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In a game with few guarantees, Brian Poldberg is sure of one thing as he sends Mike Moustakas to professional baseball's next level.
“He's going to hit,'' said Poldberg, the Northwest Arkansas manager who watched Moustakas tear up Class AA pitching for the first half of the season. “If he goes to Omaha and continues doing what he's done here, I would think he has a good chance to compete for the third-base spot on the major-league team next spring.''
The 21-year-old Moustakas learned Wednesday that the Kansas City Royals promoted him from Northwest Arkansas to their Class AAA team in Omaha. He is expected to be in the lineup Thursday night when Omaha opens a series at Nashville.
“And he'll be batting fifth,'' Omaha manager Mike Jirschele said.
Moustakas will arrive in Omaha having recently been ranked the 12th-best minor league prospect by Baseball America. A first-round pick by the Royals in 2007, Moustakas played in this week's Major League Baseball All-Star Futures game.
In spite of missing the first 2½ weeks of the season with an abdominal strain, Moustakas leads the Texas League in all three triple-crown categories with a .347 average, 21 home runs and 76 RBIs in 66 games. He also leads the league in slugging percentage (.687) and is second in on-base percentage (.413).
“He's a guy that can hit for average and hit for power,'' said Poldberg, the Omaha native who has been in the Royals organization for two decades. “He's got good hands, good feet and a plus arm. He plays third base well enough to play it in the big leagues.
“He showed up here, and his first two swings were home runs. He's definitely made his mark here.''
Asked what he knows about Moustakas, Jirschele replied, “I know he's having a great season. He's proven himself there, and now he needs to see what he can do at this level. It's all part of the development process.
“No one wanted to rush him. The way you find out about a hitter is to see how they react against teams that have already seen him. Teams will find your weaknesses and go after them. Based on what he did down there, he's done a good job of making adjustments.''
Moustakas' next adjustment must come against Class AAA pitchers who are more experienced than the ones he's faced at Northwest Arkansas.
“He's going to see different types of pitching at the Triple-A level,'' Poldberg said. “Guys are older, guys have major-league experience. They'll pitch backwards, they're not going to try to challenge him as much as guys did here.''
Said Jirschele: “He's not going to see as many fastballs. Down there, a lot of pitchers go to their fastball when they get in trouble. Here, guys will still throw their off-speed stuff even when they're behind in the count. He'll be facing pitchers that are more mature.''
In spite of that, Poldberg likes Moustakas' chances of making an impact.
“He's got good hands, he's got a good knowledge of the strike zone,'' Poldberg said. “He came here and got it done. Now, it's time for him to go and show what he can do on the next level.''
Moustakas will fill the spot on Omaha's roster that opened when shortstop Irving Falu was placed on the temporary inactive list to allow him to take part in the 2010 Central America and Caribbean Games.
Falu will be gone for about two weeks as he plays for his native Puerto Rico. Falu has played in 85 of Omaha's 89 games and is hitting .272. He has scored 52 runs and stolen a team-high 13 bases in 15 attempts.
Contact the writer:
679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com
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