Fantasy Baseball: Is Kansas City Royals' First Baseman Eric Hosmer for Real?

On Thursday, the Kansas City Royals called up top prospect Eric Hosmer from AAA to replace struggling first baseman Kila Ka’aihue.

In most cases for standard leagues, it’s best to see how a rookie will react to his first real big league exposure.  However, this is not the case with Hosmer.

In a recent tweet, ESPN’s Buster Olney discussed how two evaluators described Hosmer.  One evaluator compared Hosmer to the Reds’ Joey Votto, while the other stated that Hosmer would have the same impact that Jason Heyward of the Braves had his rookie season of 2010.

When you look at Hosmer’s numbers, it’s hard to think otherwise.

Hosmer, the No. 8 prospect according to Baseball America, has a career .312 batting average.  This includes his ridiculous .439 batting average in 26 games at AAA in 2011.

He arrives in the big leagues when the Royals are hot and running wild.  Jeff Francoeur and Melky Cabrera have revived their careers in Kansas City and manager Ned Yost has the team very active on the base paths.  The Royals are second in the majors with 36 stolen bases on the season, which gives Hosmer more opportunities to drive in runs.

Though he may not hit for more than 20 home runs in 2011, Hosmer will be able to contribute to your RBI and batting average totals this season.

Pick up the young first baseman now, especially in keeper leagues.  Hosmer will be a solid fantasy baseball player this year and star in the future.