Kila Kaaihue

by deezle on Jul 29, 2008 10:44 AM EDT Comment 9 comments

1st baseman Kila Kaiihue was promoted to Triple A Omaha yesterday by the Royals after posting a line of 314/463/624 with 26 HR, 80 BB, and 41 SO. He's a bit old for the league at 24 years old, but it's an impressive line nonetheless. For me, the most impressive aspect is his discipline; if the HR power isn't legit, he looks like he could at least be valuable as a high OBP guy.

What does everyone know about this guy? Is he a legit prospect?

Also, milb.com lists his dob as 3/29/84, exactly one year old than his brother Kala. Is that correct, or is milb.com wrong and they're actually twins?

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that is impressive and it looks like he's an older brother

His father, Kala Kaaihue Jr., spent 11 years in the Minor Leagues for Pittsburgh, St. Louis, San Diego and the Chicago White Sox. ... His younger brother, Kala, is in the Braves organization.

by joltinjoe on Jul 29, 2008 12:31 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Braves Ka'aihue.

So our guy is actually Kala Ka’aihue III??? Now I like him even more!

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by ejruiz on Jul 29, 2008 1:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Hes not a prospect

Hes a 1b who can’t hit good pitching. Hes a 24 year old 1b who needed three tries to succeed at AA

by nms on Jul 29, 2008 2:01 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

806 OPS last season

with more BB than SO. it’s not like he was dreadful before this season.

Why do you say he can’t hit good pitching?

by deezle on Jul 29, 2008 2:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

An 806 OPS in the Texas League

for a 23 yo 1b on his second try at the circuit is not something that makes me think he is a major leaguer except in the sense that Chad Santos is/was a Major Leaguer.

by nms on Jul 29, 2008 3:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That's fair

you didn’t answer the second question though. Where have you read that he can’t hit good pitching?

by deezle on Jul 29, 2008 3:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't have a BA handbook with me

but I recall seeing it in there. The general word I have heard about the question marks about his bat, plus his struggles with even AA arms and the fact that he is a 1-tool guy simply don’t paint a rosy picture for me.

by nms on Jul 29, 2008 3:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I believe you are thinking of his brother, Kala

Kala is on the braves and was top 30 in the BA handbook for the braves.

Kila wasn’t top 30

by cwhitman412 on Jul 29, 2008 6:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I’ve seen Kila Kaaihue play a few times of the past two seasons. Most of my impression of him as a hitter was determined last year, since this season essentially all I’ve witnessed is him being pitched around. However, it may be worth noting that he wasn’t chasing pitches and was willing to take the base on balls.

However, last year I saw him connect in consecutive ABs and display plus-plus power. And I mean Kevin Mitchell/you don’t even get the expletive out of your mouth before the ball disappears into the night type of power.

Whether or not Kaaihue progresses is yet to be seen but if you’re at a game in which he plays, I suspect you’ll soon discover that he’s the kind of hitter that when at bat will have your attention. When he squares the ball, it is going to be a souvenir within the next second.

by Toad on Jul 29, 2008 6:55 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs