and this is the most important thing here —

It just wouldn’t be fair to Rossy. He’s got to go out there and earn another $100K in PA incentives.

but it’s a bit annoying.

(for once)

Also, and I’m not sure of the rules on this type of thing), but he could be ‘demoted’ back to AA & play in the playoffs there as opposed to ending his season next week

- He’s hitting decent in Omaha
- He’s already on the 40 man roster
- He’s in his last option year

and most importantly

- Ross Gload sucks

1. Calling him up at this point (from AA to AAA to MLB all in the course of about a month) might be rushing him and not what is best for his development. Isn’t what is best for his development more important than the boost he might give the offense for a month?

Certainly, but given the way Kaaihue has hit the ball since being called up to AAA, I don’t think he’s got much left to prove in AAA. You disagree?

2. This would start his service time clock. If the Royals call him up now, then they wouldn’t be able to call him up until something like June if they wanted an extra year of service time for him. Is this month of play more important than a potential year of service time?

Kaaihue is already 24 years old, and what with his skillset, I’m not sure he’s the type of player we should count on (assuming he succeeds at all) aging very well. So I think it would be best to start figuring out what we’ve got NOW so we can plan accordingly.

Maybe this isn’t a no-brainer, but I reserve the right to be snarky. ;)

20 bad at bats would hurt his development, no.

that him playing badly in September would retard his development, no. Kaaihue is pretty old for a prospect, and I don’t see him as someone who needs to prove much more at the AAA level.

I’d call him up so that the coaches and Hillman can look at him, and evaluate him, but mostly in workouts and batting practice, not so much in actual games. That gives him a good experience in the majors, not an awful "boy I might not be a major league quality player" experience.

Are we talking about confidence, here? Because I really don’t place much weight at all in the “boy I might not be a major league quality player” stuff. I think if you reach this level, you’ve got the confidence to bounce back from a bad month if you have the ability to play baseball this well in the first place. I agree that the coaching staff and Hillman should work with him…but no one was suggesting otherwise. I don’t think it would hurt Kaaihue to play a good bit of the time and still have the coaching staff working with him.

IYO talent wins out and psychological effect has little to do with it. If that is the case what are you worried about hurting in his development? Do you think he is gonna change his approach to hitting? I doubt that this guy has been taught an approach from his father a longtime Minor league player obviously as evident by the number of walks he has accrued over his career compared to anyone else in the system. I think the only damage that could be caused to Kila is maybe working with Barnett in September. Seems like you are switching your past assertions.

IMO Kila has performed at a much better clip than Gload/Shealy/Butler. He possesses a skill that all three don’t have (Patience at the plate) and he will probably sit out September. That is complete garbage. September wouldn’t tell KC a whole lot but a combination of September, winter ball in Hawaii and spring training could probably tell GMDM/coaching staff if he was ready to be a ML player. The fact that GMDM ignores production for so long is disappointing. Kila has more power than the 3 current 1b and has a WAY better plate approach yet KC isn’t sure if he is ready to contribute. Watching a team who has hit 3 HR’s in 14 games is pathetic and the overall number of XB hits in that span is crazy. This team couldn’t use someone with a good OBP/SLG in ‘09? Give him the bulk of the AB’s.

so that the the question shouldn’t be leading. Of course, the whole post still might be leading, but whatevski.

No. But I think there is a significant chance that it could.

I’m no expert on player development but I would think that a player getting a September callup to a team that is way out of the race would feel considerably less pressure than getting called up early next season.

This would be an audition for Kila. Everyone in this thread on both sides of the issue has said so, and Kila knows it too. This would be a big shot for him. It might not be his only shot (but it might be). It certainly would be big for him and his career. That’s a lot of pressure. And if he starts not getting hit and striking out a bunch, he might change his approach and/or his swing. That wouldn’t be good for his development, but it could definitely happen.

Again, rushing a prospect is bad. It has a downside. Considering he was in AA a month ago, I think this could definitely be rushing him. And the downside could be significant. And the benefit from this call up is minor.

We can’t forget the parking lot attendants. And there’s a hotdog vendor that rubs me the wrong way too.

Do you see my signature? That’s not tongue-in-cheek. That’s not sarcasm. Everything I say is just me giving my opinion (unless I’m relaying stats or other facts). Of course I could be wrong. Jeez.

For chrissakes, NYRoyal, if you’re are unwilling to give a substantial # of September starts to a 24 yr old guy with stats like that, I would argue that you’re not willing to EVER LOOK AT ANY PROSPECT EVER in September.

The fact that he was in AA a month ago is irrelevant to you? So if a guy is hitting well for one month in AAA, call him up, regardless? Apparently if you’re performing well in the minors, there’s no such thing as rushing, right?

You were DEAD WRONG on Aviles, and Kila has been a BETTER HITTER than Aviles in the minors this season.

The existence of one exceptional occurrence shouldn’t lead one to believe that the exception should suddenly become the rule.

Can’t you ever admit you might be wrong, even when other serious fans disagree by a margin of nearly 20 to 1?

First, the ratio right now is about 10:1. ;) Second, there are good reasons to want Kila called up. I get that. Even I want him called up. I just don’t want him to get a lot of PA’s. Those “20” are made up of a lot of fans. It is made up of some very intelligent, knowledgeable fans and a bunch of other fans. Most fans want to call up any and every player who is doing well in the minors. I get that. I just don’t think that is very smart. I see a downside. I don’t think it should be ignored.

Also, calm down. I don’t know if your all caps and “chrissakes” were the product of misplaced rage, but it sure looked that way. Intelligent people can disagree on this.

I would agree that the stakes for this decision aren’t very high. That’s probably why I’m for a limited, compromise approach between not calling him up and calling him up to be an everyday player.

I don’t buy your argument, NHZ, that one month of baseball is significant to Kila because of his body type or age

That wasn’t an argument I made. I’m well aware that a decision on Kaaihue’s future shouldn’t exclusively be based on a single month. I just don’t see much reason not to call him up and starting finding out what he can do.

I don’t put much stock in NY’s argument about this; it’s not ludicrous or anything, but it’s not a great reason to make or not make the decision. However, in light of the fact that the only reason any of you are so gung-ho to call Kila up now is because you’re drooling at possibility, it’s my duty to remind you that an extra year of the Awesome and Spectacular Home Run Stylings of Kila Ka’aihue is a far, far greater reward than junk time in September of a lost season.

You’re on octupal secret propbation now.

I really do get this argument that involves the FO making sure he knows this isn’t his only shot. I do. I think it’s a good idea. I just want to point out that I never suggested that Kaaihue shouldn’t be treated well during his callup. I thought that point was a given, whereas others (d_f and NY) have made it more explicit.

And, given the way the original question was posed, I couldn’t help but think that something could possibly go wrong.

Hence the reason I reset the poll. I thought the original was funny, and a bit useless.

I would be jumping up and down excitedly after each sharpie-tipped rewrite. Then I would shout “Aviles is Awesome!” every time.

Well, Springdale has the largest population of Marshall Islanders outside of the Pacific. The Marshall Islands are kinda like Hawaii. Therefore, his stay in Springdale smoothed his transition from Hawaii to Kansas City. The Royals have thought of everything.