Eric Hosmer Called Up by Kansas City Royals

The second wave of top Kansas City Royal prospects is starting to make its way to the major leagues.

In the first wave, we saw Aaron Crow and Jeremy Jeffress start the season with the Royals, and both have really helped stabilize the Kansas City bullpen. Now the Royals are hoping to get some help on the offensive side of the ball from one of the top prospects in baseball.

The Royals promoted 1B Eric Hosmer yesterday from Triple-A Omaha. Hosmer was hitting .439/.525/.582 with three home runs in 118 plate appearances.

This was one of those “just a matter of time” moves, as Royal first basemen have done very little this season. Combined, Royal first basemen are hitting .179/.281/.339 with four HRs in 129 PAs.

It looks like the Kila Ka’aihue ship has sailed. This was supposed to be his year, and quite frankly, he looks more and more every day like a Quadruple-A player.

Hosmer is a big, powerful, left-handed hitter who should fit in nicely in the middle of the Royals’ lineup in the future. He will be in the Royals’ lineup tonight against the Oakland A’s.

Here are some other things you should know about Eric Hosmer...

Age: 21

Bats: Left

Throws: Left

College: None. Went to American Heritage High School in Plantation, FL

Drafted: Third pick of the first round in the 2008 MLB June Draft

Minor League Stats

Year	Lev	PA	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2008	Rk	15	11	4	2	0	0	2	0	.364	.533	.545	1.079
2009	A-A+	434	377	91	19	4	6	59	3	.241	.334	.361	.695
2009	A	327	280	71	17	2	5	49	3	.254	.352	.382	.734
2009	A+	107	97	20	2	2	1	10	0	.206	.280	.299	.579
2010	A+-AA	586	520	176	43	9	20	86	14	.338	.406	.571	.977
2010	A+	375	325	115	29	6	7	51	11	.354	.429	.545	.974
2010	AA	211	195	61	14	3	13	35	3	.313	.365	.615	.980
2011	AAA	118	98	43	5	0	3	15	3	.439	.525	.582	1.107
4 Seasons		1153	1006	314	69	13	29	162	20	.312	.393	.493	.886
A+ (2 seasons)	A+	482	422	135	31	8	8	61	11	.320	.396	.488	.884
A (1 season)	A	327	280	71	17	2	5	49	3	.254	.352	.382	.734
AA (1 season)	AA	211	195	61	14	3	13	35	3	.313	.365	.615	.980
Rk (1 season)	Rk	15	11	4	2	0	0	2	0	.364	.533	.545	1.079
AAA (1 season)	AAA	118	98	43	5	0	3	15	3	.439	.525	.582	1.107

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/7/2011.

Keith Law Ranking and Analysis

Ranking: No. 5 out of 100 top prospects in baseball in 2011

Analysis: “Hosmer’s 2009 season was a lost year between vision problems and a broken bone in his hand, but with both issues corrected, he took off in 2010, launching himself to Double-A and reestablishing himself as an elite prospect on both sides of the ball.

At the plate, Hosmer has great hip rotation and is strong enough to drive balls out of the zone, especially when he can get his arms extended on pitches down. He’s always had strong pitch recognition, even in his off year in 2009, and has shown both patience and high contact rates that allow him to project to get on base while also hitting for power.

He’s a good athlete with a 60 arm or better, and could handle right field if moved there, but the Royals have him locked in at first for the long haul. In a loaded system, he’s the top dog right now.”