ALBUQUERQUE — There was a time when a stint in the minor leagues would have smacked of failure for Omaha Royals outfielder Alex Gordon.

But after a half-decade of struggles and false dawns, Gordon — who was chosen by the Kansas City Royals with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2005 Major League Draft — is just happy to playing every day again.

"I'm just glad to be playing consistently," Gordon says. "It's just nice to be seeing pitches every day and getting back into a rhythm."

Gordon's 2010 season got off to a disastrous start, as he broke his thumb stealing second base in a Royals spring training game March 6 against the Texas Rangers in the Arizona Cactus League.

He returned to big-league action April 17, but his stay in the majors lasted just 12 games, in which he managed a measly .194 batting average with just one home run in 31 at-bats.

Since being optioned to Triple-A Omaha on May 2, however, Gordon is showing the potential that once made him one of the game's top prospects. The slugger has feasted on Pacific Coast League pitching, batting .367 with 10 home runs and 30 RBIs through Wednesday's game with the Albuquerque Isotopes at Isotopes Park.

Gordon went 2-5 with an RBI single in Omaha's 14-6 loss to Albuquerque on Wednesday.

Gordon, who has struggled defensively at third base in the majors — making 44 errors in 329 major-league games — has been playing left field since joining Omaha.

However, despite his hot hitting, Gordon is currently the odd man out in Kansas City's crowded outfielder corps — a group that will only get deeper when center fielder Rick Ankiel returns to the big-league club after his current rehab assignment with Omaha.

"I'm a realist," Gordon says. "I know it's a crowded outfield (in Kansas City) and we've got Ankiel here as well. And they (the other outfielders) are playing well right now, so there's no reason for them to bring me up."

Gordon hasn't always occupied such a marginal place in the Royals' pecking order. He was once viewed as a can't-miss prospect after sweeping the collegiate player-of-the-year awards after his junior season at the University of Nebraska in 2005.

Gordon also led the Huskers to the Big 12 regular-season and tournament titles in his final college season, and helped Nebraska to its third College World Series berth in school history.

Gordon made his big-league debut in 2007, and after a slow start set a Royals' rookie record with 36 doubles. His best season came in 2008, when he batted .260 with 16 home runs — second-highest on the team.

Gordon's 2009 season, however, was derailed by an April hip injury that kept him out until mid-July, after which he bounced back and forth between Kansas City and Omaha.

After failing to land an everyday spot in Kansas City's lineup this spring, Gordon is happy to bide his time in the minors and wait for his next shot in the majors.

"If it doesn't happen this year, hopefully I'll have a chance to get up there and fight for a spot next year," he says.

After taking his lumps over the past several seasons, Gordon has learned to take nothing for granted.

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