According to Baseball America.com, nine (8,9,10,18,19,51,68,69,83) of the top 100 major league prospects can be found within the Kansas City Royals system. On Friday the most highly touted of them made their Major League debut.
After their starting First baseman Kila Ka’aihue (Ka-I-who-Ay) struggled to bat .200 at the big league level, it was decided a change needed to be made. Ka’aihue struck out 26 times in just 96 Plate Appearances and didn’t show the same sort of power he had shown in Spring Training.
He had been incredible while with AAA-Omaha in 2010 (24 HR, 78 RBI, 69 SO, 88 BB, .319/.463/.598) but things just didn’t translate effectively in 2011.
Bring in Hosmer!
Eric Hosmer, the number eight prospect in the game was called up to play First on Friday as Kila was sent back to Omaha. Hosmer had been absolutely destroying Pacific Coast League pitching batting .439 in 118 Plate Appearances. He had accumulated 3 homers, 15 RBI, 21 runs scored and a total of 43 hits in his short stay in triple-A here in 2011. It was time for him to see a real test.
Hosmer will not be as solid of a glove man as Ka’aihue was, but he is a better-than-serviceable First sacker.
In his debut, Friday May 6, Hosmer went 0-2 with two walks, two strikeouts, and a stolen base. Nothing too amazing, but he showed an ability to size up both big league pitchers and catchers. On Saturday he went one for three and was intentionally walked. Then on Sunday, he showed that he will be able to produce. His 6th inning RBI double was crushed to the opposite field demonstrating his gap to gap power.
While I think the Royals may miss Ka’aihue’s glove at first, which was a great improvement over Billy Butler, Hosmer is definitely the right choice of the Royals at this juncture.
Early in April we saw the Blue Jays and Orioles shoot like rockets to the top of the standings before settling back into fourth and fifth in the East. Like Baltimore and Toronto, the Indians and Royals exploded out of the gates in the Central, but they clearly are trying a bit harder to prolong their time at the top. This move to replace a struggling, young, corner infielder with a top prospect early in the season just illustrates the Royals efforts.
If the move wasn’t made this early I don’t know if I would believe the ramifications would be all too serious. While Kila had trouble settling in and was striking out at an alarming rate, he is still very good with the glove and has participated in more than a few of the Royals late-inning comeback victories this season. I believe his power numbers will jump in his time back with Omaha and we will see him again later this season.
Myers, Moustakas, Hosmer. Photo: Wichita Eagle - Kansas.com
Continued Conversation
Hosmer’s ranking as the eighth best prospect in the game puts him just one position better than another Royals infield corner option. Mike Moustakas is believed to be the Third baseman of the Royals’ future. However, he hasn’t been lighting up the PCL in the same way Hosmer had been. Moustakas is batting about twenty points below average (.261) and has shown diminished patience at the plate and almost no speed on the base-paths. While Mous is hardly a speedster on the bases, he has stolen as many as ten bases and legged out over 40 doubles in a season.
With former 12th overall prospect Alcides Escobar now playing Short and incredibly talented utility infielder Mike Aviles covering either Second or Third, there are limited options for Moustakas to move into unless he is putting up numbers like Hosmer was. A manager can always find room for a .439 hitter.
We might not see much of Moustakas until next season unless 3B Wilson Betemit or 2B Chris Getz find themselves in the midst of a mighty slump or they fall lame. But he will be coming and he will make an impact.
The other three KC prospects found in the top twenty will likely take some more seasoning before they are ready to serve.
#10 – Wil Myers, C/OF (AA) – He is playing either OF or DH in entirety. It appears the organization is moving him away from catching duties. – Currently batting .271 with 2 HR and 8 RBI in 80 plate appearances – 19 strikeouts to 9 walks.
#18 – John Lamb, LHP (AA) – Lamb is currently struggling a bit with control, which many young pitchers do as they learn secondary pitches and variations, but his 3.53 K/BB ratio from 2010 shows he’ll likely straighten out. – Currently 0-2 (four starts) with a 3.49 ERA and only 17 strikeouts to 12 walks.
#19 – Mike Montgomery, LHP (AAA) – Like Lamb, Montgomery is struggling with control and likely for the same reason. However, he is still experiencing success (2-1, 2.84 in 7 starts) in the same way he did last season when he was 7-5 with a 2.61 ERA in 20 starts. – Currently his 30 K/ 21 BB ratio must be a bit alarming to the Royals brass.
Coming into the 2011 regular season there were buckets of talk about how dominant the Royals could be in the near future given this crop of top prospects. While I favor Hosmer and Myers in the longer run, I simply haven’t seen the the signs of guaranteed impact or electricity like we saw from other top prospects like Strasburg and Heyward early in 2010.
As far as prospects go, time is all that matters. the greatest talent in the world can slip through the cracks over night. However, a franchise, a city, a division, and a game can be turned upside down as a result of just one person; one prospect.
I hope, for KC’s sake, things pan out. But I’m not going to dismiss the possibility that this 2011 prospect list might just be a hype case – temporary and tragically trivial.
NateWorthy Notes:
Check out the whole list of 2011 top prospects at BaseballAmerica.com – LINK
