Earlier this week we took a look at prospects deserving more attention. The list included a handful of under-the-radar type prospects who could succeed in 2024. Another fun exercise I like to do before each season is settling on a personal “All-Prospect” Team. This time, I’m looking at my favorite prospect at each position. Last season I hit on some and missed on a few others.
Cayden Wallace, Peyton Wilson, and Tyler Gentry all found success last season. Carter Jensen didn’t have a bad year either. Some others, like Candelario and Rodriguez, were massive misses on my part. I expect this year’s list will see some of the same hits and misses, but I’m hopeful that another year under my belt covering the system will have made me at least a little smarter. Here’s the 2024 Royals “All-Prospect” Team.
Catcher – Blake Mitchell
Mitchell was taken in the first round of last year’s draft. By now, you’ve heard more than enough about the risk that Kansas City took selecting a prep catcher so early. Regardless, Mitchell landed as the seventh-best catching prospect in baseball for a reason. He offers an excellent arm at the plate and good all-around defensive ability. At the plate, the power potential is immense. It wasn’t a strong showing last summer in the Complex League but it’s difficult to put any real stock in those results. The Complex League for Prep draftees is more about the adjustments and changing mechanics than it is about the results in the box score. I expect Mitchell to prove himself early and land on Top-100 lists by the midseason update season.
First Base – Brett Squires
The Royals’ farm system is noticeably void of true first-base prospects. Granted, Vinnie Pasquantino likely has the position on lock in Kansas City for the foreseeable future. Behind him, Nick Pratto and Nick Loftin can take some innings at first. In the minors beyond those three, the depth is hard to find. CJ Alexander was sound most of last season, and Logan Porter was great as usual. Even still, I’m taking Brett Squires here.
Squires was old for Low-A last season and will be 24 in February. His age and experience at Oklahoma made Low-A pitching an easier task. He slashed .263/.381/.430 over 122 games in 2023. His on-base ability was excellent but the strikeouts were concerning. By the end of the year, however, Squires had improved his strikeout rate. Over the season’s final two months, he struck out 24.3% of the time. In that span, his slash line improved to .313/.380/.580. I don’t expect such a showing against tougher minor-league competition, but it’s still easy to see Squires as the best first-base prospect left in the system.
Second Base – Javier Vaz
The second base position is rather deep in the organization for Kansas City. Vaz leads the bunch for me, but Peyton Wilson offers a lot to like as well. Samad Taylor was the best hitter in the farm system last year. Deeper in the minors are some upside options such as Lizandro Rodriguez and Jhonny Perdomo. Rodriguez struggled mightily last season.
Javier Vaz offers the best hit tool in the system and one of the best hit tools in the entire minor leagues. Strikeouts don’t come easy against him and his combination of speed and contact ability makes him a pretty safe bet to become at least an everyday major leaguer someday. A promotion to Double-A last season only made Vaz better at the plate, which is a great sign of things to come for the 2022 15th-rounder.
Third Base – Trevor Werner
I’m not sold that the production we saw for Columbia last season is the “real” Trevor Werner. However, I’m not that sold on it not being the real Werner either. His swing still needs some work. The mechanics of it look rough at times and he might not see success against better MiLB pitching without some tweaks. Still, his eight home runs last season led all 2023 draftees league-wide.
As a 23-year-old experienced college product, Werner had a serious leg up on his Low-A competition. That gives some pause when evaluating his production last season. With a 214 wRC+, however, there’s a lot of room to regress and remain a serious force at the plate. Werner’s arm is strong and should allow him to stay at the hot corner for a time, if not for good. He’s a name to watch next season and — although his floor is much lower — his ceiling is certainly higher than Cayden Wallace’s.
Shortstop – Austin Charles
I’m not sold that Charles is a shortstop long-term. He was barely even a shortstop last season and played most of the season at third base. With that said, the shortstop position is rather thin in the minors. It doesn’t matter much, since Bobby Witt Jr. has the position in lock for the present future in Kansas City. Daniel Vazquez could bounce back next season, but I’m not betting on it. I love the upside of Josi Novas, but it’ll be his first attempt at Low-A in 2024.
Charles has some serious tools and a huge frame to build on. His frame should allow him to develop serious power. It also allows him to be sneaky fast on the basepaths. The hit tool left room to be desired last season and strikeouts started to get to him by the end of the year. Charles is still a raw product not far removed from high school but deserves credit as the best shortstop prospect in the system.
Left Field – Tyler Gentry
I hate having Tyler Gentry on this list. Not because of anything Gentry has done — he simply doesn’t belong in the prospect discussion any longer. Gentry has nothing left to prove in the minor leagues. He’s already torched High-A and Double-A en route to a 2022 George Brett Award. Last season he was met with his first roadblock but quickly adjusted. Few hitters were better than Gentry after the All-Star break, leaving little doubt that he’s ready for the big leagues. After July 14 last season, Gentry slashed .289/.422/.483 with a 17.9% walk rate.
Center Field – Carson Roccaforte
Roccaforte is the best true center fielder in the Kansas City farm system and it isn’t particularly close. He’s an excellent defender with a strong approach at the plate. He adds good speed, a sound approach, and power potential as well. The power didn’t come through last season, but great batted ball data helped Roccaforte become a late-riser in last summer’s draft cycle. That data gives hope that the power will come through sooner rather than later. Despite being a college product, Roccaforte was still just 21 years old last season and offers plenty more room to develop.
Right Field – Gavin Cross
I never got off the Gavin Cross train and it wouldn’t surprise me to see many fans getting back on by the end of 2024. He struggled last season, no question, but the power ability still showed itself early in the year. Late in the year, Cross struggled with injury and illness, ending his season prematurely. His swinging strike rate wasn’t a cause for concern and gives me some hope that the strikeout rate can come down to around average. Cross was able to get some time in during the Arizona Fall League and should start the year in Northwest Arkansas. An early first-round pick for a reason, it shouldn’t be surprising if Cross comes out of the gate strong to start 2024.
Designated Hitter – Derlin Figueroa
Figueroa is a promising prospect with a very high upside. He’s drawn rave reviews for his work in Arizona, especially after the Ryan Yarbrough trade. After joining the Royals organization in Surprise, Figueroa played in just 11 games but slashed .571/.659/1.029. He will be 20 years old until September and the ceiling is sky-high. As far as where he will play, that remains a bit of a question. In the Complex League, the Royals had Figueroa split time between first base, third base, and left field. For that reason, he’s listed as a DH on our list, but still offers some defensive value around the diamond.
Starting Pitcher – Frank Mozzicato
The collective distancing of MiLB prospect evaluators and Frank Mozzicato remains highly puzzling. The lefty won’t turn 21 until June and is already showing signs of frontline starter ability. No question, many questions around Mozzicato center around his velocity — his fastball still sits in the low 90s. Despite the lack of velocity, he’s still hovered around a 30% strikeout rate for his minor league career thus far. In 2023, Mozzicato added a slider to his repertoire and made the jump to High-A. The command needs some work but can be at least average by the time he reaches the upper minor leagues.
Assuming some velocity comes with age, Mozzicato is only going to get better with the strikeouts. Getting better at his current pace would put him in remarkable territory. Since 2006, just 55 minor league pitchers have compiled a strikeout rate north of 30% and a swinging strike rate over 14% (min. 40 starts). Mozzicato is one of them. The command is a larger limiting factor for Mozzicato right now than the velocity.
Relief Pitcher – Eric Cerantola
Cerantola was a starter at the end of last season and could end up in that role again in 2024. Long-term, he’s more likely to settle in as a relief option. By pure stuff alone, Cerantola was one of the very best in the entire 2021 draft class. Unfortunately, poor command caused him to fall to the fifth round and that command hasn’t consistently improved since. In his largest MiLB sample to date, Cerantola walked nearly six hitters per nine innings last season for the River Bandits. The stuff is undeniable and could make him extremely successful over a smaller workload as a reliever.
