How Many More Plate Appearances Will the Royals Give Kila Ka'aihue?

The worst thing is that we should have been figuring him out last year, not this year. Kila should have been producing or Robinson should be getting a tryout.

Only because they don’t want to rush Hosmer, and I think they view Robinson much like they view Kila. So he’ll get a least to June I think. Which means he better start hitting.

for the next couple of months, at least…i do think they should consider sitting him down for a few games and then dropping him in the order.

one other point, though…his OBP is good yes, and taking walks is great, but like i’ve said many many times, at some point you’ve got to demonstrate the ability to hit the ball or the walks will dry up because pitchers are going to increasingly go after him.

Are not made men. Neither has proven anything in MLB. Kila and Robinson both need to get a chance to be all they can be. I’ll be very disappointed if Mous and Hos are not at least serviceable MLB players, but that cannot be assumed.

i don’t necessarily want them to call up hos, but if he proves he’s ready i think you’ve got to consider it.

just one productive at bat might have helped the Royals turn a corner. And to my eye, that low throw should have been scooped out. That being said, though, in the clear light of morning, maybe it should be considered merely a rough start. Lots of all-stars are off to shitty beginnings this year, too. I voted 121-180, although I just know if the dude takes ugly swings and whiffs with runners in scoring position tonight, I’ll be screaming to change my answer. Baseball is an emotional game.

I didn’t realize it was Joe West who made that bizarre call on Billy at second last night. The one where Billy thought he was out because, you know, he was out, and wandered away. Joe West is a magnificent tool. And not in the good way.

As much fun as it has been, this start is smoke and mirrors. This team will fall back to earth, as there just isn’t enough talent to maintain this. But I fear an 18-11 type of reaction, where the short term will be too highly valued over the long term. Yost’s overuse of Collins and, to a lesser extent, Crow, are signs of this. But, if the front office knows now what it seemed to know a month ago about this team not being very good, Kila should get at least most of the first half to play generally everyday.

a decent reliever for Mike Jacobs two years ago (and put up numbers not much better than Kila’s right now). Kila could have been going through this in 09 and 10 and we would be 95% sure of what he is right now.

Hawaiian Punch is pressing again, judging by the K rate. I think he’s still in an understandable transition period for the jump in competition level. He feasted on AAA junk and weak fastballs for two years and he will need time to adjust to what Crash Davis called the “ungodly breaking stuff in the Show.”

I want Kila to succeed, and there was no question he got a raw deal in his development. But he is not the linchpin of the Process – the guy waiting to take his place is. It’s a reminder that a lot of these guys will disappoint and even fail. It’s just great that the team is doing well enough to pay attention to the day to day lineup.

the expected bases for some Royals, so far

Butler: .634
Francoeur: .537
Gordon: .535
Aviles: .449
Melky: .400
Kila: .367
Getz: .344
Escobar: .284

1.000 EB means you can expect the hitter to get one base when he’s at bat.

TB+BB+HP/AB+BB+HP+SF

OBP+SLG doesn’t totally work due to the difference in what they’re dividing. So it’s not technically addable.

No word on if OBP+EB works much better. But Kila’s SLG is .260, and Escobar’s is .250, so you can see a difference with EB

June- July whenever but use robi instead if Hos … Just an idear

But the minor tweak (apparently already done) of moving him down in the order is easy enough, and only costs Kila a handful of PA’s over the next couple of months. For now, I’d rather have Betemit behind Billy so they won’t be so quick to pitch around him…and if Betemit can keep hitting competently, the Royals might score a bit more than they would have otherwise.

We should send Kila to AAA if he doesn’t start improving by mid-May. Maybe a AAA cup of coffee while we evaluate Robinson will be beneficial.

Bring up Robinson at 1B, see if he can hit major league pitching. If so, begin the move of Hosmer to RF. If not, give Kila a second chance. Hosmer’s got a pitcher’s arm, with a 96mph fastball. He’s a little slow, but offense+arm > limited range.

If either Kila or Robinson’s bat develops at the ML level, Hosmer should be bumped to RF. He’s the only one athletic enough to handle it. Make sure you get an incredible defender in CF to cover whatever limitations he may have range-wise. In a couple of years, if a 1B/DH slot opens up due to trade/injury, Hosmer can go back.