Eric Hosmer’s power surge has come at an ideal time for Kansas City
ANAHEIM, Calif. — They’ve waited with feverish anticipation for years in Kansas City for Eric Hosmer to tap into his immense potential, dreaming of the day the former first-round draft pick would harness his quirky swing and emerge as a franchise cornerstone.
Finally, at the most opportune possible time, the Royals are being rewarded for their patience.
Hosmer delivered his finest moment of a breakout postseason in the 11th inning of Kansas City’s 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night, belting a middle-in fastball from reliever Kevin Jepsen over the right-field wall for a two-run homer. The blast broke a 1-1 tie, silenced the red-clad, Thunderstix-wielding Angel Stadium crowd and propelled the upstart Royals within a game of one of the most improbable American League Championship Series appearances in recent memory.
“I faced Jepsen last night, and he’s a guy you don’t want to get ahead of you in the count because he has that devasting offspeed pitch,” Hosmer said. “He was getting ahead of a lot of guys on fastballs and got ahead on me with a couple yesterday. So I told myself to be ready and be on time and if he gives a good pitch to hit, don’t miss it.”
Hosmer has rarely squandered a chance this postseason in helping the Royals defy the odds to become the first team ever to win three straight playoff games in extra innings.
Before his late heroics on Friday night, Hosmer scored Kansas City’s first run in the second inning after a lead-off single and also hustled to break up a potential double play in the top of the ninth after drawing a one-out walk. Three nights earlier, the 24-year-old first baseman went 3-for-4 in a come-from-behind Wild Card victory over Oakland, sparking Royals’ game-winning two-run rally with a one-out triple in the bottom of the 12th inning.
Those kinds of moments were exactly what Kansas City hoped for when it drafted Hosmer third overall in the 2008 draft and promoted him to the Major Leagues only a few months after his 21st birthday. Hosmer was hitting .439 in 26 games at Triple-A Omaha when he got the call, making his May 2011 debut perhaps the most hyped by any Royals player since Bo Jackson.
Considering that Hosmer finished third in the American League rookie of the year balloting in his debut season and hit .302 and won a gold glove last year, the first four seasons of his big-league career certainly haven’t been a bust. Still, since his production has been erratic and his power numbers have largely diminished, there has always been a sense that he could be so much more.
“We always thought that he was a top-tier player in the American League, offensively and defensively,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “We think that his ceiling is still very high offensively. I personally think he’s a 30-home-run-a-year guy and a .310 to .320 hitter. He’s that type of performer. He has struggled most of the year with his power numbers, but since the playoffs have started [he has] stepped up big for us.”
An October power surge from Hosmer would be a huge boost to a Royals team that won 89 games this regular season because of a sturdy starting rotation, an electric bullpen and a brilliant defense. Add some pop to Kansas City’s light-hitting lineup, and suddenly the Royals become an even bigger threat in these playoffs.
Kansas City certainly has to be taken seriously now as a World Series contender, an unfathomable position for a franchise that hadn’t made the postseason in 29 years prior to this season. Not only are the Royals heading home for two games with a 2-0 lead in their best-of-five series, they’ll have ace James Shields on the mound Monday night against the Angels’ No. 3 starter C.J. Wilson.
Just like the Royals have to be pinching themselves at being one win from the ALCS, the Angels have to be kicking themselves at being one loss from a long winter of laments. Their superstar, Mike Trout, is hitless in two games. Their highly paid veterans Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton have gone a combined 1-for-17. And one of the few chances their sputtering offense did manage to generate Friday night ended via a self-inflicted wound when pinch runner Collin Cowgill tested Jarrod Dyson’s arm in center field and got gunned down in the bottom of the eighth inning trying to tag up and take third on a fly ball.
Even if the Angels’ bats awaken and they topple Shields in Sunday’s game 3, the odds are still stacked against them. Injuries have left manager Mike Scioscia with only three starting pitchers he trusts, so the Angels plan to bring Jered Weaver and Matt Shoemaker back on short rest for games 4 and 5 should they be fortunate enough to extend the series that far.
“Naturally, this is not the position we want to be in,” Scioscia said. “Nobody has their head buried in the sand. We need a three-game winning streak, and that’s what we plan to do. Our guys are determined. We’re going to take the travel day, exhale a little bit and get out there and get after it on Sunday.”
What will make the Angels’ task even harder is if Hosmer continues to give the Royals a strong middle-of-the-order presence.
Hosmer actually began his hot streak when he came off a month-long stint on the disabled list on August 31, hitting .290 with three home runs in September. The Kansas City first baseman attributes his strong late-season play to having a chance to tweak his swing and rest his body for the stretch drive while sitting out with a fractured hand.
“When I got put on the DL, it was basically you take the positives from it,” Hosmer said. “I realized I can get myself stronger, get myself in good shape for this run. If anything, it’s kind of a little jump start to take a month off, get your body in shape, rehab the hand and get your timing back. As far as my body and all that, everything is feeling great.”
Of course, not everything Hosmer did was perfect Friday night. He did fail to cleanly come up with Omar Infante’s errant two-out throw to first in the bottom of the 11th inning, extending the game one more batter and forcing Greg Holland to retire Trout to end it.
No matter, however. Royals fans will probably forgive the man who has rediscovered his pop, sparked a typically light-hitting offense and shown signs that he may yet become the player Kansas City always thought he could be.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
