Goodbye, NW Arkansas Naturals and hello Omaha!
Royals third base prospect Mike Moustakas has officially been promoted from AA NW Arkansas to AAA Omaha, according to the the Royals' AA affiliate.
Moustakas had been tearing it up recently and his call-up was something we knew was coming somewhat soon. Reports last week suggested he had been promoted but those were denied. Part of the confusion came from his name briefly being removed from the AA roster, apparently a mistake.
Moustakas' name has been in the news recently because he and Eric Hosmer played well in the MLB Futures Game this week.
Moustakas is hitting .355 with .417 on-base and .705 slugging percentages for Class AA Northwest Arkansas. Moustakas has 25 doubles and leads the league with 21 homers and 76 RBIs in 64 games.
This means nothing, of course, but the last big-leaguer to match rate stats over a full season was Barry Bonds in 2004. Before the Steroid Era, it was done by only seven players, all of them Hall of Famers.
Recently Royals director of scouting and player development J.J. Picollo hinted at someone being called up soon.
"I’d be lying if I said I’m not counting on a couple (to be ready next season)," says J.J. Picollo, scouting and player development director. "I don’t know which ones. But we need a couple of these guys to be ready."
This move would suggest that by 2011, Moustakas is expected to be one of those guys.
This helps clear the way for Moustakas to be the Royals starting third baseman in 2011. Add in Christian Colon, who is expected to potentially be available in Kansas City in 2011, and the Royals could have a significantly different look.
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