KANSAS CITY -- Aaron Crow can add another line to his job description. The Royals' reliever was elected by his teammates as the team's new player representative before Monday's game with the Twins.

Crow said he doesn't really know what his responsibilities are yet, but he said it was going to be a whole new experience for him. He'll get plenty of instruction from the previous player rep, Billy Butler, whose two-year term was up, hence the election.

"He has responsibilities to give the guys what's going on in the league, what's going on with bargaining, usually, but this is an easy term for him. We just agreed to a new [Collective] Bargaining Agreement, so basically they're just giving out information for guys that just get called up, guys that are getting put on the roster, for dues and stuff like that. You have to pass out paperwork from the association, just make sure everybody's getting information, get everybody filled in on what's going on with the league," Butler said, describing Crow's new duties.

Crow is joined by Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer, who will serve as alternate representatives. They're young, but Butler said their emerging importance to the team means they need to take on more responsibilities.

"It's one of those things where you get a guy that -- he made an All-Star team last year. He needs to step up and do these types of [duties], too, have these duties," Butler said.

Hosmer's bat showing signs of emerging

KANSAS CITY -- An adjustment to batting mechanics might have Eric Hosmer on the verge of busting out of his season-long slump.

Hosmer's struggles at the plate so far in 2012 have been well documented, but the Royals' first baseman has picked up a hit in 11 of his last 12 games entering play on Monday night.

Hitting coach Kevin Seitzer and Hosmer have worked on an adjustment in his mechanics, and the change is already paying dividends.

"We tried to shorten the leg kick a little bit. He was getting leg kick, taking his weight forward, and that made his bat drag through the zone a little bit. We shortened his leg kick, shortened his stride a little bit, and he was much more on time, much more behind the ball, able to use his hands much better," manager Ned Yost said. "He looked phenomenal [Sunday]."

That he did. Hosmer went 2-for-3 with a solo home run in Kansas City's 2-0 win against the A's on Sunday. In his last 12 games entering play Monday, Hosmer hit .356 with an on-base percentage of .408, and six of his 16 hits have gone for extra bases.

"The adjustment is being able to stay back and see the ball, keep your hands back and drive through it. He naturally hits the ball really well the other way with a lot of power. So when he's doing that like he did [Sunday], you know he's getting really close."

Before Monday's game, Hosmer's batting average stood at .214, the highest it had been since April 25. He said that it's been good to see the change pay off.

"It's nice. But you still can get better, and we're still working at it every day. Starting to see results is good, and hopefully we just keep this rolling."