TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Kila Ka'aihue named Texas League Player of the Year

Published on August 25, 2008 under Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


KANSAS CITY, MO (August 25, 2008) - Kansas City Royals minor leaguer Kila Ka'aihue has been named the Class AA Texas League Player of the Year in a vote of the league managers, beat writers and play-by-play announcers. The first baseman, Ka'aihue, as well as starting pitcher Dan Cortes, were selected to the Texas League Post-Season All-Star Team.

The 24-year old Kila Ka'aihue (pronounced KEY-luh Ky-uh-HOO-ee) hit .314 (90-for-287) with a league-leading 26 home runs, 79 RBI and 64 runs scored in 91 games for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals before being promoted to Triple-A Omaha on July 30. Despite not playing for nearly a month in the Texas League, Ka'aihue remains the league home run leader by three and is tied for the league lead with 80 walks. The 6-foot-3, 220-pounder left-handed hitter posted a .463 on-base pct., .624 slugging pct. and a 1.086 OPS while playing first base for the Naturals. Since his promotion to Omaha, the Honolulu, Hawaii resident has hit .341 (29-for-85) with nine home runs and 17 RBI in 25 games entering play tonight. Ka'aihue was the Royals 15th round selection in the 2002 draft.

Cortes, 21, is 9-4 with a 3.98 ERA in 22 starts for the Naturals in 2008. His nine wins are tied for the fifth-most in the league while his 106 strikeouts rank fifth. The right-hander has turned it on since the All-Star break, going 7-1 in helping lead the Naturals into a tie in the second-half standings. The 6-foot-6, 225-pounder from Pomona, Calif., is 3-0 with a 2.67 ERA in five August starts. Cortes was acquired by Kansas City with Tyler Lumsden from the White Sox for Mike MacDougal on July 24, 2006.

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Texas League Stories from August 25, 2008


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