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| Mike Moustakas puts his game face on before a home game recently (Photo: Lee Warren) |
After the Royals game yesterday, manager Ned Yost commented about the moves.
“He’s [Aviles] kind of stuck in a rut offensively, defensively” Yost said. “We know what kind of player Mike Aviles is. He’s very athletic. He’s a .300-type hitter. And it’s been a struggle for him. It’s been a struggle for him offensively. It’s been a struggle for him defensively. We felt that in order to get him back to where he could be productive for us he needs to take a step back and just get down at Omaha and play every day. He’s not going to have that opportunity here.”
Yost said Wilson Betemit will become the backup shortstop in Kansas City, in addition to playing some first base and left field.
As for Moustakas, Yost said, “He’s [Moustakas] been hot, been swinging the bat well, driving in runs, playing good third base – so the time’s right.”
Moustakas, 22, was drafted No. 2 overall in the 2007 first-year player draft. He was hitting .287 with 10 home runs and 44 RBIs in 55 games in Omaha this season. He also had a .347 OBP. He got off to a slow start at the plate, hitting just .229 in April, but he turned things around in May, hitting .321. And in his last 10 games with Omaha, he hit .356.
He did strike out 44 times in 223 at bats and at times was susceptible to outside breaking pitches, especially with two strikes. But when he works the count in his favor and gets a fastball, he generally puts a great swing on the ball – as evidenced by the fact that he has hit 84 home runs in 439 minor league games prior to Thursday afternoon’s announcement.
Moose has had some problems defensively this season in Omaha, making 10 errors at third base in 51 games. Although, my guess is, he’s made more throwing errors than fielding errors. He has made some improvements though, committing just three errors over his final 33 games.
It’ll be nice to see Moustakas and Eric Hosmer in the Royals lineup together. Fans have been waiting for this youth movement for some time and it is definitely underway.
So, what does this latest move mean for Omaha – a team that leads the PCL American North by 4.5 games?
Mike Aviles should get most of the starts at third base for a while. The Storm Chasers can’t expect to get as much out of him at the plate as Moustakas. During the four seasons Aviles has spent time in Omaha (2006-2008, 2010), he has hit .290 with 36 HR and 174 RBIs in 330 games. Not bad numbers, but not comparable to what Moose would have put up.
The Storm Chasers have been hitting Moose in the cleanup spot with Robinson and Ka’aihue behind him. They will both move up a spot, which means that three-through-five, the order will be Lough-Robinson-Ka’aihue. With Jarrod Dyson and Johnny Giavotella settled in at the top of the order, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Omaha manager Mike Jirschele bat Aviles sixth, behind Ka’aihue.
Even with the loss of Hosmer and Moustakas, the Storm Chasers still have a decent offense. It will be interesting though to see what the team’s offensive numbers look like a month from now. Currently, Omaha is hitting .289 (6th in the PCL) with a .365 OBP (also 6th). They are seventh in the league with 345 runs scored and 12th with 51 home runs.
Their record was 33-26 when Moustakas was called up.
