Finding themselves competing for the first time in years, the Kansas City Royals have decided to hurry their top prospect to the big leagues ahead of schedule. Minutes after beating the Baltimore Orioles 9-1 on Thursday behind Melky Cabrera's four RBIs and Bruce Chen's strong pitching, the Royals announced Eric Hosmer was being called up from Triple-A Omaha and would start on Friday night against the Oakland Athletics. Struggling Kila Ka'aihue goes back to Omaha. The announcement is certain to boost attendance on Friday night. The 21-year-old Hosmer is Kansas City's most heralded prospect since Alex Gordon was the overall No. 2 pick in 2005. He's also one of many young players that have made the Royals' minor league system the envy of most major league organizations. Read more: http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=310505107&teams=baltimore-orioles-vs-kansas-city-royals