Rankings: Is Jose Abreu the top 1st baseman in the division?
3. Eric Hosmer (Kansas City Royals)
Oct 28, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer hits a RBI double against the San Francisco Giants in the second inning during game six of the 2014 World Series at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
MLB Debut: May 6, 2011
Age: 25 years old
Team Record (2014): 89-73 (AL Champions)
A look at last season:
In four major league seasons with the Kansas City Royals, Hosmer has a career .275 batting average with 59 home runs and 275 RBIs.
Looking back at last season, he played in 131 games (down from the 159 played in ’13), where his numbers dropped from the previous season.
In ’14, Hosmer batted .270 with a .318 on-base percentage and .398 slugging percentage. With that, he had nine home runs and 58 RBIs. Hosmer did draw 35 walks (51 in ’13), so it wasn’t the most productive season he’s had in his four MLB seasons.
What will this year hold for the first baseman?
Even USA Today has an article from January, talking about his season, though it was a fantasy baseball article. In the article by Tim Heaney, it said:
"“But smart projectors would say he’d more strongly convert fly balls to homers than the absurdly low 6.8 percent he posted last year (career 11.2). He hit 19 homers in his rookie season, and to paraphrase the widespread fantasy baseball axiom: Once a player displays a skill, he owns it. And it could resurface at any time.”"
Hosmer just signed a two-year contract extenuation with the Royals for $13.9 million, which is a good deal for both sides, considering the Royals aren’t big spenders and Hosmer is just 25 years old. In an MLB.com article, Hosmer said of the deal: “It was a no-brainer to take (the deal).”
2015 Baseball Prospectus Projections:
For the 2015 season, BP is projecting Hosmer to have a .279 average with a .331 on-base percentage and .417 slugging percentage.
Those are all an increase from last season, as the publication also has the Royals’ first baseman with 59 runs, 27 doubles, two triples, 12 home runs and 62 RBIs. He’s also being projected to have 40 walks and 86 strikeouts.
That seems to be a very good season for Hosmer, though it still wouldn’t match the .302 season he had in ’13.
They Said It:
In this article from MLB.com it says:
"“[Hosmer] is a very integral part of our team,” Moore said. “He can impact the team in a lot of ways, whether it’s at the plate or at first base defensively or running the bases. He can hit with power, he can hit the other way — there’s just a lot of talent in his game.” – Dayton Moore, KC Royals General Manager"
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