FanHouse Eric Hosmer

Wondering which young players could have an impact in the majors this year? Let MLB FanHouse guide the way in Better Know a Prospect. In this edition we look at three players from the Kansas City Royals.

Kila Ka'aihue, 1B: Ka'aihue isn't the team's best first base prospect (18-year-old Eric Hosmer, the third overall pick in last year's draft, holds that distinction), but he's certainly the most ready for the big leagues. Drafted out of high school in 2002, Ka'aihue played five relatively unremarkable years in the minors before exploding last season, hitting .315 with 37 home runs and a 1.5 K/BB ratio between Double-A and Triple-A.

From The Windup is FanHouse's daily, extended look at a particular portion of America's pastime.

There is one name that strikes fear into the heart of baseball fans and it's not Rodriguez or Santana or Sabathia or Ramirez. It's Boras. Signing or drafting a Scott Boras client means that your team is going to be put through every wringer possible as Boras tries to hustle, hassle, and finagle every last dollar out by exposing loopholes in agreements that no one ever even knew existed. At best, it's annoying for the fans to deal with. But a guy like Boras is exactly what baseball needs.

If you're unfamiliar with the most recent Boras saga, allow me to get you up to speed (for all of the details, read Dejan Kovacevic's excellent piece at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's PBC Blog). In June, the Pirates drafted Pedro Alvarez with the second overall pick. After little contact the day of the August 15th deadline, the sides worked out a $6 million signing bonus on the cusp of the midnight deadline. Things got suspicious from there when Alvarez never reported to Pittsburgh for his physical or to sign the contract in person.

After nearly two weeks, word broke last Wednesday that the Pirates had placed Alvarez on the restricted list for not signing his deal and that the player's union (the MLBPA) was filing a grievance alleging that the contract had been signed after the midnight deadline. From there, the finger-pointing started between Boras and Pirates' CEO Frank Coonelly (formerly the MLB General Counsel in charge of draft slotting) with the Royals' first round pick, Eric Hosmer (who signed after the deadline with an extension from the commissioner's office) dragged into the feud.

To fans and the media, what a team does in the MLB Draft pales next to a big free-agent signing or blockbuster trade.

Part of that is the gaudy figures thrown around during the hot stove season. The Red Sox, this year's top spender in the draft, couldn't even buy one year of Gil Meche if they shifted their draft outlay to the open market. Most of it stems from immediacy, though. A big winter signing answers the question who will help me today? A big haul in the draft answers who will help me tomorrow, but in most cases tomorrow is years away, if it ever comes at all.

Still, as the cost of free agents escalates, the draft continues to become the most important way to ensure long-term success. With that in mind, and with the deadline to sign picks in the books, here's a look at three teams who won and three teams who lost in the 2008 draft

The August 15th deadline for signing draft picks has created some interesting drama in mid-August that didn't previously exist. With most high draft picks waiting until the 15th to sign, there was a ton of tension as midnight approached last night. One of the most interesting subplots, however, has been how Scott Boras has handled negotiations for his top prospects.

A year ago, he represented Mike Moustakas and Matt Wieters, picked second and fifth overall, respectively. After demanding huge signing bonuses for both of them, it was reported the he called the Royals and Orioles after 11:30 PM and mostly gave in to the teams' demands, with Moustakas signing for $4 miilion with the Royals and Wieters getting $6 million from Baltimore. That's certainly a lot of money, but it's not even close to what Boras had reportedly been asking for.

A similar scenario played itself out last night with second overall pick Pedro Alvarez (picked by the Pirates) and third pick Eric Hosmer (again, the Royals). After reportedly asking the Pirates for an eight-figure signing bonus for Alvarez and a major league contract and a similarly huge bonus and big-league signing contract for Hosmer, both players signed for $6 million bonuses and minor league deals within minutes of the midnight deadline.

So what's the deal? Two years, four demands that Boras has seemingly caved on. Is the superagent losing his touch?

Now that the exciting action of MLB's amateur draft has completed it's first round, it's time to take a look at our country's next millionaires. Here's a quick glance at the first round selections by the teams of the AL Central.

Kansas City Royals (3) Eric Hosmer, 1B, American Heritage (Fla) H.S.: Picking this early in the draft is nothing new for the Royals, as they've had a top six pick in six of the last seven drafts. They've spent a lot of those picks on position players, as they've only chosen one pitcher (Luke Hochevar) with their first pick in the last four years. Well, considering that the Royals currently have the lowest scoring offense in baseball, and have hit the least amount of home runs, it's no shock that they went after a player with a lot of power in his bat. It's been said the left-handed hitting Hosmer has more raw power than any other player taken in the first round, and he can use that power to go to the opposite field just as easily as pulling the ball. Some wonder if he'll be a first baseman in the Majors, though, as he does have a very strong throwing arm, and may eventually be moved to the outfield.

Chicago White Sox (8) Gordon Beckham, SS, Georgia: After all the trades Kenny Williams has made the last few seasons, the White Sox farm system has been left pretty bare, especially in the middle infield. That's why the Sox had to be ecstatic when Beckham fell to them at the 8th spot. Beckham can play both shortstop and second, though he'll probably stay at short, and he can swing the bat as well. He hit .307/.505/.781 for the Bulldogs this season, and according to ESPN's Keith Law, he'll be the best prospect in the White Sox organization the second he signs his contract. Considering that Orlando Cabrera doesn't plan on sticking around in Chicago after this season, and the team is never happy with Juan Uribe, it may not be very long before White Sox fans see Beckham at U.S. Cellular Field.