Mike Moustakas

Michael Christopher Moustakas (born September 11, 1988) is an American professional baseball third baseman in the Chicago White Sox organization.

He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds, Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Angels.

In 2006 Moustakas was a member of USA Baseball's Junior National Team, competing in the World Junior Championships in Cuba.

He also made 41 double plays far besting the previous mark of 34 Mark Teahen set in 2006.

Moustakas finished the year batting .242 with a .296 OBP with 20 home runs and 73 RBIs, also hitting 34 doubles.

Moustakas was drafted in the first round (second overall) of the 2007 MLB draft by the Royals.

During games he is often greeted by calls of "Moose", a nickname given by his little league coach along with fans and the media.

Moustakas attended Chatsworth High School in Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, where he was a four-year starter in baseball.

During that time he helped Chatsworth to a 124–11 record, including four West Valley League championships, and two California Interscholastic Federation city titles.

Moustakas was voted "Player of the Year" by Cal-Hi Sports in both his sophomore and junior years.

His 52 career home runs in high school are a California prep state record.

Moustakas attempted to be a two-sport player for Chatsworth, but a broken ankle suffered in his first game as quarterback for the Chancellors ended his high school football career, and nearly ended his baseball career as well.

However, after three months of rehabilitation Moustakas was able to resume playing baseball.

He topped off his prep career by being named Baseball America's High School Player of the Year in 2007, an honor previously bestowed on MLB stars like Joe Mauer, Homer Bailey and Josh Hamilton.

Moustakas was also selected to the USA Today All-USA high school baseball team in 2007.

He was offered a scholarship to USC, but turned it down and decided to enter the 2007 MLB draft.

The Kansas City Royals selected Moustakas with the second overall pick of the 2007 amateur draft.

He signed with the team on August 15, 2007, receiving a reported signing bonus of $4 million.

Entering 2009, Moustakas was widely regarded as one of the top baseball prospects in all of minor league baseball.

Moustakas, however, had trouble adjusting to the Carolina League in 2009.

While his power remained, his ability to hit for a high average went down significantly as he adjusted to the new level of competition.

Moustakas' power and average quickly returned to form after being called up to Double-A ball the following year — as of July 13, 2010, Moustakas was hitting .352 with 21 homers and 76 runs batted in (RBIs) in AA Northwest Arkansas.

On July 15, 2010, he was promoted to Triple-A Omaha.

On August 30, 2010, Moustakas was named the 2010 Texas League Player of the Year and on the same night, he set an Omaha Royals record with three home runs and 11 RBIs in one game.

Moustakas won the Joe Bauman Home Run Award for most home runs in minor league baseball, winning a tiebreaker with Mark Trumbo.

Moustakas had his contract purchased by Kansas City on June 9, 2011.

He made his debut the following night against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, going 1–3 with a walk and a run scored.

His first major league hit came in his third plate appearance against Ervin Santana, where he would eventually score in the 4–2 win.

Moustakas went on to play in 89 games for Kansas City in 2011, finishing the season with five home runs, thirty RBIs, and a season batting average of .263.

Chatsworth teammate Matt Dominguez was chosen by the Florida Marlins with the 12th overall pick of the amateur draft.

The pair became just the sixth set of high school teammates to be selected in the first round of the same draft.

On February 18, 2012, the Royals announced they had signed Moustakas to a one-year contract for the 2012 season.

No financial terms of the deal were released.

During the 2012 season Moustakas set a new club record for K.C., playing 47 straight games without an error.

The Sporting News ranked Moustakas as the 13th-best prospect overall, while MLB.com listed Moustakas as their 11th-best prospect in all of baseball.

In 2013, he batted .233 with a .287 on base percentage, 12 home runs, and 42 RBI.

He also led all American League third basemen with 16 errors.

On May 22, 2014, he was demoted to Triple-A Omaha after batting just .152 through 139 plate appearances.

Moustakas struggled early in the 2014 season.

On May 22, 2014, he was demoted to Triple-A Omaha after batting just .152 through 139 plate appearances, though he led the team in homers with 4.