielder Adam Lind, Angels second baseman Howie Kendrick and Padres third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff came to the big leagues more advanced as hitters than defenders. Two of the largest free-agent contracts in this offseason went to Alfonso Soriano and Carlos Lee, who can really hit, but do questionable work on defense. The best young power hitter in the game, Ryan Howard, is also nothing special defensively at first base. One of the best young hitting catchers in the majors, Victor Martinez, has trouble throwing.

Baseball always has had its share of hitters only, but this is the most confusing part: the game is an athletic sport -- highly underrated in that respect -- and today's players are bigger, stronger and faster than they've ever been. So, why aren't more young players better defensively? Why don't more of them run better? And why don't more of them throw better?

"Where are all the athletes?'' Phillies first base coach Davey Lopes asked last year.

"We're losing them to other sports,'' says Royals GM Dayton Moore. "In the draft, impact position players are off the board by the fifth round: we see an athlete, we take him.'' One GM said there will be only 20 shortstops -- usually great athletes -- in this June's draft. But there will be plenty of hitters.

"For some guys, their bat is two levels ahead of their defense,'' said Brewers GM Doug Melvin. "You look in the yellow pages, you see ads for batting cages and hitting instructors. But you don't see many for infield instruction.''

We're in an era of prodigious slugging, of ESPN highlights, of raising the roof after a 450-foot home run. Chicks dig the long ball, and the game has encouraged that for nearly 15 years. A generation of hitters have been raised who spend their day pumping tokens in a batting cage (or, more and more often, hitting in the cage in their back yard) rather than developing their entire game. Not as many complete players are being sent to the major leagues.

"Guys get paid to hit, and if you hit, you play,'' said Cardinals hitting coach Hal McRae. "Over the years, base running has really suffered. Defense has suffered. Baseball instincts have suffered. I think it's all the home runs, especially in the American League. Having 30 teams has changed things. Back when I came through [McRae's first year was 1968], if you couldn't play defense, you didn't play. They would send you back to the minor leagues.''

Throwing a baseball is a God-given ability, but a young player's arm won't get stronger if he doesn't throw. "You should see Carlos Gonzalez throw,'' said Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin of one of his young outfielders. "He can throw with Ichiro.'' You just don't hear that much anymore. Maybe it's because teams rarely take infield before games. Without infield, when does an outfielder practice cutting loose and throwing as hard as he can to a base? The Cardinals are one of the few teams that work on it during batting practice, but it's not the same as taking infield every day as was done in Larry Bowa's day.

"If we didn't have infield before a game because the tarp was on the field, I'd get nervous,'' said Bowa, the current Yankees third base coach who during his playing days led the National League in fielding percentage six times and won two Gold Gloves primarily as the shortstop for the Phillies. "I'd go to an indoor cage and play pepper to get the feel for the ball off the bat.''

Players just don't do that anymore. But the accent on offense seems to be changing slightly. Over the last few years, there has been a slow re-emphasis of pitching and defense rather than three-run homers. Albert Pujols has something to do with that: The best player in the game has developed into a terrific defensive first baseman, and other great young hitters are starting to take notice. Phillies second baseman Chase Utley has gone from a subpar defensive player to average at worst. Reds outfielder Adam Dunn -- once athletic enough to be recruited to play quarterback at Texas -- said this spring that he was determined to become a better defensive player. And then there is the story of Braves right fielder Jeff Francoeur.

Francoeur is a phenomenal athlete. He was a great high school football player who could have played at Clemson. He is a fabulous golfer. He was in the major leagues at age 21 as a five-tool player who could do everything, especially throw. Last year, he had a good year, hitting 29 homers with 103 RBI. But he had one stolen base, the same as Greg Maddux.

Francoeur is 23 years old and weighs 220 pounds. He can really run, but on a team that led the National League in slugging percentage in 2006, he stopped running. As he prepared for a spring training workout in late February, Francoeur said with regret, "I lost a step last year. I lost some of my athleticism. There's no reason that I shouldn't steal 20 to 25 bags. I need to be more athletic.''

How can a baseball player that young and that fast lose a step in a year? It is a question that bothered Francoeur so much that he worked out all winter with football players who were preparing for the NFL combine. He did all the work, all the drills and, not surprising given his athleticism, was able to keep up without a problem. He said he got faster, and he said he's a more explosive runner than he was last year.

"I got some of my athleticism back," Francoeur said.

Maybe this is the start of something. It is encouraging that a great athlete has determined that slugging isn't enough. The game is an athletic one. There is room to run, to throw and to play defense. Maybe others will follow. The game is great now, and the players are unbelievably talented. But it's time for some of them to become more complete.

Tim Kurkjian is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine.