Age: 22 Barnett was the Royals third-round pick out of Auburn last year. His 3-game MLB debut notwithstanding, Lynch still projects as a solid #2/3 type starter to slot in behind Lacy in the rotation. Kowar also had a 3-game cameo for the Royals that didnt yield desirable results, however thats no reflection on his 2021 minor league campaign. 6) coming via international signing. With a high OBP, he is a terror on the basepaths. The results have been good, but hell need to show durability moving forward. Acquired: 2016 Draft, Rd 16 Bradley is a nice high-floor, low-ceiling outfielder who does a lot of everything well, but doesnt stand out in any one area. The Royals have some young studs ranked among their best prospects, but they also have a number on the verge of the Majors. 49. 38. Catchers with superb defense have value. 3 pitch mix with the ability to remain a starter. Drew Waters, Beck Way, Andrew Hoffmann, Samad Taylor, T.J. Sikkema, Chandler Champlain and Steven Cruz all joined the Royals in the past year from other organizations. Jackson Kowar, RHP Acquired: 2018 Trade (Washington) 3. Age: 21 The ten starts that Bubic was able to get in during the shortened season is invaluable experience. #Royals Bobby Witt Jr. hasnt even played above Rookie ball and hes out here making it look easy! , 3 | Travelers 8 #NWANaturals 3 pic.twitter.com/qct4Lv1GDU, NW Arkansas Naturals (@nwanaturals) July 15, 2021, 8. It was exactly the kind of low-risk, high-reward pick to take late in a draft. Smaller frame may limit the upside, however his plate discipline will give him a long leash. Kansas City Royals Prospects Overview System analysis, top prospects, projected lineups, and more Current Top Prospects 1 Gavin Cross OF 2 Cayden Wallace 3B 3 Drew Waters OF 4 Ben. 19. I view Gutierrez as a pinch hitter, defensive replacement type of player. 'Home run hero' Ford feted by British school kids. Age: 19 If the Royals could wind back the clock, theyd likely take Evan White in the first base spot. Current Level: High-A. A couple spots down at No. 31. Acquired: 2018 Amateur Free Agency The hesitance around such a profile allowed a consensus top-30 overall prospect in James Wood of the Nationals to fall to the second round of the 2021 MLB Draft and Spencer Jones to "fall" to the Yankees at 22nd overall. The prize of the Andrew Benintendi trade last summer, Way struck out 127 hitters in 108 innings in High-A between the Yankees and Royals organization, with a solid 3.75 ERA overall. Age: 24 I think there is a pretty significant drop-off in prospect quality at this point, with everyone either having some red flags, coming off injury or a poor season, or is so far away from the big leagues it is difficult to project performance. MJ Melendez, C Rylan Kaufman, LHP (January rank #45) Age: 24 But hes a lefty who has struck out 36.7 percent of all hitters hes faced, that should count for something. Acquired: 2017 Free Agency The Royals got Hoffman in the Drew Waters trade with Atlanta, but he really struggled after changing organizations and getting bumped up to Double-A. Bowlan has answered concerns over development of secondary offering. Rays enter 2023 with deep, talented system. 46. MJ Melendez, C (January rank #15) With several others in the system with a similar skill set, hell have to be spectacular to get to that level. 62 overall prospect in baseball. 10 is catcher Carter Jensen, who went to Park Hill HS in Kansas City before the Royals drafted him in the third round in 2021. Staumont has taken hold of a high-leverage spot in KCs pen. Current Level: AAA. Near the end of last years draft, the Royals took a gamble they could lure Charles away from college with a large enough bonus and it worked! His results have been mixed with decent strikeout numbers but high walk totals in Low-A. As we get into the rankings, heres a quick breakdown of how the Tier system works here at Prospects1500: Tier 1: Players with high expectations of both making the majors and playing at an All-Star level for a number of years 16. 2 prospect; hell be an Opening Day outfielder and play behind the plate in 2023. Highest Level: Rookie If he becomes a lefty fifth starter who throws strikes and gets grounders, the Royals would take that to the bank. Jensen started the 2022 season in Columbia, a good sign for a very young prospect. Tyler Gentry, OF And now, in July of 2021, we will have the fifth edition of our mid-season rankings here at Royals Farm Report. Erick Pena, OF March 17, 2023. Jensen is a lefty bat with a mature approach to the plate and power potential, and while I think he moves to the outfield eventually due to his offensive upside, Ive read good things about his defense behind the plate. Just absolute filth from Ben. See our ethics statement. If he can figure out his issues, he could be in the big leagues before long - he had great stuff and a polished approach in college and has struck out nearly 30 percent of the hitters hes faced. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Kudrna is from local Blue Valley Southwest HS in Overland Park and brings with him tons of athleticism, projectability, and jaw-dropping results. Hes a fastball/slider pitcher who can get his heater in the mid-to-high-90s. The Royals third-round pick in the 2020 Draft, Gentry beat High-A quickly by hitting .336/.434/.516, then was promoted to Double-A on June 14. Gavin Cross, OF ( MLB No. Recently promoted to AA, Zerpa dominated in Quad Cities, displaying excellent control and tantalizing strikeout rates. Certainly a surprise to many with Rocker on the board, dont look past the lefty prepster from Connecticut; his statistical output is off the chart at nearly 22 K/9! Get scouting reports, video, stats, projected ETAs and more for Kansas City's Top 30 Prospects. If he sticks as a regular, that will be a huge feather in the cap of J.J. Picollo - who acquired him from the Braves in a creative trade for a draft pick - and the hitting development team led by Alec Zumwalt. The Royals' first-round pick from 2021 will finally get his first taste this season of pro ball. So uhh.this Alec Marsh kid is pretty good. His upside is limited given his advanced age, however his ability to play outfield and infield is something the Royals covet. He will have to get more whiffs, or at least improve his command, but Kudrna has the physical upside to improve. Tier 3: Players with an average expectation of making the majors and being a solid contributor 40% strikeout rates generally never make it in the major leagues, as a result, Matias has a long climb ahead of him. Jonathan Bowlan, RHP The 2020 #MLBDraft prospect is among @jimcallisMLBs top performers from the game: https://t.co/LyvbjCEPtg pic.twitter.com/n4ulSX01Y7, MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) July 23, 2019. Omar Florentino, SS 26. Sebastian Rivero, C (January rank #38) Chicago native & @UICBaseball commit Ben Hernandez struck out the side in a perfect 9th in yesterdays #UAALLAMERICA Game in front of his hometown crowd at Wrigley Field. Current Level: High-A. Eligibility restrictions apply. I feel like Gentry should be getting a bit more love from prospect lists, but I suppose his age (hell turn 24 in February) is likely keeping him from getting more recognition. I think we were all a little surprised when the Royals chose to add Angel Zerpa to the 40-man roster this offseason in order to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. I still see Witt as an everyday, perennial All-Star SS, however. Top 30 by Team. Gabe Speier, LHP (January unranked) His impressive line of .240/.324/.479 in 32 games with the Royals comes with the caveat that he struck out 36.7 percent of the time. Age: 23 Isbel is more a high-floor type of prospect, but should be a serviceable corner OF (likely LF) at the MLB level. Age: 22 Asa Lacy, LHP Kansas City seems to be on the verge of contending in the next few years, and it has added a wealth of experience to the 2021 roster to help push the club back into the postseason. Kris Bubic, LHP There were just four teenage hitters who drew 80+ walks last season - Brainer Bonaci, Harry Ford, Adael Amador, and Carter Jensen. The first professional season has been a good one for the outfielder from the University of Alabama. Carlos Hernandez, RHP (January rank #12) As we get into the rankings, heres a quick breakdown of how the Tier system works here at Prospects1500: Tier 1: Players with high expectations of both making the majors and playing at an All-Star level for a number of years Highest Level: High A 2, nearly two years removed from being selected in the second round of the 2021 Draft out of Blue Valley Southwest High School. Yefri Del Rosario, RHP He has excellent control , which will allow him to continue to develop as a starter. I dont really see this guy very high on prospect lists and I have to wonder why. Tyler Zuber, RHP (January rank #32) Bobby Witt Jr. began the year as baseballs No. Look for him to continue to lock down the 8th inning in front of Greg Holland. Still, I like his power potential and his plate discipline, and the 23-year-old could be one to watch this year. Daniel Tillo, LHP Highest Level: Low A Marsh still displays excellent control, and now the strikeout rates are escalating for the former Arizona State hurler. When we released our top 50 Royals prospects list last week, I briefly recapped some of the players on our list, but I wanted to go a little further in-depth and remind everyone how our boys were doing on the farm last time there was MiLB: in the fall of 2019. Highest Level: Rookie Highest Level: High A A third-round pick of the Royals in 2021 and one-time LSU commit, the 19-year-old Kansas City native hit .226 over 113 games last season at low-A Columbia and batted .281 at the rookie level in. Age: 21 Highest Level: College He has a fastball and slider that play well off each other. 62)2. Baseball America had Tresh pegged as a second-round talent, but the Royals scooped him up in the 17th round of the 2021 draft when he fell due to signability concerns. Michael Kelley Age: 24 Age: 21 | Highest Level: AAAPre-Season Rank: 1 | Pre-Season OFP: 60Pre-Season Scouting Report, Age: 22 | Highest Level: AAAPre-Season Rank: 14 | Pre-Season OFP: 45Pre-Season Scouting Report, Age: 22 | Highest Level: A+Pre-Season Rank: 2 | Pre-Season OFP: 55Pre-Season Scouting Report, Age: 22 | Highest Level: AAAPre-Season Rank: 16 | Pre-Season OFP: 40Pre-Season Scouting Report, Age: 23 | Highest Level: AAPre-Season Rank: 4 | Pre-Season OFP: 50Pre-Season Scouting Report, Age: 24 | Highest Level: MLBPre-Season Rank: 3 | Pre-Season OFP: 50Pre-Season Scouting Report, Age: 18 | Highest Level: Draft2021 MLB Draft Rank: 49, Age: 24 | Highest Level: MLBPre-Season Rank: 6 | Pre-Season OFP: 50Pre-Season Scouting Report, Age: 18 | Highest Level: ComplexPre-Season Rank: 5 | Pre-Season OFP: 50Pre-Season Scouting Report, Age: 24 | Highest Level: MLBPre-Season Rank: 7 | Pre-Season OFP: 45Pre-Season Scouting Report, Age: 27 | Highest Level: AAPre-Season Rank: 8 | Pre-Season OFP: 45Pre-Season Scouting Report, Age: 18 | Highest Level: Draft2021 MLB Draft Rank: 31, Age: 21 | Highest Level: AAPre-Season Rank: NA | Pre-Season OFP: NA, Age: 23 | Highest Level: AAPre-Season Rank: NA | Pre-Season OFP: NA, Age: 24 | Highest Level: AAPre-Season Rank: 18 | Pre-Season OFP: 40Pre-Season Scouting Report, Age: 24 | Highest Level: A+Pre-Season Rank: 15 | Pre-Season OFP: 45Pre-Season Scouting Report, Age: 22 | Highest Level: A+Pre-Season Rank: 9 | Pre-Season OFP: 45Pre-Season Scouting Report, Age: 19 | Highest Level: APre-Season Rank: 19 | Pre-Season OFP: 40Pre-Season Scouting Report, Age: 18 | Highest Level: Draft2021 MLB Draft Rank: 113, Age: 20 | Highest Level: APre-Season Rank: 10 | Pre-Season OFP: 45Pre-Season Scouting Report, Age: 17 | Highest Level: IFAPre-Season Rank: 21 | Pre-Season OFP: 40Pre-Season Scouting Report, Age: 25 | Highest Level: MLBPre-Season Rank: NA | Pre-Season OFP: NA, Age: 21 | Highest Level: Draft2021 MLB Draft Rank: 92, Age: 21 | Highest Level: A+Pre-Season Rank: 13 | Pre-Season OFP: 45Pre-Season Scouting Report, Age: 21 | Highest Level: AAPre-Season Rank: 23 | Pre-Season OFP: 40Pre-Season Scouting Report, Age: 24 | Highest Level: MLBPre-Season Rank: 24 | Pre-Season OFP: 40Pre-Season Scouting Report, Age: 24 | Highest Level: AAPre-Season Rank: 26 | Pre-Season OFP: 40Pre-Season Scouting Report, Age: 22 | Highest Level: A+Pre-Season Rank: 27 | Pre-Season OFP: 40Pre-Season Scouting Report, Age: 23 | Highest Level: A+Pre-Season Rank: 39 | Pre-Season OFP: 35Pre-Season Scouting Report, Age: 23 | Highest Level: APre-Season Rank: NA | Pre-Season OFP: NA, Tagged: 2021 Mid-Season Top 30, Kansas City Royals, Bobby Witt Jr., MJ Melendez, Asa Lacy, Nick Pratto, Alec Marsh, Daniel Lynch, Frank Mozzicato, Jackson Kowar, Erick Pena, Kyle Isbel, Austin Cox, Ben Kudrna, Angel Zerpa, Vinnie Pasquantino, Jonathan Bowlan, Zach Haake, Nick Loftin, Darryl Collins, Shane Panzini, Ben Hernandez, Daniel Vasquez, Emmanuel Rivera, Peyton Wilson, Will Klein, Yefri Del Rosario, Ronald Bolanos, Jon Heasley, Noah Murdock, Michael Massey, Kale Emshoff, Kansas City Royals 2021 Mid-Season Top 30 Prospects, PODCAST: The Field and Stream - Episode 5, Cleveland 2021 Mid-Season Top 30 Prospects. 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