Spring Training Report #3
Published on March 3, 2011 under Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release
SURPRISE, AZ - The 1985 season is the gold standard season in the history of the Kansas City Royals. Led by one of Hall of Famer George Brett's best seasons, the Royals won 91 games and defeated the St. Louis Cardinals to capture the club's lone World Series title.
Brett reached a career high with 30 home runs that year. But it was the less-heralded Steve Balboni who led the team with 36 long balls. No Royal had ever hit that many before, and no Royal has hit that many since. The power surge of the late '90s and onward has, to this point, passed over Kauffman Stadium, and Balboni's team record still stands.
Today, there is plenty of reason to believe that that number may be in jeopardy over the next few seasons. It's part of the reason that, when talking to Fox Sports' Charley Steiner during Wednesday's Royals-Dodgers Spring Training broadcast, Brett said that "this is the most optimism I've seen in Royals camp since the year I retired."
To be sure, Kansas City's stable of elite pitching prospects is the source of much of that optimism. But four hitters - two top prospects among them - have shown the potential to threaten that mark down the line.
Any talk of power hitters in the Royals' system must start with third baseman Mike Moustakas and first baseman Eric Hosmer. Baseball America recently ranked both players as top-10 prospects in all of baseball entering 2011, and both players rebounded from disappointing 2009 seasons to put together monster numbers last year.
Beginning the year with the Naturals, Moustakas crushed everything he saw in the Texas League, hitting 21 home runs before a mid-season promotion to AAA Omaha. At the next level, he added 15 more, to finish with exactly 36 long balls in just 118 games.
Hosmer's power took a little longer to emerge, hitting just six in the pitcher-friendly Carolina League during the season's first half. Promoted to Northwest Arkansas to fill the void left by Moustakas, Hosmer broke out with 13 in 50 games and added six more homers in nine playoff contests.
This spring, both players are seeing plenty of action in major-league camp, and both are playing as if they belong there, for good. Moustakas and Hosmer have been just as advertised, as each player went deep in the team's 12-11 loss to the Texas Rangers on Feb. 28.
"It was great to see Mous and Hos break out with a homer and give the fans a little bit of a taste of what they've been hearing about. All in all, I was pleased," manager Ned Yost told MLB.com.
The next day, Moustakas drove in the decisive run with an eighth-inning single to carry the Royals past the San Diego Padres. Though he has not had quite the same flair for the dramatic, Hosmer is 4-6 with two walks in four Spring Training contests.
As of right now, Moustakas is slated to begin the season with AAA Omaha to get some final seasoning and Hosmer is treading the fine line between returning to Northwest Arkansas and making the jump to the PCL, although at this point considering his hot start most see Omaha as his likely landing spot to start 2011.
Wherever they begin this season and whenever they reach Kansas City, both Moustakas and Hosmer clearly fit into the Royals' long-term plans. But the picture is less clear for two of the team's other players with a power-hitting pedigree.
Kila Ka'aihue is a man of the present, but no longer a prospect. After winning Texas League Player of the Year in 2008 and spending a full season in Omaha the next year, Ka'aihue saw his first significant big-league action with 180 at bats in 2010.
Though a lack of consistent playing time caused his major-league numbers to suffer, Ka'aihue still hit 32 home runs between Omaha and Kansas City last year. Now he has a chance to serve as the club's everyday designated hitter and has taken advantage this spring, hitting a three-run homer in Wednesday's win against Los Angeles.
"I'm still trying to make the team, still trying to earn my way on it," Ka'aihue told MLB.com. "I've never been on a scholarship, so I don't have that approach. I'm just trying to go out and win the job."
Billy Butler signed a contract extension that will keep him in Royal blue for the foreseeable future. Ka'aihue should be a fixture in the lineup this season, and Hosmer is knocking on the door. Add that up and there does not seem to be much room for 26-year-old first baseman Clint Robinson.
Too old to be considered a true prospect but with numbers too great to ignore, Robinson's production cannot be denied. He spent all of last season with the Naturals and earned the Texas League's Triple Crown, leading the team with 29 home runs. Like his other power-hitting contemporaries, Robinson has produced so far in camp, going 2-for-4 with a double, a triple and two runs batted in against San Diego on Tuesday. Some have opined that he's had batting practice sessions equally impressive as Hosmer and Moustakas.
Robinson should get a chance to make an impact in Omaha this summer. There may not be a spot to pencil him into Kansas City's lineup any time soon, but he gives the organization added depth and flexibility going forward.
Excepting Moustakas, who stands alone as the third baseman of the future, the Royals have three players battling for one spot over the next few seasons. Whoever earns that spot in the lineup - be it Hosmer, Ka'aihue or Robinson - will have to produce at a high level to keep his job.
For a team looking for its first transcendent slugger in a long time, that's a great problem to have.
More Texas League News and Notes
Naturals' southpaws make their mark: Two left-handers who spent time in Northwest Arkansas last season impressed in Wednesday's Spring Training contest against the Dodgers. John Lamb entered the game in the fifth inning and needed just 10 pitches - all strikes - to work through the frame. Lamb gave up a first-pitch, one-out double to Aaron Miles but struck out each of the other batters he faced on three pitches. Not to be outdone, Brandon Sisk tossed a five-pitch seventh inning on his way to picking up the win. Lamb should begin 2011 in the Naturals' rotation, but a few more solid outings could have Sisk in the mix for one of the coveted spots in the opening-day bullpen.
Tragedy strikes Naturals' infielder: Last year's postseason hero Anthony Seratelli has left Surprise after his father, Russell, 47, was killed in a freak auto accident earlier this week. Royals' Director of Minor League Operations Scott Sharp said in a statement, "Our organization prides itself on not only getting to know our athletes, but the families of each athlete, and this tragedy has cut deeply into every one of us. On behalf of the Kansas City Royals, our thoughts and prayers are with Anthony and his entire family as they mourn the passing of an outstanding father and gentleman."
Seratelli was, and when he returns to camp, likely still is, bound for a return to Northwest Arkansas.
Catching prospects in focus: Jason Kendall is expected to continue his rehabilitation from shoulder surgery past opening day, opening up the competition for early-season innings at the position between Bryan Pena, Lucas May and former Natural Manny Pina, who played in 74 Double-A games in his first season in the Kansas City organization. The backstop making the most noise in camp, though, is Salvador Perez, likely to be Northwest Arkansas' starter this season. He has yet to get a hit in five Spring Training at-bats, but Perez' defensive abilities have already impressed the skipper. "As good a thrower as I've ever seen -- as I've ever seen -- behind the plate," Yost told MLB.com. "He blocks the ball very well, has great energy behind the plate, has a lot of leadership qualities." Some scouts with lofty expectations of Perez have compared him to former All-Star backstop Sandy Alomar Jr.
Ex Naturals in other MLB Camps: There are a handful of former Naturals in Major League camps outside of the Royals' organization who are seeing playing time early on. Perhaps none more impressive than utilityman Ed Lucas (2008-2009), who is in Braves camp as a non-roster invitee. Lucas has had eight plate appearances and two RBI's in four games, hitting safely in five of seven at-bats - all singles, with one walk. Fireballing reliever Juan Abreu (2009) is also in Braves' camp, and has allowed a run in two appearances. Corey Smith (2009) has a two-run double in his only trip to the plate in Dodgers' spring training, while right-hander Dan Cortes(2008-2009) pitched a scoreless inning thus far in Seattle Mariners' camp. Now a reliever, Cortes is seeking a spot in the Mariners' bullpen. Infielder Angel Sanchez (2008) has one hit and an RBI in five at-bats for Houston, and former Naturals' outfielder Jordan Parraz (2009), in camp with the Yankees, has an RBI single in four at-bats thus far.
The Hot Stove Report appears on nwanaturals.com every two weeks.
The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are the Double-A Texas League affiliate of the Kansas City Royals and play at state-of-the-art Arvest Ballpark, located in Springdale. Visit our website, nwanaturals.com, for information on season tickets and ticket plans.
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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
