After much ado about maybe something, the Kansas City Royals have a Top-100 prospect. It’s their first since outfielder Gavin Cross fell off the list in the middle of last season. On Friday, MLB Pipeline released their updated list of the best prospects in the game. On it, catcher Blake Mitchell ranks as the 94th overall prospect. Mitchell, of course, was selected eighth overall last summer. The pick was met with hefty criticism, especially with a more developed backstop in Kyle Teel still on the board.
The Royals believed in the upside and the talent enough to take the risk on the lefty masher out of Sinton, Texas. You can more information on Mitchell and his abilities on our prospect profile. He’s yet to debut in full-season affiliated baseball but should get the chance to open the 2024 season with Low-A Columbia. Beyond Mitchell, the Kansas City farm system continues to receive the cold shoulder from the national media. Baseball America didn’t include a single Royals prospect on their top 100 list that was released earlier this month.
The Royals Farm System continues to be overlooked. Is that due to a lack of talent?
While some of that lack of attention is with merit – the farm system is definitely on the mend after a handful of rough draft selections — it still seems to be overlooking some solid prospects. The first that comes to mind is lefty Frank Mozzicato. Mozzicato was the Royals’ seventh overall selection in the 2021 MLB Draft. He will be 20 years old until June and made his way to High-A Quad Cities last season. His repertoire features a fastball and slider with above-average potential. Alongside them, he boasts an impressive curveball with plus potential, and a solid changeup. The command has been questionable but doesn’t tell the full story of Mozzicato.
Sure, the lack of velocity matters too but at such a young age, there’s plenty of time for that to arrive. Despite the lack of velocity, he still has an impressive vertical approach angle with his heater and continues to miss bats. Last season, Mozzicato struck out 36.2% of hitters over 56.1 innings in Low-A Columbia. A mid-season concussion sidelined him temporarily and the results were much worse following his time on the injured list. Even still, he owned a 25.3% strikeout rate after a promotion to High-A.
Outside of Mozzicato, the only other glaring name absent from the Top 100 is outfielder Tyler Gentry. I’ve already covered Gentry plenty this week, but there’s zero reason for him to be overlooked at this point. Sure, he’s an older prospect at 24 years old. He was also drafted in 2020 amid a canceled minor league season. Without that delay, I believe Gentry would’ve made his way to the big leagues to start last season. He dominated over the second half for Omaha last season and was one of the hottest hitters in all of Triple-A over that span.
Potential Top 100 prospects on the horizon for the Kansas City Royals
Beyond Mitchell, there’s the potential for the Royals to add another Top prospect or two to Pipeline’s list by the midseason update. Fellow 2023 draftee, Blake Wolters, has drawn high praise after his time in the Instructional League and over the course of this offseason. He has a lively fastball with a sky-high ceiling. A strong debut in Low-A Columbia could see him sneak into the back of the Pipeline Top 100 list by the time the midseason update rolls around.
Along with Wolters, Carson Roccaforte, and Trevor Werner remain names to watch early on in 2024. Roccaforte was quickly promoted to Low-A last season and hit the ground running, reaching base in his first 21 games for the Fireflies. Werner led all 2023 draftees with eight home runs at Low-A last season. Finally, don’t overlook Gavin Cross reaffirming himself as a top prospect. He debuted in 2022 with a bang, finishing the year with a 174 wRC+ for the Fireflies. 2023 was a serious struggle, especially with the strikeouts. Despite that, the power ability is very real, and Cross seems to be an adjustment away from getting right back on track.
There’s still plenty of work to do for the Royals in improving their farm system. The graduation of top prospects like Brady Singer, Daniel Lynch, Bobby Witt Jr., and MJ Melendez quickly deflated the ceiling left in the system. Recent drafts, like the one last year that added some serious ceiling in Mitchell and Wolters, hope to reverse that backward momentum.