Under is an evaluation of the prospects within the farm system of the Kansas Metropolis Royals. Scouting experiences had been compiled with data offered by business sources in addition to our personal observations. That is the fifth 12 months we’re delineating between two anticipated aid roles, the abbreviations for which you’ll see within the “place” column under: MIRP for multi-inning aid pitchers, and SIRP for single-inning aid pitchers. The ETAs listed usually correspond to the 12 months a participant needs to be added to the 40-man roster to keep away from being made eligible for the Rule 5 draft. Guide changes are made the place they appear acceptable, however we use that as a rule of thumb.
A fast overview of what FV (Future Worth) means might be discovered right here. A a lot deeper overview might be discovered right here.
The entire ranked prospects under additionally seem on The Board, a useful resource the location affords that includes sortable scouting data for each group. It has extra particulars (and up to date TrackMan information from numerous sources) than this text and integrates each workforce’s checklist so readers can evaluate prospects throughout farm techniques. It may be discovered right here.
Different Prospects of Observe
Grouped by sort and listed so as of desire inside every class.
Fallen From Previous Lists
Tyler Gentry, OF
Gavin Cross, OF
Daniel Vazquez, SS
Anderson Paulino, RHP
Gentry, at peak, regarded like a lefty-mashing nook platoon man, however he’s struck out at a roughly 30% clip in Triple-A the final two years and is on the 40-man fringe. Cross, a former first rounder, sandwiched a strong 2024 between unhealthy 2023 and 2025 performances. He’s placing out practically a 3rd of the time at Double-A and has a reasonably gradual bat. Vazquez, 21, is a good shortstop defender with below-average offensive instruments. Typical utility guys have higher gloves than he does. Paulino is a 26-year-old reliever whose fastball has been within the 94-97 mph vary for a lot of the final a number of years, nevertheless it has all the time performed method down and he has a profession ERA over 5.00.
Nice Deliveries
Logan Martin, RHP
Julio Rosario, RHP
Jordan Woods, LHP
Martin was a 2023 twelfth rounder out of Kentucky who’s at the moment within the Excessive-A rotation. He has a beautiful supply and a construct within the Jason Marquis mildew. His fastball sits 92-96, he has a 45-grade slider, and it’s potential his changeup will take a late leap as a result of his arm motion is so slick. Rosario is a 22-year-old A-ball reliever who sits 91 however has a very good slider and changeup. Woods, 21, is a projectable Canadian southpaw who signed as an undrafted free agent in 2022. His 6-foot-3 body and curveball really feel made him a very good sleeper popping out of TJ. He hasn’t progressed from a velo standpoint and continues to be sitting 88 at Columbia.
2025 Signees
Ramcell Medina, SS
Moises Marchán, C
Kendry Chourio, RHP
Medina is a twitchy shortstop prospect with above-average bat velocity and precocious pull energy. Components of his swing seem like that of Miguel Andujar, geared to drag in such a method that he makes concessions on the outer third. He’s an thrilling DSL prospect to observe in 2025. Marchán is a sinewy catching prospect with an enormous arm. Chourio is a reasonably undersized righty with a very good curveball whose fastball will creep into the mid-90s.
Shock Royals
Jhonayker Ugarte, 3B
Darison Garcia, INF
Kyle DeGroat, RHP
Sthiven Benitez, RHP
Ugarte signed for $1.4 million in 2023 as a well-rounded third base prospect. He isn’t monitoring pitches in any respect in Arizona and appears like a high-risk prospect resulting from an absence of contact capacity. Garcia is a projectable ACL infielder with superior really feel for contact however below-average bat velocity. DeGroat signed for simply shy of $350,000 within the 2024 14th spherical quite than go to Texas. He’s a 6-foot-1 righty with a drop-and-drive supply, a low-90s fastball, and the makings of an above-average breaking ball. Benitez is without doubt one of the harder-throwing complex-level arms, sitting 94-97 in aid. He’s wild and has a profession WHIP nicely over 2.00, however he’s a 6-foot-3 20-year-old with big arm velocity, and he must be monitored in case he ever corals his velocity.
Depth-Sort Southpaws
Hunter Owen, LHP
Hunter Patteson, LHP
Sprint Albus, LHP
Jacob Widener, LHP
Chazz Martinez, LHP
Large and beefy with a sky-high left-handed launch level, Owen is piling up whiffs with a good gyro slider. He’s additionally sitting 91 mph, and his below-average athleticism provides an additional scare issue to his current bouts of poor management. Patteson was the membership’s 2022 fifth rounder out of Central Florida. Now 25, he’s a strike-throwing Excessive-A starter with below-average stuff. Albus is a southpaw reliever who signed for $150,000 out of Abilene Christian in 2024. He solely sits 90, however he has a misleading arm motion and instructions an above-average slider. He may very well be a lefty specialist. Widener is a 6-foot-7 sidearmer from Oral Roberts who’s recent off elbow surgical procedure and rehabbing in Arizona. He has a traditional LOOGY look — low-90s fastball, huge sweeping slider — however on an XXL body. A former two-way participant in school who legit banged as a 19-year-old within the West Coast League, Martinez transferred to Oklahoma for his draft 12 months in 2022. He parlayed strong work because the Sooners’ swingman right into a $125,000 bonus as a Day Three decide, and is pitching his method towards being protected on the 40-man this December due to a command leap. Granted, it’s not an enormous command leap. However opposing hitters usually whiff — 30% of the time in-zone — towards Martinez’s super-runny, low-90s cross-fire heater, establishing his slider and changeup to play up when he retains them on the identical tunnel. This appears to be like like a cool medium-leverage lefty specialist profile if the strike-throwing holds.
Righty Relievers
Brandon Johnson, RHP
Beck Manner, RHP
Jacob Wallace, RHP
Johnson is the previous Ole Miss nearer (not the present mayor of Chicago) and pairs below-average dimension with common velocity on a four-seamer that has an intense downhill airplane. The uncooked substances and athleticism aren’t thrilling, however Double-A hitters aren’t squaring up his heater, and his mid-80s gyro slider performs nice out of his axe-throwing arm slot. A part of the three-player return from the mid-2022 commerce that despatched Andrew Benintendi to the Yankees, Manner’s east-west arsenal out of low-three-quarters slot makes him a tricky dangle for righty hitters, however his poor management has been unpalatable for 3 years operating now. Wallace’s velocity is down a tad in 2025, however at peak, he’ll present you 94-97 with a plus slider and erratic command.
Lengthy-Time period Dev Bats
Derlin Figueroa, 3B/1B
Hyungchan Um, C
Figueroa was a rookie ball acquisition within the Ryan Yarbrough commerce with the Dodgers in 2023. The 21-year-old lefty-hitting Dominican infielder is repeating Low-A to begin 2025. He has an enormous arm, however inaccuracy and (probably) an absence of vary threaten a full-time first base transfer, and there isn’t fairly sufficient offense right here to assist that. Um is a developmental 21-year-old Korean catcher with common energy projection and a dangerous hit software.
System Overview
It is a below-average system with one huge fish on the very prime, a number of high-variance hitters with hit software danger, and a good variety of pitchers with starter-quality command. The Royals have pumped a ton of draft capital into highschool pitching because the pandemic (Ben Hernandez, Frank Mozzicato, Ben Kudrna, Shane Panzini, Blake Wolters, Hiro Wyatt, David Shields, and some mid-six-figure guys), totaling upwards of $15 million in bonuses, and whereas a number of of them are nonetheless prospects, none of them has actually developed in a big method. The dangerous alternatives of highschool catchers would possibly nonetheless work out. Blake Mitchell and Carter Jensen have huge lefty energy for younger backstops, a demographic that notoriously takes longer to develop. Any makes an attempt at diversifying danger by way of school participant alternatives have gone awry as a result of gamers like Gavin Cross, Asa Lacy, and another mid-round draftees simply haven’t panned out, or don’t seem like they’re going to. Noah Cameron is an exception and ought to be a rotation mainstay for the subsequent half decade.
Newbie expertise is the lifeblood of smaller market groups just like the Royals, and whereas they’re extra aggressive and attention-grabbing than they had been a few years in the past, they aren’t getting sufficient out of the draft to interrupt by means of and actually contend in any form of sustainable method. Whether or not that’s an issue with improvement, scouting, or draft technique (why preserve feeding a system highschool arms when it hasn’t proven it will possibly develop them?), the org wants to alter course someplace within the home newbie area.
Internationally, issues are extra attention-grabbing. There’s volatility inherent in that market however the Royals are inclined to have toolsy, projectable gamers on their advanced, and so they are inclined to get them with out placing all of their eggs into one or two baskets. Lots of the finest worldwide prospects on this system had been signed for lower than $200,000. A number of 6-foot-3 (or greater) pitchers with good deliveries, athletes with prototypical dimension and a point of pitchability, are lurking right here. The business as a complete doesn’t generate many Latin American starters, however there are a number of potential exceptions on this system.
The Royals are competing for the crown of a mediocre (although enhancing) division and are in place to be deadline patrons, however they might not have the prospect high quality to make an actual splash within the commerce market. That stated, they’ve made significant trades over the last 12 months or so (for Jonathan India, Hunter Harvey, and Lucas Erceg) by giving up gamers like Mason Barnett and Cayden Wallace, and trades of that ilk appear believable once more. However this isn’t a “shark’s enamel” farm system the place, when one participant departs, one other is developed to maneuver into his place. There’s solely a lot they’ll do earlier than the cabinet appears to be like fairly naked. As soon as Cags graduates, this shall be one of many backside couple of techniques in baseball.
