Royals Top Prospects: 2024 End of Year Update

The Royals took the best raw power in the entire draft class in Caglianone. In three years with the Gators, the 21-year-old slashed .355/.447/.760 with 75 home runs. In 2024, he silenced some of the concerns regarding his hit tool, hitting .419 with an 8.2% strikeout rate. The ceiling here is immense, and Caglianone could quickly find his way to the big leagues as early as 2025. Much of that potential showed itself in Caglianone’s brief High-A debut post-draft. He posted outstanding exit velocity data but continued to struggle with chase as we saw in the SEC.

Cags has an impressive blend of high in-zone contact rates and immense power. That combination will take him far and help him to maintain a high ceiling despite chasing out of the zone far too much. Cags will potentially return to Quad Cities to open the 2025 season. I suspect that’ll be especially true if he pitches next season. However, as a pure hitter, Caglianone has the skills right now to be a quick mover through the farm system. He slashed .241/.302/.388 with a 20.6% strikeout rate in 29 games with the River Bandits in 2024.

Hit: 45/55

Raw Power: 70/70

Game Power: 55/70

Glove: 45/45

Arm: 60/60

Speed: 45/45

Mitchell has made his mark in his first full season with the Royals Low-A affiliate in Columbia. He’s shown plenty of reasons why the front office put their faith in him with the eighth overall pick in the 2023 draft. The leading tool here is clearly Mitchell’s immense power. The bat speed is legit and should translate to plus power as he continues to develop at the dish. The strikeouts have been far too high, leaving some concerns around the hit tool. However, despite the high strikeout rate, Mitchell’s swinging strike rate hasn’t been all that alarming. Mitchell’s zone contact rate finished the year north of 80% and his chase and whiff rates both finished around average, at 28.0% and 29.6% respectively.

Defensively, Mitchell has the tools to stick behind the plate, further raising his ceiling as a prospect. However, the bat is more advanced than his skills in the field. Mitchell has a strong arm but struggled with some accuracy issues throughout the 2024 season. He does a good job of managing his pitching staff but will likely need to play more regularly behind the dish as he continues to develop. He played five games a week in 2024 with around 60% of his appearances coming as a catcher. The other 40% were at DH. Mitchell moved up to Quad Cities for his final week of the season and should debut there once again to open the 2025 season.

Hit: 40/55

Raw Power: 60/60

Game Power: 50/55

Glove: 40/55

Arm: 50/55

Speed: 45/40

Asbel Gonzalez has all the traits needed to stick up the middle defensively and provide impact offensive value in the meantime. He had mixed results in the 2023 Dominican Summer League but has really hit the ground running in his first taste of Complex League competition this season. In 41 games, Gonzalez slashed .285/.398/.384 with 22 stolen bases and an 11.0% walk rate. Gonzalez does have a noticeable amount of swing-and-miss at the plate, but it currently isn’t alarming considering his youth (18) and raw international profile. His timing can be off often due to his toe-tap mechanics and twitchy hands in his swing-load mechanics.

With more refining, Gonzalez should be able to reduce the swing and miss some. His bat plane is great and should allow him to lift the ball with more refinement at the plate. He will likely never be a 30+ home run slugger but has a solid chance to be good for 15 HR with 30 stolen bases and gold-glove-level defense in center field. Of course, all of that is a bit premature considering Gonzalez is yet to truly appear in full-season ball. He was promoted to Double-A Northwest Arkansas to end the 2024 season but was offered extremely limited playing time. It’ll be worth monitoring where Gonzalez debuts to open the 2025 season, as that’ll likely be a strong indicator of how advanced the Royals feel he is at this juncture.

Hit: 40/55

Game Power: 30/45

Raw Power: 30/50

Glove: 50/60

Arm: 40/50

Speed: 60/60

Javier Vaz was sensational in 2023, firmly putting his name on the map as a legitimate prospect in the Royals farm system. He followed that up with a strong 2024 season. He spent the entire year with Double-A Northwest Arkansas and did more-or-less exactly what we saw last year. In 114 games, Vaz slashed .266/.378/.382 with a 1.24 BB/K ratio. His power output seems to have stabilized somewhere around a .120 ISO, but that mark will work just fine with the rest of Vaz’s offensive output. He profiles as a future big-league lead-off hitter. Vaz has the best hit tool in the entire Kansas City farm system and pairs that with an excellent approach at the plate.

He finished 2024 with one of the very best whiff rates in the entire minor leagues. That mark was at just 12.5% alongside an elite 89.3% zone contact rate. Vaz rarely chases out of the zone either (18.6%). The result is a very safe floor that makes him perhaps the best bet to be a big leaguer in the system. Defensively, Vaz played less of a carousel this season. He played 88 games at second base, marking a vast majority of his total games played. His defense there grades out very well. Vaz has great range for the position and should be able to be at least league-average defensively — probably a bit above. After spending the entire season at Double-A, Vaz has a real chance to play Major League innings in 2025.

Hit: 55/70

Game Power: 30/40

Raw Power: 40/40

Glove: 50/55

Arm: 50/50

Speed: 60/60

It was a true tale of two halves for Roccaforte in 2024. He debuted to extremely poor results at the plate. In the season’s first half, he slashed just .199/.283/.315 with a 27.1% K% and just a .116 ISO. In the season’s second half, that slash line improved to .225/.314/.394 with a .169 ISO and a 23.8% K%. Much of that was carried by an August surge, in which Roccaforte posted a .270 ISO and a 152 wRC+. There’s clearly power potential remaining. Next season, Roccaforte will need to start the season strongly and avoid the extreme cold spell that plagued him at times in 2024. Despite his low .208 season average, Roccaforte still managed to get on base enough to steal 34 bags. His swing plane is excellent. An offseason focus on lifting the ball more may have thrown him off to open 2024, and if what we saw to end the year was the real deal, he could be in Kansas City as early as 2026.

Defensively, Roccaforte is perhaps the best defender in the entire farm system. He’s a true center fielder and appeared in 1,042 innings out there for the Bandits this season. In those 1,042 innings, he committed just one error. Roccaforte’s elite outfield defense and speed give him an outstanding floor as a prospect. He’ll need to improve his zone contact rates to help his bat catch up to the rest of his skill set, but if it ever does, he could be an All-Star center fielder one day. At worst, his profile isn’t all that different from current Royals outfielder, Kyle Isbel, save for a bit more speed.

Hit: 40/55

Raw Power: 45/55

Game Power: 40/50

Glove: 60/60

Arm: 50/50

Speed: 60/60

After a rough 2023 season, Gavin Cross got right back on track to open this season. He finished the year with a 115 wRC+ for the Naturals and could’ve been even better if not for some injury barriers. Cross struggled off and on this season with back spasms. They sidelined him twice on the injured list, including his second stint to close out the season. It’s currently unclear how much the back problems impacted production down the stretch. However, it appears to have made a sizeable difference. On June 1, Cross owned a season slash line of .288/.374/.447. After his ten-day IL stint, Cross slashed just .239/.315/.413 for the remainder of the season. That mark was still good for a 102 wRC+, but it was certainly a sizeable drop.

In-zone contact rates for Cross leave a bit more to be desired, as he’s settled in under 80% of late. There was a power burst to end the season — a bit conflicting with the idea that the injury impacted his ability at the plate — but otherwise, there wasn’t quite the power we expected from Cross when he was drafted. In all, it’s still a rather well-rounded profile with the potential for at least an average hit tool and average power. Cross stole 32 bases this season while providing solid corner defense. He spent just 12 games in center field and should be a true corner outfielder moving forward. His arm is strong and fits the corner role well, but it would be nice to see more power output so that he can provide enough value in the Major Leagues.

Hit: 45/50

Raw Power: 50/55

Game Power: 45/50

Glove: 50/50

Arm: 50/50

Speed: 55/55

It was a difficult start to the season, but Nivens has bounced back in a big way. He suffered a hamstring injury fairly early in the season. The injury occurred while running for a fly ball in center field and Nivens missed nearly three weeks worth of action. Upon his return, production at the plate remained low. From his return on May 4 through the end of July, Nivens slashed just .203/.298/.335. Then, Nivens became the best hitter on the planet. From August 1 through the end of the season, he posted a 222 wRC+. His 15 home runs in that span led all of baseball, the Major Leagues included. It brought the season ISO up to .232 and he finished the season with a 128 wRC+ despite his immense early season struggles.

The real Spencer Nivens certainly lies somewhere between his early season struggles and Barry Bonds. His 77.9% zone contact rate on the season isn’t especially impressive. Nor is his 28.1% Whiff%. However, those marks over just his hot stretch to finish the year were much better. Nivens has an excellent swing path which helps him to make a lot of healthy contact when he’s able to connect. Into 2025 and beyond, it’ll be important for him to make more contact in the zone and cut down on the swing-and-miss some. Defensively, he played all three outfield positions but profiles best as a left fielder long-term. His arm strength is good and he’s got enough speed to provide good range from a corner spot. With a chance to test Double-A next season, it’ll give a better glimpse into how good of a prospect he can become long-term.

Hit: 45/50

Game Power: 45/50

Raw Power: 50/55

Glove: 50/50

Speed: 50/50

Arm: 45/45

Steven Zobac was a full-time pitcher in just his final year for Cal. Before that, he had spent two seasons playing the outfield and pitching at times. That made his 2023 standout showing his second full-time as a pitcher, and it was fantastic. Zobac followed that up with an even better showing in 2024. He made 25 appearances between High-A and Double-A, pitching to a 3.64 ERA. What stands out more than the season stat line is how much better Zobac was after a mid-season promotion to Northwest Arkansas. With the Naturals, he struck out 65 batters in 55.1 IP and walked just 14.

Zobac has impressive command and locates all three of his pitches well. His fastball especially is the carrying pitch here. It’s a mid-90s offering that touches 96 with excellent spin. Zobac locates it on the corners and generates an outstanding amount of swing-and-miss with the pitch. It all came together for just a 72.90% zone contact rate at Double-A. The slider took steps forward this season as well. It’s a solid two-plane bender that found more consistency down the stretch. Zobac also throws a changeup with good potential. It’s a well-rounded profile that could profile as an above-average late inning reliever type long-term. If Zobac can continue to improve and maintain his stuff over long outings as he did in 2024, there’s good starter potential as well. He’s become one of the system’s very best pitching prospects and should pitch in Triple-A next season.

Fastball: 50/60

Slider: 45/55

Changeup: 40/45

Command: 55/55

Jensen had a standout showing after his return to High-A to start the season. With a .821 OPS over 84 games for the Bandits, he finished his 2024 season with Northwest Arkansas. The results weren’t nearly as strong, but that’s to be expected from such a young product. Jensen slashed .234/.305/.476 with the Naturals. His power really started to blossom at Double-A, evidenced most by his .241 ISO. He hit eight home runs, including four in the month of September alone. That end-of-year surge is a promising sign for Jensen’s outlook next season. He should return to Northwest Arkansas once again with a chance to reach Triple-A by the end of next season as just a 22-year-old.

The Royals split Jensen’s time as a backstop in a very similar way to Blake Mitchell this season. He spent around 60% of games as the backstop with the other 40% coming as the DH. The time isn’t now, but it will be interesting to see how the team decides to approach the long-term position for Jensen. He looked serviceable behind the plate this season but Blake Mitchell adds another element to consider for the Kansas City front office. I expect Jensen will catch until he doesn’t, and should be at least average defensively if he sticks at the position.

Hit: 45/55

Game Power: 40/45

Raw Power: 45/50

Glove: 45/50

Arm: 55/55

Speed: 50/50

Cameron has taken impressive steps forward in 2024. After struggling last season for Double-A Northwest Arkansas, he returned there to open the season. The results were fantastic, with Cameron sporting a 27.0% strikeout rate. After 16 starts, Cameron was promoted to Triple-A Omaha where he was arguably even better. In eight starts for the Storm Chasers, he pitched to a 3.37 FIP. He raised his strikeout rate (30.3%) and dropped his walk rate (4.6%). With such a strong showing, Cameron has positioned himself nicely to compete for the big league rotation to open next season.

Cameron added a cutter in the offseason and it really helped him on the mound. His four-seam fastball remains below average. The velocity and spin rates simply aren’t great. However, the cutter plays much better and misses bats at an excellent rate. It gives Cameron a much-needed wrinkle alongside his plus changeup and great curveball. Leaning more on a sinker instead of a four-seamer could help Cameron to level up even further. As it stands now, he has the command and stuff to stick as a fifth starter in the Major Leagues.

Fastball: 40/45

Cutter: 45/50

Changeup: 60/60

Curveball: 55/55

Command: 50/55

Hiro Wyatt debuted in the Complex League this season and it looked as if he would be a lengthy project. By midseason, however, he was pitching for Low-A Columbia. The results were solid, including a 24.5% Whiff% and a 29.7% CSW%. Neither of those marks fly off the page, but for a 20-year-old in his professional debut, they’re very good. Wyatt entered the year with more-or-less a two-pitch mix. His fastball and slider both offer solid potential. They’re high spin offerings, and the fastball sits in the mid-90s with upper-90s potential. Perhaps the largest surprise, however, was how much better Wyatt’s changeup looks already. It entered the year as a rarely used weapon. By mid-year, it was playing like a real weapon on the mound. In all, Wyatt posted a 3.47 FIP in six starts for Fireflies and looks poised for a potential breakout next season.

Fastball: 40/60

Slider: 45/60

Changeup: 45/50

Command: 40/50

Ryan Ramsey was under the radar but very good in 2023. The Maryland alumni set the Fireflies franchise record for consecutive scoreless innings before a late season call-up. He debuted back with High-A Quad Cities in 2024 and spent the entire year there. He’s older for the level at 23 years old, but the Royals seem to have taken him along slowly to protect his health. In 22 appearances for the Bandits, Ramsey pitched to a 3.16 FIP. He started throwing a cutter more this season which helped to round out his pitch mix even further. Much like Noah Cameron, it worked wonders.

Ramsey’s 34.2% Whiff% ranked third among Royals pitching prospects and first among starters. He paired that swing and miss with good command and very weak contact from opposing hitters. Ramsey’s 69.6% zone contact rate ranked among the best in the entire minor leagues this season. He may be a late bloomer as a prospect, potentially making his debut as a 25-year-old in two years from now. However, in 2024 he took a step forward and separated himself from the pack, alongside Cameron and Steven Zobac. He’s a name to watch next year and beyond and profiles as a potential fifth-starter or excellent long-man out of the bullpen.

Fastball: 40/45

Cutter: 45/50

Changeup: 45/50

Curveball: 45/50

Command: 45/50

Kudrna split his season between High-A and Double-A in 2024. In all, he struck out 119 batters in 115.1 innings of work. The command took a slight step backward this season, but hitters simply hit him more than they have in recent years. Kudrna allowed a zone contact rate north of 80% and it bit him. That was especially true with the Naturals, where he allowed eight home runs in nine appearances. Kudrna maintains good potential on his fastball and changeup, but profiles at most as a number three starter long-term. That wouldn’t be a bad outcome at all, but it’s starting to look more likely that Kudrna will transition to the bullpen. It’s time that he levels up his pitch mix some, perhaps adding some east-west movement in a cutter or a sweeper. His current slider is a gyro-slider which works at times, but more often gets hung over the plate right now.

Fastball: 50/60

Changeup: 55/55

Slider: 45/50

Command: 40/45

Blake Wolters received a healthy amount of attention prior to the season, including talk that he may have the best fastball in the entire farm system. Some of that was on display early, with Wolters touching 98 mph in his first start of the season. What’s been perhaps just as impressive has been the changeup for Wolters. When drafted, Wolters was more of a two-pitch guy with an electric fastball and a wipeout slider. The changeup was there but not used much in the high school ranks. Since his pro debut this season, the changeup stands out as a real weapon that can help Wolters against lefties. Although the potential is there, it hasn’t come without challenges this season.

After debuting in the upper 90s, Wolters fell off and sat more mid-90s for much of the season. His command can be spotty, missing his spots. Most worrisome was a lack of swing-and-miss from Wolters in 2024. He posted just a 22.4% Whiff% this season. With more like back on his fastball, that mark could certainly improve. At still just 19 years old, there is little reason to get concerned about Wolters and his long-term prospects. The Royals controlled his innings to end the year after some discomfort. He finished the season pitching in instructs.

Fastball: 45/60

Changeup: 45/55

Slider: 40/55

Command: 30/50

Beam was fantastic for the Volunteers throughout his college career. He was a workhorse in the Tennessee rotation, compiling 262.2 IP across three college seasons. This season across 19 starts, Beam pitched to a 4.22 ERA across 102.1 innings of work. He struck out 99 and walked 27. Beam offers a rather high floor as a starter, with many seeing him as a future fifth starter at worst. Much like yesterday’s second-round selection, Bridges praised Beam’s command, stating “One thing he has done is throw a lot of strikes.” Beam has been up to 96 mph with his fastball and rounds out his pitch mix with a curveball and a cutter. It’s a high floor built on command, and the Royals will now get to work on his pitch tempo while they work him toward the major leagues.

Fastball: 50/50

Changeup: 45/45

Curveball: 45/55

Command: 50/50

Erick Torres has quite a bit of Javier Vaz in his profile. He made his full-season debut in 2024 for the Columbia Fireflies. He posted a 96 wRC+ on the season, slashing .237/.336/.298. It’s clear that the power is non-existent at this point. However, that power isn’t what Torres is ever really going to be known for. His 19.5% Whiff% was fantastic as was his 86.3% zone contact rate. What sets Torres apart from Vaz most is the chase out of the zone. Torres struggled with discipline and swung outside the zone 30.7%. For him to truly get the most out of his solid bat-to-ball skills, he’ll have to have a better eye at the plate.

Torres stole 25 bases and spent 973 innings in center field this season. That defense and speed provide him a solid floor, but with little power to speak of, he’ll need to find more ways to limit weak contact.

Hit: 45/60

Game Power: 30/40

Raw Power: 30/40

Glove: 45/55

Speed: 60/60

Arm: 45/50

The Royals followed up their first-round pick with a prep lefty in Round Two. David Shields, a 17-year-old (one of just a few in this year’s class) pitcher out of Pennsylvania offers an impressive blend of ability and potential on the mound. Royals Director of Amateur Scouting, Brian Bridges, raved about his command on Sunday’s media call. “This guy is in the zone, and the most important thing is being in the zone,” Bridges said. “We have the people in player development who can help him get to his ceiling.”

Shields throws a three three-pitch mix, featuring a fastball, curveball, and changeup. The heater was touching 95 mph in looks last summer, but more often sits 90-92. Bridges mentioned Mike Soroka when discussing the long-term upside for Shields. Soroka was throwing 88-90mph when he was drafted by the Braves back in the 2015 MLB Draft. Shields is committed to the University of Miami but will almost certainly forgo that commitment to sign with the Royals this week. In Shields, the Royals get yet another high-upside teenage arm alongside last year’s selections Blake Wolters and Hiro Wyatt.

Fastball: 30/45

Changeup: 30/45

Curveball: 45/55

Command: 45/55

Ugarte represented the Royals at this year’s Dominican All-Star Game. He’s been impressive all season in the Dominican Summer League. Ugarte slashed .325/.452/.419 in his first 36 games as a pro. The power output hasn’t come through yet, but as young as he is, the ceiling here is sky-high. Ugarte won’t turn 18 until March, giving him a chance to really skyrocket in the coming year. He’s a third-baseman long-term, especially if he fills out his frame and starts to hit for more power.

Hit: 30/45

Game Power: 30/50

Raw Power: 30/55

Glove: 40/45

Arm: 45/50

Speed: 55/50

Austin Charles was one of the most steady performers for the Fireflies this season. He slashed .257/.353/.386 with 64 RBI to lead Columbia. There wasn’t much of an uptick in power, as Charles posted a .130 ISO in 2024. That was largely in line with his 2023 mark but he did hit the ball harder more often and added 36 steals to help round out the profile. Opportunity remains with swing-and-miss. That’s the largest limiting factor for Charles as it currently stands. He had one of the worst marks in the system in 2024, posting a 35.2% Whiff%. Those still developing contact skills have time to develop, but will take more time due to his poor plate discipline. Charles chased out of the zone at 36.0% — again one of the worst marks among top prospects in the system.

The power potential remains sky-high thanks to the large frame and ability to generate loud contact when he can connect. In 2024, Charles will have to work on implementing a more disciplined approach. Defensively, he split time between shortstop and third base this season. The larger chunk of innings came at the hot corner where Charles will likely factor in most as he continues to move through the ranks. He has an arm plenty strong enough to stick there, but will need the power to come along.

Hit: 30/40

Game Power: 30/55

Raw Power: 40/55

Glove: 40/50

Speed: 55/50

Arm: 55/55

Emmanuel Reyes followed up his 2023 debut strongly. He added enough strength this season to last deeply into starts, and by the end of the season was maintaining his velocity well. The result was a 3.97 FIP over 107.0 IP. That was a career-high by nearly 40 full innings. Despite his strong command and good spin rate on the fastball, Reyes again struggled to notch punchouts this season. He did marginally better than last season, finishing 2024 with just a 19.3% strikeout rate. Much of that stems from relying heavily on chase rate. Reyes finished the year with just a 20.5% Whiff% while allowing an 84.7% zone contact rate. His 34.7% chase rate was strong, but likely won’t translate to the upper levels.

That combination offers some concern around the long-term potential for Reyes. He’ll need a strong offseason to hopefully add a tick or two of velocity and widen his margin for error. Reyes has excellent command but will have to miss more bats with how often he finds the zone.

Fastball: 40/55

Changeup: 45/50

Slider: 40/50

Command: 50/55

The results for Frank Mozzicato were great this season. In 22 starts, he finished with a 3.45 ERA this season with the River Bandits. Opponents hit just .199 against him and he dropped his walk rate four percentage points compared to a year ago in Quad Cities. Mozzicato also surpassed 100 innings for the first time in his professional career and did so while maintaining his velocity and command deep into starts still at the end of the season. That’s the good. The bad news was a serious decline in strikeouts. Mozzicato finished 2024 with the worst strikeout rate of his professional career at just 21.3%.

He still garnered a healthy amount of swing-and-miss. Mozzicato posted a 28.8% Whiff% this season. That signals that Mozzicato’s issue this season may have stemmed more from putting away hitters more than simply generating swing-and-miss. The fastball remains in the low-90s, averaging 90mph. It’s spun well with great shape, however, giving it a perceived velocity closer to 93-94mph. Inconsistency with the slider didn’t help, and Mozzicato found some of that same inconsistency with his plus curveball this season also. There were a lot of promising signs this year alongside a handful of red flags, leaving us somewhere in the middle with Frank Mozzicato.

Fastball: 40/45

Changeup: 45/55

Curveball: 55/55

Slider: 45/50

Command: 40/45

Corey Cousin Jr. is a high-upside prep talent. Not too different from Austin Charles, the Royals selected Cousin late in the draft and signed him anyway. He offers an impressive mix of tools and could stick in center field long term. He offers good speed and the potential for more power output as he develops. He’s a true high-upside option but the floor remains very low as well. At just 17 years old, Cousin was one of the youngest players in the class and could quickly become one of the best outfield prospects in the system with a strong debut season in 2025.

Hit: 30/45

Game Power: 30/50

Raw Power: 30/50

Glove: 40/50

Arm: 40/45

Speed: 60/60

Hopes that Gentry could avoid a similar early season slump like what plagued him in 2023 went unmet. He started the 2024 season extremely slow, all but erasing memories of his torrid second half last season. He’s fallen from a player on the cusp of forcing his way to the major leagues, to now something of an afterthought. Some of his slow start began to dissipate in June, and he eventually rounded out his season rather strongly. After the All-Star Break, Gentry slashed .289/.381/.452 for Omaha. A brief stint in the Major Leagues came to an end after the Royals acquired Tommy Pham and Robbie Grossman. The early season struggles in an offensive friendly environment haven’t helped Gentry to improve his stock much, and he now profiles closer to a fourth-outfielder than a true big-league starter. The potential remains for more, but turning 26 in February leaves little time for Gentry to finally put it all together.

Hit: 45/50

Game Power: 40/45

Raw Power: 50/50

Glove: 50/50

Speed: 50/50

Arm: 45/45

Jose Cerice was one of the more high-profile names in the Royals’ most recent international signing class. Yandel Ricardo was the headliner, but Cerice signed for $700,000 in his own right. Early returns heavily favor Cerice as a solid prospect, but there’s still a long way to go until he’s anything near a bonafide prospect. Cerice is a 6-2 third baseman. The tools now are very contact-leaning, but there’s potential for more power to come along as Cerice develops and adds more muscle. His swing is compact, and the path to the baseball is good with a chance to generate good loft. He ranked no. 61 on Baseball America’s International Prospect rankings for the class and offers a healthy ceiling, albeit at very high risk. The floor is low, but everything we’ve seen so far looks good. In 47 games this season in the DSL, Cerice slashed .314/.380/.421. More power will be needed to stick at the hot corner long-term but he’s still just 19 years old with time to add muscle.

Hit: 30/55

Game Power: 30/50

Raw Power: 30/50

Glove: 30/45

Speed: 45/40

Arm: 40/45

Langevin was drafted by the Royals in the fourth round of the 2024 Amateur Draft. He’s 21 years old and hasn’t made his official pro debut quite yet, but there’s a lot to like. Langevin’s profile is led most by an electric fastball. He generates a lot of success behind a very deceptive arm slot and high spin rates. His fastball generated some of the best whiff rates in all of Division I last season. The command needs some work, and there’s a high chance that Langevin spent time in instructs this summer working on exactly that. He’ll look to make his professional debut in 2025 and we will get a chance to see how his stuff plays in the pros.

Fastball: 55/65

Slider: 50/55

Changeup: 45/50

Command: 30/40

Zachary Cawyer was taken by the Royals in the 11th round of this year’s draft. He signed for the max $150,000 which doesn’t count against a team’s draft bonus pool. That lack of money offered less hope for an impact 11th-rounder. The team received exactly that from recent picks such as Vinnie Pasquantino, David Sandlin, and Jared Dickey. Despite the lack of dollar investment, Cawyer’s debut went strongly with Low-A Columbia. He made eight relief appearances in all. Over 10.2 IP, he stuck out 13 and walked four. Cawyer’s 4.22 ERA wasn’t overly impressive but his 2.27 FIP points to better overall results. He has a chance to take off further next season and could transition slowly into a starting role as we saw from Steven Zobac over the last two seasons.

Cawyer’s pitch mix features a fastball that averages 93 mph. He pairs that with an upper-70s curveball and a mid-80s slider. Although none of his offerings come across as truly plus, his command makes up for some of those shortcomings. He profiles as a future reliever type, but there’s an outside chance that he can stick as a starter, especially if he can continue to strikeout hitters over longer outings.

Fastball: 40/45

Slider: 45/55

Curveball: 45/45

Command: 50/55

After a rough season debut, Chandler Champlain got right back on the horse and dominated Double-A en route to an early season promotion to Triple-A Omaha. The results have been strong at times since arriving there, but he’s found his share of struggles in the process as well. The offensive environment at Werner Park is not very pitcher-friendly, so I wouldn’t be too scared off based on some early returns. Champlain sits 94-96mph with his fastball, averaging close to 2300 rpm on the pitch. The velocity and spin rates help the pitch run well up in the strikezone and miss plenty of bats.

The rest of Champlain’s arsenal includes an outstanding curveball, a slider, and two new offerings for 2024: a circle-changeup and a splitter. Although it’s new, the changeup has helped Champlain plenty this season, giving him another offering to use and keep hitters off balance. He leans most heavily on a fastball/curveball combination and needs to find more consistent use of his other two pitches to find long-term success as a starter in the big leagues. That should help him maintain swinging strikes at the sport’s highest level as well. His swinging strike rate has fallen six percent in a small sample at Triple-A thus far. In all, Champlain allowed a sky-high 87.8% zone contact rate in 2024, paired with a very low 19.2% Whiff%. Both of those metrics will have to improve for him to find lasting success, and that success may very well come in a big league bullpen at this point.

Fastball: 55/55

Changeup: 45/50

Slider: 45/50

Curveball: 55/55

Command: 50/55

Logan Martin was a bit of an unassuming 12th-round pick by the Royals in 2023. Then, over two starts for Low-A Columbia in 2023 he was met with mixed results. This season, those results have been far more impressive. Martin maintains healthy swing-and-miss rates while commanding the ball well. He pitched to a 3.57 FIP over 102.0 IP this season. He finished the season with a 28.10% CSW% and healthy whiff and chase rates. Martin throws a good fastball, sitting 93-94mph in most outings. The pitch has solid traits, with good life up in the strike zone that helps it to generate whiffs.

The best pitch for Martin is his slider. It’s a plus offering with excellent late-breaking action. It’s used primarily against right-handed hitters and they have an impossible time laying off the pitch. There isn’t much to speak of as far as platoon splits are concerned. Martin has done a solid job getting both side hitters out at around an even rate. It’s primarily a two-pitch mix, but Martin mixes in a changeup and curveball as well. Both pitches have at least average potential.

Fastball: 45/55

Slider: 50/60

Changeup: 40/50

Curveball: 45/50

Command: 45/50

It’s difficult to find a better sample of work than Oscar Rayo has provided since entering the Royals farm system. He’s been among the system’s very best and that continued once again in 2024 for High-A Quad Cities. In 84.2 IP, Rayo pitched to a 2.13 ERA. His 2.79 FIP wasn’t much worse, thanks to outstanding command and low walk rates. Although he doesn’t wow in the strikeout department, Rayo posted a respectable 24.9% Whiff% this season while leaning heavily on high chase rates. Hitters swung at pitches outside of the zone at a 35.1% mark, ranking among the best in the Royals system. Long-term, those high chase rates won’t likely be as hefty, but Rayo profiles as an effective reliever, especially if he can maintain his command and add to the stuff some. Current Royal Angel Zerpa is an excellent comp for what Rayo may eventually become.

Fastball: 40/45

Changeup: 50/55

Slider: 50/55

Curveball: 40/45

Command: 50/55

The Royals signed DeGroat as a day-three pick in this year’s draft. He was ranked much higher than his selection, but the Royals saved enough money earlier in the draft to get a deal done. He has a solid curveball and rounds out his pitch mix with a changeup and fastball. The command will be a work in progress, but he’s touched the mid-90s already with his fastball and there’s a lot to like in the overall profile.

Fastball: 45/50

Changeup: 40/45

Curveball: 45/55

Command: 30/45