Eric Hosmer #51

Eric signed a one-year major league contract with the Cubs in January 2023 after spending parts of 12 major league seasons with Kansas City (2011-17), San Diego (2018-22) and Boston (2022)....In 1,658 Major League games, owns a career .277 average (1,731-for-6,255) with 319 doubles, 20 triples, 196 home runs, 879 RBI and a .764 OPS....Is a four-time Rawlings Gold Glove award winner (2013-15, 2017), a 2016 American League All-Star and a 2017 A.L. Silver Slugger... Became the first A.L. first baseman to win three-straight Gold Gloves since Rafael Palmeiro (1997-99)....Split the 2022 campaign between the Padres (90 games) and Red Sox (14 games) ... was traded to Boston, Aug. 2, with INF Max Ferguson, OF Cory Rosier and cash considerations for LHP Jay Groome....From 2011-2021, ranked first among all MLB first basemen in at-bats (5,875), second in hits (1,629, behind Freddie Freeman's 1,677), games played (1,554) and stolen bases (76)....Signed an eight-year contract with San Diego on Feb. 19, 2018....Enjoyed his most productive major league season with Kansas City in 2017, setting career marks in games (162), hits (192), average (.318), on-base percentage (.385), slugging percentage (.498), OPS (.882), total bases (300), walks (66) and WAR (4.0), while tying career-highs in home runs (25), runs (98) and fielding percentage....Was a member of the 2017 Gold Medal-winning USA Baseball Team in the World Baseball Classic... Earned All-World Baseball Classic Team honors after slashing .385/.500/.615 with the game-winning, two-run home run in the second round against Venezuela....Was named to the 2016 All-Star Game and won Most Valuable Player honors after hitting a second-inning home run and a third-inning RBI single....Was named Kansas City's Heart and Hustle Award winner by the MLBPAA in 2016 and 2017....Won the 2015 World Series championship with Kansas City...had 17 RBI in 16 games, four shy of the MLB record set by David Freese (21) in 2011....Made his Major League debut in 2012 and was named A.L. Rookie of the Month twice (July and Sept.)...Finished third in A.L. Rookie of the Year voting, leading all qualifying MLB rookies in average (.293), go-ahead RBI (26) and game-winning RBI (13)....Was selected by the Royals in the first round (third overall) in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft....Graduated from American Heritage High School in Plantation, Fla... Hit .470 with 11 home runs, 27 RBI, 49 runs and 14 stolen bases to earn Player of the Year honors from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel during his senior season....Married Kacie McDonnell on New Years Eve 2021 and has one son, Jack, born on Sept. 11, 2022.

2022

Eric in 2022 split his 12th Major League season between San Diego (90 games) and Boston (14 games)....Hit a combined .268 (102-for-380) with 19 doubles, eight home runs and 44 RBI....Began the season with San Diego, making his 11th-straight Opening Day start, all at first base....Hit .389 (28-for-72) in April, the eighth-highest mark all-time by a Padres player during the month (min. 75 PA) and highest since Tony Gwynn in 1999 (.403)....Through May 13, led the Majors with a .377 average and ranked among the leaders in OBP (third, .441), OPS (fifth, .994) and slugging percentage (11th, .553), while his 23 RBI were tied for the seventh-most in the N.L....Recorded a season-high four hits on April 14 vs. Atlanta.... Collected multiple hits in four-straight games from April 24-28....Recorded a season-high, six-game hitting streak twice from April 30-May 6 and May 22-28....Recorded an RBI in a season-high four-straight games from May 10-14....Reached base safely in 16 consecutive games from July 5-30, batting .281 (16-for-57) with a .379 OBP....Was acquired by Boston, Aug. 2 in a four-player trade....Made his Red Sox debut on Aug. 4 in Kansas City, his first game at Kauffman Stadium since signing with the Padres in 2018....Played 14 games for the Red Sox, batting .244 (11-for-45) with three doubles and four RBI....Landed on the injured list with low back inflammation on Aug. 21 ...was activated Oct. 3 and played in the final two games of the season.

2021

In 151 games with San Diego in 2021, his .337 on-base percentage was his highest since his .385 OBP in 2017 with the Kansas City Royals...His 55.7 ground ball percentage was 2nd highest in the National League behind COL Raimel Tapia's 68.1%...Tied with Victor Caratini for the most ground ball double plays hit into on the team (13)... From July 1 and through the end of the season, hit .290 (71- for-245) with a .366 OBP, .441 SLG and .807 OPS, despite SD going 29-49 in that time when he appeared in a game...Posted a .337 OBP compared to his .333 OBP in 2020, but also had a .395 SLG compared to his .517 SLG in 2020...His 3.89 pitches per plate appearance was the highest in a season in his career...Batted .291 with runners in scoring position (44-for-151) and .299 (23-for-77) with RISP/2 out...His 44 hits with runners in scoring position tied with Manny Machado for the team lead and T-5th most in the National League...his 37 hits with RISP from the beginning of the season through Aug. 1 led the NL...Against NL West teams, he hit .299 (73-for-244) with a .351 OBP and a .434 SLG...Had his best month of the season in July, when he posted a .912 OPS in 25 games...In the field, played in 131 games at first base, making 129 starts...in his 1,113.1 innings, made seven errors in 1008 total chances for a .993 fielding percentage.

2020

Missed 11 of the 1st 14 games of the season due to a stomach illness...in his 1st 3 games of the season, he went 5-for-10 (.500) with 2 doubles, 1 HR and 7 RBI...his illness, however, allowed NL Rookie of the Year candidate INF Jake Cronenworth to fill his shoes at 1B... Had a career-high-tying 6 RBI game on Opening Day (July 24 vs. ARI)....it was the most RBI of any Padre in team history in the 1st game of the season...Hosmer doubled twice with the bases loaded, and before then, the Padres had never cleared the bases with a double twice in the same game...in the entire 2019 season, the Padres cleared the bases with a double only once...Hosmer did it twice in 2 innings... On Aug. 20 vs. TEX, hit a grand slam off Kyle Gibson, making the Padres the 1st team in MLB history to hit a grand slam in 4 consecutive games...it was Hosmer's 3rd career slam and his 1st since Aug. 4, 2019 @ LAD, and it was the Padres 5th grand slam in a 10-game span, joining the Mets (July of 2006) and Expos (April of 1996) as the only teams to ever accomplish this feat... Placed on the 10-Day IL on September 8 after fracturing his left index finger on a bunt attempt...missed 9 games and was reinstated on Sept. 19... Finished the year with multiple hits in 3 of his last 4 games (6-for-14, .429)...in his last 17 G, he hit .328 (21-for-64) with 2 2B, 3 HR, 15 RBI and 10 R... Set a career high in SLG (.517) in 2020, with his previous best coming in 2017 (.498)...After posting a 61.0 ground ball percentage in 2018 and a 56.6% in 2019 with SD, he had a career-best 46.2 grounder percentage in 2020... Hit 9 HR in 38 games, posting a career-best 15.89 AB/ HR.....posted a career-high line drive % (28.2)...Batted .300 with RISP (12-for-40)...hit .313 with 2 outs (15-for-48).

POSTSEASON: Made his 1st Postseason appearance in a Padre uniform and his 1st since November 1, 2015 @ NYM, the day the Kansas City Royals won the World Series... Hit safely in 4 of the 6 Postseason games in 2020, going 4-for-25 (.160) with a double, home run and 4 RBI... Started at 1B in all 6 games and played all 52.0 innings.

2019

In his second season with SD, led the Padres in games played (160), AB (587), PA (667), hits (164), 2B (29) RBI (99), ranked T-1st in go-ahead RBI (18) and runs created (86), 2nd in runs (72), T-2nd in XBH (53) and T-4th in HR (22)...His .464 AVG going to the opposite field ranked 3rd (min. 100 PA), behind Javy Baez (.533) and Freddie Freeman (.488)...Ranked 7th in the majors with 212 "hard hit balls," which Statcast defines as a ball hit with an exit velocity of 95 mph-or-higher...His .373 AVG (25-for-67) with RISP/2 out led all NL hitters and ranked T-2nd in the majors with Andrew Benintendi (min. 70 PA), behind only DJ LeMahieu (.388)...His .328 AVG (42-for-128) with RISP ranked T-18th in the majors and T-8th among all NL hitters (min. 140 PA)...Hit safely in a career-high 13 consecutive road games from May 14-June 15, batting .389 (21-for-54) with 3 2B, 2 HR and 14 RBI over the stretch…tied with Manny Machado's 13-game road hitting streak for the longest on the club...Hit safely in a season-high 10 consecutive games from May 21-June 1 (.375, 3 HR, 10 RBI), his longest hitting streak as a Padre...Scored a season-high 3 runs on May 25 at TOR in SD's 19-4 victory, marking the 12th time in his career (1st as a Padres) in which he scored 3+ runs in a game...Recorded multiple RBI in a career-high 4 consecutive games from June 13-16...Was the only Padre to record multiple 5 RBI-games (July 29 vs. BAL and August 4 vs. LAD)…July 29 also marked his 5th-career multi-HR game and 1st as a Padre…hit his 2ndcareer grand slam on August 4 vs. LAD off Kenta Maeda...Recorded multi-hit efforts on September 1 and 2 at ARI, his only multi-hit games of the month, raising his season AVG to .288 before going 11-for-87 (.126) in the remaining 24 games of September, finishing with a .265 AVG...Struck out a career-high 163 times, surpassing his previous career-high 142 punchouts from 2018…his 36.0% of swings putting the ball in play was a career low...Did not steal a base in a season for the 1st time in his career (previous career-low: 4 in 2014 with KC)...Among all ML first basemen in 2019, ranked T-3rd in games started (155) and 4th in innings played (1356.0)…his 14 errors marked a career high and were the most among all ML first basemen.
 

2018

Led the Padres in runs (72), hits (155), RBI (69), at-bats (613), XBH (51), total bases (244), BB (62), multi-hit games (44) and times on base (218)...tied with Freddy Galvis for the team lead with 31 doubles and ranked third with 18 HR...Made the second-most starts (155) among all ML first basemen and ranked third in innings played (1378.0), tied for third in fielding percentage (.997) and fourth in total chances (1,341), putouts (1,231) and assists (106)...Since entering the league in 2011, he ranks first among all ML first basemen in hits (1,273), games played (1,186) and at-bats (4,548), second in SB (67), fourth in runs (611), total bases (1,972) and triples (18), fifth in RBI (627), sixth in doubles (231), XBH (393) and BB (411), eighth in HR (144) and 10th in AVG (.280)...His 72 hits to the opposite field led the majors…his .490 clip going the other way (min. 100 PA) led the NL and tied for the highest in the majors (also: TEX Shin-Soo Choo)...His six doubles through the team's first nine games were the most by a Padre in team history...Hit .290 (29-for-100) in his first 26 games between March/April with 12 multi-hit efforts, tied for the most in the ML with four others in that time... Recorded a career-high four walks and went 2-for-2 at the dish on 4/23 at COL, becoming the first Padre to reach base six times in a single game since Adrian Gonzalez on 8/11/09 vs. MIL...Collected multi-hit efforts in a career-high-tying five consecutive games from 4/28-5/2 for the third time in his career, slashing .524/.583/.952 over the stretch…it was the longest multi-hit game streak by a Padre since Wil Myers in 2016 (6/4-8)...Had two separate nine-game hitting streaks (7/23-8/2 and 8/12-21)...Homered in a career-high three consecutive games from 9/7-9 at CIN.... Slashed .295/.368/.462 with 23 doubles and 14 HR vs. righties compared to a .179/.240/.287 line with eight doubles and four HR vs. lefties ...Hit .286 with 20 doubles and eight HR at Petco Park compared to a .223 clip with eight HR on the road…went 2-for-9 during the Mexico Series vs. LAD at Monterrey Stadium, with both of his hits being home runs...In Padres wins, he slashed .323/.402/.494, while in Padres losses, he slashed .202/.262/.329...Collected a career-high 10 intentional walks and struck out a career-high 142 times...Took advantage of first pitches and being ahead in the count, hitting .310 (26-for-84) in 0-0 counts, .488 (20-for-41) in 1-0 counts, .438 (14-for-32) in 2-1 counts and .538 (7-for-13) in 3-1 counts.

2017

Played in all 162 games (160 starts) for KC, setting career highs in hits (192), average (.318), on-base percentage (.385), slugging (.498), OPS (.882), total bases (300), walks (66) and WAR (4.0), while tying career highs in home runs (25), runs (98) and fielding percentage (.997)... Made 160 starts, including 155 at first base and five as the designated hitter...he was one of five players in the Majors in 2017 to play in 162 games, joining KC's Alcides Escobar, CIN's Joey Votto, TEX's Rougned Odor and PHI's Freddy Galvis...he is only the sixth Royal to play ever play in all 162 games... Finished among the American League leaders in hits (second), average (tied for third), on-base percentage (fourth) and multi-hit games (53, tied for fourth)... The only players in MLB in 2017 to match his combination of home runs (25), RBI (94) and average (.318) were COL's Charlie Blackmon and Joey Votto... Ranked second in the Majors with a .335 average (137-for-409) vs. RHP, trailing only Jose Altuve (.344)... Ranked third in the AL with a .326 road average (102-for-313)... Hit 16 of his 25 home runs at home, setting the single-season home run record at Kauffman Stadium by a left-handed batter... Had 37 RBI in the seventh inning or later, second most in the AL behind only Justin Upton (38)... Hit .185 (12-for-65) through his first 17 games, but hit .335/.400/.528 (180-for-145) from 4/23 through season's end... Recorded his 1,000th career hit on 5/31 vs. DET and finished the year with 1,132 for his career, ninth-most in Royals history and third among left-handed batters, trailing George Brett (3,154) and Alex Gordon (1,337)... Had a 16-game hitting streak from 6/24-7/14, in which he hit .391/.435/.625 (25-for-64), matching the second-longest streak of his career... Homered in back-to-back games on 6/10-11 and 8/6-7, the 16th and 17th times in his career he's homered in consecutive games... Went a career-best 5-for-5 with five runs, six RBI and his first career grand slam on 7/26 at DET…he also stole a base…became one of three players since at least 1913 with five runs, five hits, six RBI and a steal in a game, joining Yoenis Cespedes (2015) and Reb Russell (1922)... Hit his first career walk-off HR on 8/23 vs. COL, a three-run shot off former teammate Greg Holland... Reached safely in 21 consecutive games from 8/6-27, matching the second-longest streak of his career...hit .347/.449/.573 with five home runs and 17 RBI over the stretch... Had a hit in nine consecutive at-bats from the eighth inning on 9/8 through the second inning on 9/11...according to ELIAS, it matched Danny Valencia for the longest streak in the majors in 2017... Hit .786/.813/1.143 (11-for-14) vs. MIN from 9/7-10...his 11 hits were one shy of the club record in a four-game series, trailing George Brett vs. California in 1975... Ended the season with a 31-game on-base streak in Interleague play dating back to 6/22/16, the longest active streak in the Majors since MIN's Joe Mauer reached in 31 straight from 5/21/13-6/15/15... Named the Royals' Heart and Hustle Award winner by the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association (MLBPAA) for the second straight season...the award honors active players who demonstrate a passion for the game and best embody the values, spirit and traditions of the game... Won a Gold Medal with Team USA in the World Baseball Classic in March, unanimously earning All-World Baseball Classic Team honors…batted .385/.500/.615 (10-for-26) and matched the team lead with 10 hits and tied for second in runs (six) and RBI (five)…hit a game-winning, two-run HR in the eighth inning in a 4-2 win over Venezuela in the second round at Petco Park.

2016

Named the Most Valuable Player of the All-Star Game in San Diego…hit a second-inning home run and had an RBI single in the third, becoming the second Royal to earn All-Star Game MVP honors, joining Bo Jackson…his solo shot was the first All-Star Game homer by a Royal since Jackson's in 1989 (Salvador Perez also homered later in the inning)...Earned his second Les Milgram Royals Player of the Year Award, setting career highs in homers (25) and RBI (104)...Played in 158 games, matching his 2015 total, one shy of his career-best (159) set in 2013…made 154 starts at first base and four as the designated hitter...Became the fifth Royal (10th time) to record a 100-RBI season as a left-handed batter and first since Raul Ibanez (103) in 2002…his 104 RBI are the most by a Royals left-handed batter since George Brett (112) in 1985...Collected 34 go-ahead RBI, tying for second in the Majors, trailing only Albert Pujols (35)…also had 16 game-winning RBI, tied for fourth in the American League behind Pujols (20), David Ortiz (18) and Miguel Cabrera (17)...Hit a career-high 25 home runs, surpassing his previous high of 19 in 2011…became the 12th Royal (18th time) to have at least 25 homers and 100 RBI and first since Billy Butler (29 HR, 107 RBI) in 2012. ..Became the third Royals left-handed hitter (sixth time) to record a 25-home run season and first since George Brett (30) in 1985…Brett also hit 25 homers in 1983, joining John Mayberry, who did it three times...Enjoyed a career-best 18-game hitting streak from April 10-29, batting .366 (26-for-71)…it was tied for the fourth-longest streak in the American League in 2016 and the longest streak by a Royal since Alex Gordon hit in 19 straight games in 2011...Reached base safely in 30 straight games from Sept. 27, 2015-April 29, tied for the 10th-longest streak in franchise history…it was the longest such streak by a Royal since Billy Butler reached in 32 straight games in 2013...Named Royals Majestic Player of the Month for April, batting .326/.368/.506 (29-for-89) with five doubles, a triple, three homers and eight RBI in 23 games...Hit .330 (65-for-197) from April 3-May 31, ranking sixth in the American League…hit just .235 (96-for- 408) with a .375 slugging percentage from June 1 to the end of the season…had six games with three hits, all of them before June 1...Had an RBI in six straight games (14 total) from May 25-31…also had a seven-game RBI streak (8 total) from Aug. 15-21...Recorded his fourth career multi-homer game on June 10 at U.S. Cellular Field, taking lefty Chris Sale deep twice…he became the first left-handed hitter to homer off Sale since 2012, snapping a 518 homerless at-bat streak vs. lefties...Collected his seventh career walk-off RBI, singling in the winning run on Aug. 19 off Minnesota's J.T. Chargois for a 5-4 victory in 11 innings...Homered in consecutive games four times: May 8-9, May 17-18, Aug. 16-17 and Sept. 10-11, the last of which was the 15th time in his career he's homered in back-to-back games...Recorded 23 RBI in 19 games vs. the White Sox… among American League players, only Robinson Cano (25 RBI vs. Houston) and Khris Davis (24 RBI vs. Texas) had more RBI against a single opponent.

2015

Eric was one of the Royals most consistent performers, setting career bests in runs scored, triples, RBI, walks and onbase percentage...Earned a Rawlings Gold Glove for the third time in as many seasons...he became the first A.L. first baseman to win three straight since Rafael Palmeiro (1997-99)...He tied for eighth in the league in runs scored and hits (178) and tied for 12th in RBI…also tied for seventh with Seattle's Robinson Cano in multi-hit games (51)…over the past three seasons, his 148 multi-hit games are tied for 10th in the Major Leagues...Hit .311 (89-for-286) at Kauffman Stadium with a .510 slugging percentage (19 doubles, four triples, 10 homers) at home...home average ranked 12th in the American League. in 2014, he batted just .219 at 'The K' with a .347 SLG...Ranked fourth in the A.L. with 28 go-ahead RBI…37 of his 93 RBI either tied the score or gave KC the lead...He also batted .310 with a .501 slugging percentage vs. right-handed pitching…hit .315 (52-for-165) in day games...Tied with teammate Lorenzo Cain for fourth in the league with 67 two-out hits…he also ranked second in the Junior Circuit, scoring 46 runs after two were down, trailing only Toronto's Jose Bautista (47)...Recorded a season-best 14-game hitting streak between July 18 and August 1, batting .500 (28-for-56) with three doubles, two triples, three homers and 13 RBI during that span…he also had a 10-game hitting streak, August 9-19...Led the American League with a .385 batting average (40-for-104) during the month of July…he also hit .310 in the month of April...Also enjoyed a streak of 10 straight games with an RBI, from August 7-16, which was the longest streak of its kind in the Major Leagues in 2015 and third-longest in Royals history…his 22 RBI during the month of August tied for fifth in the American League...Recorded his third career walk-off hit, doubling home the winning run in the ninth to beat Minnesota, 3-2, July 5...Had two game-winning hits in extra-innings at U.S. Cellular Field…doubled home the go-ahead run in the 13th inning on April 23 in a 3-2 KC win…also hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning for the margin of victory in a 5-3 triumph September 30...Went 4-for-4 with a double in KC's 3-0 triumph over Toronto on July 10 at Kauffman Stadium…it marked his eighth career game with four hits or more...Recorded four RBI in a game twice, both times vs. Cleveland, May 5 at home and July 27 at Progressive Field…his 21 RBI vs. the Tribe were tied for the second-most by any one player against an opponent, trailing only Colorado's Nolan Arenado's 24 RBI vs. San Francisco...Tied for the American League lead among first basemen with a .997 fielding percentage...Set a Royals' postseason record with 17 RBI in his 16 games…he finished four RBI shy of the Major League record, which was set by St. Louis' David Freese (21) in 2011...He also scored 10 runs in postseason play, which tied for fifth among all participants in 2015...His 29 career postseason RBI are the most in Royals' history, passing George Brett (23) during the World Series… his career total is also tied for eighth all-time by a first baseman with Bill Skowron (1955-63)...Batted just .212 with two doubles and a homer during postseason play…however, he hit .333 (12-for-36) with runners on base and .320 (8-for-25) with runners in scoring position…had at least one RBI in 11 of his last 13 postseason games, including six straight from Game 4 of the ALDS to Game 4 of the ALCS...Recorded a postseason high with three RBI in Game 4 of the ALDS at Houston, which included a two-run homer in the ninth inning of the 9-6 win...Had three game-winning RBI: a go-ahead single in the eighth inning of Game 6 of the ALCS vs. Toronto…also plated the winning run in the 14th inning in Game 1 of the World Series, collecting a sac fly...Scored the tying run in the ninth inning of Game 5 of the World Series, coming in from third on a Salvador Perez ground out.

2014

Eric got off to a slow start, but finished strong despite missing a month with a fractured right hand...Batted .321 (53-for-165) with 14 doubles, a triple, five homers and 23 RBI after July 1...His .509 slugging percentage in that span ranked 11th in the American League...Earned his second-straight Rawlings Gold Glove Award…became the first American League first baseman to earn back-to-back honors since Mark Teixeira (2009-10)…he's the only Royals first sacker to win a Gold Glove...Ranked fourth in the American League, hitting .318 (83-for-261) on the road, while he batted just .219 (53-for-242) at 'The K'...Also hit .314 (70-for-223) with runners on base, compared to a .236 average with nobody on...Recorded his 40th career stolen base on June 18 in Detroit to become the Royals' all-time leader in steals by a first baseman, passing George Brett (39)...Had a career-best 16-game hitting streak from June 30-July 20, where he batted .413 (26-for-63) with six doubles, two homers and nine RBI...Streak was the longest by a Royal since Salvador Perez hit safely in 17-straight games in 2012...Suffered a hairline fracture in his right hand and missed 29 games, being placed on the disabled list August 2...Reinstated September 1...Batted .290 (27-for-93) with a .495 slugging percentage after he returned from the D.L....Recorded three games with four hits, including April 22 in Cleveland when he collected a pair of doubles and scored a season high three runs...His 97 multi-hit games over the past two seasons are third among Major League first basemen, trailing only Miguel Cabrera (107) and Freddie Freeman (100)...Hit the game-tying home run in the sixth inning of KC's 6-3 win in Chicago on September 25, reducing KC's Magic Number to one.

2013

2012

Eric struggled offensively in his sophomore season...posted a .255 batting average of balls in play, the seventhlowest in baseball...finished the season hitless in his last 18 at bats as he struggled with a right shoulder strain that caused him to miss the final six games...Was one of three finalists for the Rawlings Gold Glove among American League first basemen...Has 38 go-ahead RBI since beginning of 2011 (debuted on May 6), the second-most on the team behind Billy Butler with 42...also leads the Royals since 2011 with 21 game-winning RBI...Swiped 16 stolen bases, tied with Jeff King (16 in 1997) for the most-ever by a Royals first baseman.

2011

Eric opened the season in Omaha and was leading all of minor league baseball in average and on-base pct. when his contract was selected on May 6 ... spent the remainder of the season in KC where he posted a sensational season and finished third in the A.L. Rookie of the Year voting (38 points). ... Was voted by the KC Chapter of the BBWAA as the Joe Burke Special Achievement Award winner. ... Named Larry Doby A.L. Rookie of the Year by the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. ... Led all qualified MLB rookies (min. 3.1 PA/game) in batting average, go-ahead RBI (26) and game-winning RBI (13) ... led A.L. rookies in hits, runs and multi-hit games (42) while ranking second in RBI, doubles, total bases (243) and extra-base hits (49), third in home runs, walks and slugging and fourth in on-base percentage. ... Of his 19 home runs, 12 either tied the game (4) or gave the Royals the lead (8). ... Singled on May 7 vs. Oakland's Brandon McCarthy for his first Major League hit ... hit first career home run off the Yankees' A.J. Burnett on May 11 in New York. ... Named the July A.L. Rookie of the Month ... led all rookies during the month with 34 hits and 12 doubles ... also had a .358 OBP and .523 SLG...also voted September A.L. Rookie of the Month, hitting .349 with 5 homers and 19 RBI. ... Became the 17th rookie in club history to post a multi-homer game on August 31 at Detroit. ... Posted the 39th game of 5 of more hits in franchise history, going 5-for-5 on September 20 vs. Detroit ... also became the sixth Royals rookie to collect 5 or more hits in a game.

2010

Had a breakout season after some struggles in 2009, becoming one of baseball's top overall prospects...Began the campaign by dominating pitchers in the Carolina League with Wilmington...despite playing his final 50 games of the season with NW Arkansas (AA) in the Texas League, reached the minimum plate appearances to qualify for the Carolina League batting title...also led the league in on-base percentage and OPS (.974)...tied for seventh in the league in triples...Started at first base for the U.S. at the XM Futures All-Star Game in Anaheim on July 11 and went 4-for-5 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored...Spent the fi nal two months of the season with NW Arkansas and helped lead the Naturals to the Texas League title...hit six home runs and drove in 12 in 9 playoff games...hit a pair of 2-run homers in Game 4 of the North Division Series to force a Game 5...then recorded a game-winning 2-run home run in Game 3 of the Championship series at Midland to give the Naturals a 2-to-1 series lead...Honored by the Royals as the 2010 Frank White Award winner, given to the best defensive minor leaguer...Enters 2011 rated as the top prospect in the Royals system according to Baseball America...also the "Best Hitter for Average"...ranked by ESPN.com as the fifth-best prospect and MLB.com as the eight-best entering 2011...Rated by Baseball America as the second-best prospect in both the Carolina League and Texas League...Was one of a record six Royals farmhands to represent Team USA at the Pan American Games Qualifying Tournament...hit .389 with 2 doubles, 2 triples, 1 home run and 7 RBI as Team USA finished tied for third and qualified for the 2011 Pan Am Games as well as the 2011 World Cup...Capped 2010 playing for Surprise in the Arizona Fall League...participated in the AFL's Rising Stars Game and following the season was rated by Baseball America as the third-best prospect in the AFL.

2009

Entered 2009 as the second-best prospect in the Royals organization according to Baseball America...publication also ranked him as the system's "Best Hitter for Average".

2008

Signed on August 15, 2008 and played just 3 games for Idaho Falls (R) that season.