Blake Mitchell will be the headliner of the Royals 2023 draft class. Much of the success of the team’s draft strategy will be tied to Mitchell, but Blake Wolters will also impact that success. Entering the draft, Wolters was ranked within the top 50 prospects by just about every major publication. He features an impressive fastball for his age, topping out at 98 mph. He pairs that with a high-spin slider that gets great sweeping action. There’s a ton of upside to like here and a strong debut season in Columbia could land him on the MLB Pipeline Top 100 prospect list.
Season Stats:
2020-2021 (Mahomet-Seymour – IL): 6 G, 19.2 IP, 21 SO, 10 BB, 6.41 ERA
2021-22 (Mahomet-Seymour – IL): 13 G, 51.2 IP, 104 SO, 18 BB, 0.27 ERA
2022-23 (Mahomet-Seymour – IL): 11 G, 48.2 IP, 106 SO, 14 BB, 0.43 ERA
At 19 years old, the path to the Major Leagues is just beginning for Wolters. It will be quite some time until he’s on his way to Kansas City. The Royals will have him start his first professional season at Low-A Columbia with draft mate Hiro Wyatt. Wolters’ blend of high velocity and high spin rates at such a young age makes his upside sky-high. The Royals have had a difficult history developing prep pitchers. Arms such as Ashe Russell and Nolan Watson failed to live up to their draft status. More recent arms — Frank Mozzicato and Ben Kudrna — have developed slowly through the system.
Wolters represents a new mold of pitcher that the Royals didn’t have in their system before last July’s draft. Neither Mozzicato nor Kudrna touches the upper 90s the way Wolters can. He spins the ball better than Kudrna as well. Other pitchers in the system around his age (such as Emmanuel Reyes and Shane Panzini) are pitching in the low 90s. As with any prep arm, good command early will likely make or break his entry into the minor league ranks. No matter how good the stuff can be, it won’t matter if Wolters can’t command it effectively.
Scouting Grades:
Fastball: 45/60
Slider: 40/60
Changeup: 30/50
Command: 40/50
Best Case Scenario:
It’s so early on in his young career that the range of outcomes for Wolters remains vast. The best case is a frontline starter. With Wolters’ blend of velocity and spin, he has the makings of a true ace if the development can get him there. Two pitches won’t be enough — Wolters rarely throws his changeup. If he can last through starts and maintain his velocity, next up for the Royals could be swapping his changeup for a splitter and adding another vertical offering such as a curveball. If all those boxes can be checked over the coming years, it’s easy to see a path for Wolters to become a top prospect.
Worst Case Scenario:
If Blake Wolters never develops his arsenal further and struggles with command, he could be the latest in a long line of prep pitcher busts for Kansas City. His fastball/slider combination is good enough to carry him a long way. In that aspect, he’s not too dissimilar from Brady Singer. Singer commands his offerings fairly well, however. If a similar command doesn’t happen for Wolters, we’re talking about a fringe reliever with plenty of upside to dream of.