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Kila Ka'aihue


Arthur_Bryant

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The Royals have optioned Kila K to AAA Omaha after a spring in which he went .347/.448/.673 with 4 HR in 58 PA.

His name has been mentioned here before, and he has acquired a certain cult status as a statboy favorite (not always a good thing). But this guy can hit, and the way he has been handled the past three years strongly suggests that the Royals feel that he has minimal value.

At this point I would think that they would leap at a Steve Johnson-level pitching prospect (or, hey, at Steve Johnson himself). If AM were interested, he would've done it already, and the O's are already overstocked with MiL first basemen, but I believe that Ka'aihue this year would put up better numbers in MLB than any 1Bman in the organization. And, no, I haven't forgotten about Garrett Atkins.

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The Royals have optioned Kila K to AAA Omaha after a spring in which he went .347/.448/.673 with 4 HR in 58 PA.

His name has been mentioned here before, and he has acquired a certain cult status as a statboy favorite (not always a good thing). But this guy can hit, and the way he has been handled the past three years strongly suggests that the Royals feel that he has minimal value.

At this point I would think that they would leap at a Steve Johnson-level pitching prospect (or, hey, at Steve Johnson himself). If AM were interested, he would've done it already, and the O's are already overstocked with MiL first basemen, but I believe that Ka'aihue this year would put up better numbers in MLB than any 1Bman in the organization. And, no, I haven't forgotten about Garrett Atkins.

By whom? Thats a toughie to pronounce. :D.

I think we are pretty set in that category, unless it's a real long-term solution.

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I have liked him for awhile, but as with all hypothetical trades, I'd like to know what the real cost would be to acquire him (I love how we at OH always propose "Steve Johnson as our first idea in any trade :) )

He did not set the world on fire last yr in Omaha (at 25 yrs old), putting up a .825 OPS. He was much better in 2008 and previous though, so maybe there was an injury, etc. etc. last year.

I suppose he is worth a flier, but I imagine AM would rather stand pat with Brandon Snyder at age 22, unless we can get Kila on the cheap.

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I have liked him for awhile, but as with all hypothetical trades, I'd like to know what the real cost would be to acquire him (I love how we at OH always propose "Steve Johnson as our first idea in any trade :) )

He did not set the world on fire last yr in Omaha (at 25 yrs old), putting up a .825 OPS. He was much better in 2008 and previous though, so maybe there was an injury, etc. etc. last year.

I suppose he is worth a flier, but I imagine AM would rather stand pat with Brandon Snyder at age 22, unless we can get Kila on the cheap.

With Dayton Moore you never really know. His personnel judgments are often bizarre. But you are talking about a player whom the Royals have had every reason to give an extended shot, and didn't. He didn't even get a September callup. If they were going to give him a shot, they would've by now, and if they're not, then a reasonable 2nd-tier pitching prospect should be worth more to them than burying KK at Omaha.

To me that would mean: Patton, Lebron, Perez, Simon, Berken, and, yes, Steve Johnson among others. Some of those are more valuable than others, but that's the neighborhood.

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With Dayton Moore you never really know. His personnel judgments are often bizarre. But you are talking about a player whom the Royals have had every reason to give an extended shot, and didn't. He didn't even get a September callup. If they were going to give him a shot, they would've by now, and if they're not, then a reasonable 2nd-tier pitching prospect should be worth more to them than burying KK at Omaha.

To me that would mean: Patton, Lebron, Perez, Simon, Berken, and, yes, Steve Johnson among others. Some of those are more valuable than others, but that's the neighborhood.

Very interesting.

As our KC analyst you know far more about Moore's trade and personnel moves than I do. Of the 2nd tier guys you listed, I personally would move any single one of them for KK.

Do you have any insight on why KK struggled last year compared to mashing the ball in previous seasons?

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With Dayton Moore you never really know. His personnel judgments are often bizarre. But you are talking about a player whom the Royals have had every reason to give an extended shot, and didn't. He didn't even get a September callup. If they were going to give him a shot, they would've by now, and if they're not, then a reasonable 2nd-tier pitching prospect should be worth more to them than burying KK at Omaha.

To me that would mean: Patton, Lebron, Perez, Simon, Berken, and, yes, Steve Johnson among others. Some of those are more valuable than others, but that's the neighborhood.

I would trade many of those guys for Ka'aihue. Any team that specifically acquires Mike Jacobs to push a guy back to AAA for his age 25 season can't think much of him. I think they'd leap at a Steve Johnson.

The O's have corner players stacked up like cordwood at Norfolk, but I think he's a better player than any of them except Snyder. I kind of think of him as the new Randy Milligan, another guy with middling power, great plate discipline, and no real chances in the majors until his late 20s. If it was 1990 a Ka'aihue/Snyder platoon would be great; maximize their PAs against opposite-handed pitching and let them fight for a full-time job.

But my hunch is that the O's don't see the difference between Hughes, Aubrey, Moore, etc and Ka'aihue as being worth making any kind of deal. And nobody platoons because they have to make sure they can keep Will Ohman to face three lefties a week.

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Very interesting.

As our KC analyst you know far more about Moore's trade and personnel moves than I do. Of the 2nd tier guys you listed, I personally would move any single one of them for KK.

Do you have any insight on why KK struggled last year compared to mashing the ball in previous seasons?

There was some talk that he was in a funk over being sent down and his overall treatment by the Royals. I don't know if that's true, nor do I know how much it might account for the decline. But he had every reason to be disappointed last year. This year, even more so, considering that Jose Guillen will probably end up as the Royals' DH.

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