Kansas City Royals: 4 Reasons the Young Prospects Have Disappointed so Far

Heading into this season, the Kansas City Royals were counting on contributions from many of their young prospects this year.

So far, that hasn't really happened.

Outside of third baseman Mike Moustakas, many of their prospects have struggled to begin the '12 campaign.

Here are four reasons why this has taken place for KC.

Mike Montgomery's Inconsistency

Many around the Royals organization thought that left-handed pitching prospect Mike Montgomery would have been in the major leagues by now.

Unfortunately, that has yet to take place.

After a year where he lost 11 games and put together a 5.32 ERA, Montgomery has been able to turn things around some this season with a 4.57 ERA while winning his first two decisions of the new campaign.

That being said, the former first-round pick still has a long ways to go before he can make an impact with the big league club.

Too Many Injuries

The Royals knew that there would be some injuries that would occur from their top-rated farm system.

In the last several months, some of their younger players have been bitten hard by the injury bug.

Two of their big prospects, Lorenzo Cain and Salvador Perez, are both on the DL, and don't seem to be heading back to the big league team any time soon.

Couple that with pitching prospect John Lamb still sitting out from Tommy John surgery, and suddenly the near future doesn't look as bright as it once did for this franchise.

Eric Hosmer's Sophomore Slump

After a hot spring this year where he batted around .400, Eric Hosmer appeared to be well on his way to a good start to the regular season.

Unfortunately for Hosmer and the Royals, the 22-year-old star first baseman was ice cold at the dish in the month of April this year.

Heading into Tuesday's action, he his hitting an anemic .188 and has just seven extra base hits thus far.

Hosmer's offensive struggles are one of the main reasons why this current batch of prospects has disappointed through the first few weeks of the season.

Too Much Hype Surrounding the Farm System

It's safe to say that there has be an insurmountable amount of hype that has come with this Royals' wave of prospects.

We have heard it all in Kansas City.

First it was "the best wave of prospects in the last 30 years," which later prompted "our time" as this year's slogan for the Royals.

Even if several of them had made it to the majors and already been playing at a high level, there still would have been a level of disappointment, considering all the hype that has followed them over the past few years.