Kansas City Royals Call Up Top Prospect Eric Hosmer

According to sources, the Royals have called up top prospect Eric Hosmer.

In a corresponding move, the Royals have sent Kila Ka'aihue down to Triple-A.

Baseball America considered Hosmer to be the No. 8 prospect in baseball entering the season.

Hosmer has done more than justify that ranking at Triple-A this year. He put up a triple slash line of .439/.525/.582. In addition to this, Hosmer hit three home runs and stole three bases.

Hosmer obviously won't put up numbers like this in the majors, but he could have a solid year. Don't be surprised if Hosmer puts up a .280/.350/.500 line with 15 home runs and 10 stolen bases.

It seemed as if the Royals were going to try to hold off on promoting Hosmer until June 1st to avoid having him qualify to Super-Two status. However, with Ka'aihue's struggles and Hosmer's absolute dominance of minor league pitching, the team felt it was time to make the move.

One of the first questions that comes to mind about this decision is in regard to when the Royals will look to call up some of their other young top prospects.

The Royals are currently in second place in the AL Central, despite the fact that they have failed to get production from almost every infield position and don't have a great pitching staff.

Both Danny Duffy and Mike Montgomery have been dominant at Triple-A this year. Either of them would be a good replacement for Kyle Davies or Jeff Francis. It is also possible that the Royals would also call up Mike Moustakas later on in the year. 

This team has a chance to remain competitive for the whole season if they bring up some of their best prospects. With this call up, the team has shown that they are not too concerned about Super-Two status for their top prospects.