Below is an analysis of the prospects in the farm system of the Kansas City Royals. Scouting reports were compiled with information provided by industry sources as well as my own observations. This is the fourth year we’re delineating between two anticipated relief roles, the abbreviations for which you’ll see in the “position” column below: MIRP for multi-inning relief pitchers, and SIRP for single-inning relief pitchers. The ETAs listed generally correspond to the year a player has to be added to the 40-man roster to avoid being made eligible for the Rule 5 draft. Manual adjustments are made where they seem appropriate, but we use that as a rule of thumb. A quick overview of what FV (Future Value) means can be found here. A much deeper overview can be found here.
All of the ranked prospects below also appear on The Board, a resource the site offers featuring sortable scouting information for every organization. It has more details (and updated TrackMan data from various sources) than this article and integrates every team’s list so readers can compare prospects across farm systems. It can be found here.
Other Prospects of Note
Grouped by type and listed in order of preference within each category.
Upper Minors Pitching Depth
Tyson Guerrero, LHP
Ryan Brady, RHP
Eric Cerantola, RHP
Evan Sisk, LHP
Asa Lacy, LHP
Guerrero throws his four offerings out of a high three-quarter slot and sits 92-94 mph with his fastball. He spins two breaking balls, with the slider having greater sharpness than the curveball, while his changeup is a low-impact pitch that offers minimal action. If the changeup or his fringy command can advance significantly, he has a shot to be back-of-the-rotation filler. Brady was an undrafted free agent out of BYU and came to the Royals in trade from the Brewers. He works with a fastball/slider combo, with the slider projecting as an above-average offering. He’s also been very effective at limiting homers, having only allowed three in his 100-plus innings in pro ball. Cerantola is a vertical slot right-hander who has a mid-90s fastball and a downer slider with solid teeth to it. The command is well below average and will need to take a step forward for him to be trusted in an up/down role. Sisk is a plus deception southpaw with a drastic crossfire stride and low three-quarter slot. It’s a low-90s fastball and sweeper combo that makes for uncomfortable at-bats for left-handed hitters. The arsenal doesn’t fare as well against right-handed bats and it’s below-average command at best. Lacy is out for the 2024 season after having Tommy John surgery in March. His long-term future remains clouded by injury.
Intriguing Arms on the Complex
Yeri Perez, RHP
Coleman Picard, RHP
Yunior Marte, RHP
Perez hails from Madrid and brings big velocity (95-98 mph) with his fastball. He also has a short-tilting slider in the upper-80s and a power changeup in the mid-80s that he struggles to harness with his raw command. His stuff and velocity dip down in lengthier outings and it’s looking like a relief profile long-term. Picard was the Royals’ sixth round pick in 2023. He has a 92-94 mph fastball and can really spin an upper-70s curveball. He’ll also work in a mid-80s slider that will flash teeth. Marte is a large-framed right-hander who is repeating the complex level this year. He has shown the ability to throw strikes with his deep arsenal, which is headlined by his 92-95 mph fastball and big curveball.
Position Players on the Complex Worth Knowing
Josi Novas, INF
Henry Ramos, OF
Roni Cabera, OF
Jorge Hernandez, 1B/3B
Novas is currently striking out in over 40% of his ACL plate appearances due to an overly aggressive approach and a willingness to expand his zone. He also has eye-catching bat speed through the zone and notable raw power. Ramos is a player who does all the little things right and shows solid instincts in the outfield. The bat lacks big projection and he’s currently punching out just under 30% of the time as a 19-year-old in his first stateside action. Cabrera’s bat enters the zone from a very steep angle and he has big raw juice for a teenager. The bat path results in a lot of swing-and-miss, and he’s currently striking out over 30% of the time against ACL arms. Hernandez was signed out of Mexico. He’s a corner infielder who has shown bat-to-ball skills and has a hit-over-slug offensive profile.
College Position Players
Trevor Werner, 1B/3B
Peyton Wilson, 2B
Carson Roccaforte, OF
Spencer Nivens, OF
Jared Dickey, OF
Werner is currently punching out 41% of the time in Quad Cities, where he’s largely facing younger pitchers. He slugged .703 while striking out 24.5% of the time in 35 games last year after being drafted in the seventh round out of Texas A&M. There’s undeniable raw power in the profile, but he’s going to have to drastically cut down on the strikeouts to have value. Wilson was taken 66th overall in 2021 out of Alabama. His strikeouts have ticked up to nearly 25% in Double-A despite repeating the level this year. He’s a plus runner but not an especially gifted defender at second base, and he has limited versatility beyond that besides left field, where he’s seeing more time this season. Roccaforte was the 66th overall pick in the 2023 draft out of Louisiana Lafayette. His left-handed swing is dominated by his top hand and he has average bat speed. He’s a solid defender in the outfield with above-average speed, but he’ll need to be more of a threat with the bat to carve out a major league role. Nivens is a corner outfielder out of Missouri State who has yet to get his bat going against professional pitching. His swing has had a tendency to get long and cut across the zone, and he’ll need the bat to produce a lot more to have big league value. Dickey was drafted in the 11th round out of Tennessee in 2023. He has an incredibly compact swing, with a flat path through the zone. He’s a corner outfield defender, so he’ll need to find a way to generate a lot more offensive output with that profile.
System Overview
The Royals system has taken a small step forward from last year, mainly thanks to the team’s selection of Blake Mitchell eighth overall in the 2023 draft. As risky as prep catcher profiles can be, the early returns on Mitchell look promising and he’s joined at the top of the list by a couple of other recent high school draftees, Ben Kudrna and Carter Jensen. Overall, this system still ranks towards the bottom of the league, but it also has a bit more depth than in years past, even if it doesn’t project to produce much impact talent. There’s more upside in the lower minors this year than there has been recently, with players like Asbel Gonzalez, Ramon Ramirez, and Hyungchan Um catching the attention of pro scouts in their first stateside action and posting encouraging performance data as well. The Royals continue to struggle to develop homegrown pitching, and this system is still light overall in the arm department. Even though they don’t have frontline (or even mid-rotation) potential, prospects like Mason Barnett and Felix Arronde offer high-probability starter profiles, while guys like Kudrna and Blake Wolters offer more upside (and also risk). It’s always good when the major league club is in the playoff mix and can be in buy mode at the deadline. However, if the Royals are looking to make a splash on the trade market before the stretch run, they have very few high-demand chips to use unless they’re willing to part with the names at the very top of this list. The Royals hold the sixth pick in the upcoming draft, which will be scouting director Brian Bridges’ first in that role. Whether the team’s draft approach will drastically change under Bridges is yet to be seen, but we’ll get our first sense in a few days when the Royals are on the clock.
