KC Royals: Get Vinnie Pasquantino to the club now

The time has come, KC Royals, to make the move.

Not the pitching coach. Not today. That’s a change growing more inevitable by the day, maybe even the hour, one that won’t produce immediate results. Altering the direction of the Royals’ pitching staff and improving its increasingly miserable numbers will take time.

So letting Cal Eldred go can wait a bit.

Instead, be bold now. Right now. Take a risk that looks big but may not be. Try to infuse some spark at the plate.

Call up first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino. Have him in Minnesota Thursday evening when you begin a four-game series with the American League Central Division-leading Twins.

Move Carlos Santana to the bench, or off the roster. Preferably the latter. His contract is running out, so you’re not bringing him back next season, and his trade deadline value is in the tank.

Get Pasquantino to the majors and start him at first base Thursday. Sure, it’s risky, but taking a risk is what major league clubs do every time they replace a veteran with a rookie whose only exposure to big league fast and breaking balls has been in spring training.

Pasquantino has earned it.

KC Royals prospect Vinnie Pasquantino deserves an immediate promotion.

Look at what he did Wednesday afternoon for Triple-A Omaha—Pasquantino was a big reason the Storm Chasers battered Louisville 19-0. He went 5-for-7 with two home runs (his 11th and 12th of the season), one of which was a grand slam, added a pair of doubles, drove in five runs and scored four, and had 13 total bases.

Look what he’s done this season. After today’s batting binge, he’s hitting .296 with a .396 OBP and 1.034 OPS, and has 45 RBIs in 42 games.

Look at what he did last year. In a season split between High-A Quad Cities and Double-A Northwest Arkansas, Pasquantino clubbed 24 homers with 84 RBIs and a .300/.394/.563 line.

What more does he have to prove in the minors, especially to an organization that presently has one of the worst teams, both at the plate and on the mound, in the major leagues?

Will he struggle? Maybe, maybe not. But even if he does, you’re no worse off with a struggling Pasquantino than you are with Santana.

And Pasquantino is the future. Santana isn’t and never was.

Get Vinnie to Minnesota, Royals. Now.

Vinnie Pasquantino should be with the Royals before Thursday’s game with Minnesota.