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KC Royals Fantasy Heroes: Eric Hosmer Stays Hot

By Mike Norris

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Eric Hosmer channeled his inner Paulo Orlando Tuesday night, notching his second triple of the season to go along with a three-run home run in a 5-3 KC Royals‘ victory against the Cleveland Indians.

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Hosmer’s hot hitting improved the Royals to 17-9 on the season — a half game ahead of second place Detroit. He has now hit in seven of his past eight games and recorded at least two hits in three of those games.

After a slow start that saw the first baseman hitting just .255 10 days in to the season, he has now pushed his average to .320 on the season, and .333 in the month of May.

For most, 100 at bats is when you can see trends developing that could last for the whole season, and Hosmer is sitting exactly on the century mark after Tuesdays game. If he were to keep pace, the 25-year-old would finish the season at .320, with 24 homer runs and 110 RBI.

More importantly, his slash of .320/.400/.540 would dwarf his career best .302/.353/.448 from 2013. It remains to be seen if he can keep up these numbers, but his average has been below .300 only once since April 16 (.299 on April 26). He also is nearly halfway to his 2014 home run total of nine, just 17 percent of the way in to the season.

Tuesday, neither of his hits were in vain. In fact, they couldn’t have been more timely. After Cleveland notched two runs in the first off starter Jason Vargas, Hosmer deposited a 2-0 pitch in to the fountains in left center field estimated at 415 feet according to ESPN.com.

Not that the Royals bullpen needs many of these, but Hosmer added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth by driving a 3-0 Nick Hagadone pitch in to the right field corner for an RBI-triple. It gave Kansas City a two-run lead it would not relinquish, as Wade Davis shut the door in the night for his sixth save of the season.

Hosmer has been the team’s leading hitter the past seven games, coming in at .371 with three home runs and eight RBI. If he can continue to hit, it only makes the Royals defense and pitching that much better.

Royals’ fans have been waiting for the five-year vet to finally produce that breakout season they know he is capable of having. If his numbers thus far, especially lately, are any indication, 2015 might just be that year.

If so, it could be another fun summer at The K.

Next: KC Royals: Should Chris Young Be Starting

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