2B/LF Javier Vaz
Javier Vaz is one of my favorite prospects in the Royals farm system and is a guy that I think is ready to make his mark in 2025. In the 15th round of the 2022 MLB draft the Royals took Vaz out of Vanderbilt and signed him for $125,000. Vaz fell in the draft because of concerns about his size and the potential that he has to be a productive MLB player. Standing at 5’6/150 Vaz is not your typical professional athlete and would immediately be one of the smallest players in the MLB, coming in at the same height and 15 pounds lighter than Jose Altuve.
The lack of size for Vaz mostly raises concerns about his power at the plate, which, granted, is non-existent as he posts a .115 ISO. But what Vaz lacks in power, he makes up for with everything else he does. Vaz makes contact at the plate, works walks, is fast on the bases, has a great glove and can play most defensive positions. To me this sets Vaz up to be a great leadoff hitter who can also have some utility value and seems like the ultimate guy that fits with the Royals and Matt Quatraro. His skillset will be a great fit in Kansas City when he gets to the bigs.
At the plate Vaz makes great contact, finding gaps and getting on base with his speed. What makes Vaz a great leadoff option is his lack of strikeouts, small zone and great contact numbers. Vaz has an insane swinging strike rate that is below 3 percent and strikeout rate consistently below 15%. His career OBP is above .375 and can move when he’s on the bases with 30 stolen bags in 2023. I think Vaz will start in AA in 2025 and will find success yet again. I think his play style will translate as he moves up and will be good in AAA as well and has the potential to contend for the major league roster at the end of the season or the start of 2026.
OF Asbel Gonzalez
The Royals targeted Gonzalez at the top of their international signing class in 2023 getting him for a $157,500 signing bonus. The headline for Gonzalez when he was signed was his incredible athleticism for an 18 year old. He stands at 6’2/170 with elite speed and a frame that suggests that he could add some muscle and power as he gets older. His bat is not anything to call home about yet, but the potential is there for him to improve and be a high quality hitter. He has a good eye at the plate with a good BB/K rate, and his ability to barrel balls will improve over time and I get the impression the Royals are confident in his skillset and development.
Gonzalez was promoted to AA ball for the playoffs at the end of 2024 which was his first time playing outside of rookie ball. Gonzalez has had flashes and shown some success but has lacked consistency and there are major flaws you can see. As of right now Asbel is mostly a soft contact singles guy with his incredible speed and is good on the bases with potential to have high volume stolen bases. We already know Gonzalez is a high quality fielder in center and can move to left or right down the line. I have him set for a breakout as he turns 19 soon and I think we will see him add some muscle and work at the plate after seeing some higher level ball. This is a guy I am excited about and with good offseason work, I think he could explode next season.
SS/3B Austin Charles
Austin Charles is a guy who gets mixed reviews among baseball analysts, as his ceiling is through the roof because of his great athleticism. The frame for Charles is impressive at 6’5/215 and has just turned 20 so still has some room to add muscle and strength. It was widely assumed Charles would go to play college ball, until the Royals grabbed him in the 20th round of the draft and paid him over $400,000 to go pro out of high school and they were able to lure him away from college. Charles has played 3B and SS in the minor leagues but I think he will transition to a full time 3B role which is where I think he is best suited.
Charles spent all of 2024 in Single A Colombia and his clear focus was to get more discipline at the plate and work on consistency. Charles has raw power at the plate with his frame and had 10 HRs last year, but I think he’s more than capable of adding to that number in the future. The downside at the plate is his struggle to pick up on breaking balls and causes him to strikeout too often with a K rate over 25%. On the other hand, there was improvement in his walk-rate, improving 3% from last season. The power is there and if he can develop a better feel for the pitches at the plate he will be a great hitter and could be one of the best prospects in the Royals entire farm every quick.
On defense, Charles started as a SS but has transitioned to 3B because of his size and high quality arm. He plays quality defense which is very valuable for Kansas City and his arm has been a big highlight for him. Another thing to mention is Charles has been great on the bases with 36 stolen bags last year and got caught 7 times. The organization increased his volume stealing bases and showed what he is capable of despite being caught 16% of the time last year. I think Charles is a great athlete and if he can improve his vision at the plate and could be one of the best prospects in the Royals farm. It would not surprise me if Charles caught fire early with his bat and shows improvement across the board in 2025.
RHP Drew Beam
Drew Beam was a 3rd round pick for the Royals in the 2024 MLB draft out of Tennessee, where he was one of their best starters from the start of his college career. The Royals had a clear desire in 2024 to go out and improve the depth of their pitching in the minor leagues. Beam stands at 6 ‘4/210 where he is the ideal size for an MLB pitcher and is the prototypical guy to be a major leaguer. He is a guy that I like a lot as a starter and I think will make a name for himself early in 2025.
Beam has a quality pitch mix which is already appealing to me, he has a quality fastball that sits mid 90s and can heat up to upper 90s at times. He offers a great changeup that has good lateral and vertical movement, something a lot of players don’t develop for many years. In my opinion his best pitch is a big curveball that gets deep before it breaks and is his go to put away pitch. He also offers a cutter to keep hitters off the fastball and force soft contact.
Beam looks like he pitches with ease but has real MLB stuff already which gives me a ton of promise that he is an MLB starter very soon. Beam throws hard, has a good pitch mix, and solid command as well. Beam has experience starting, he has shown good work load and the ability to be an elite pitching prospect. Some have called Beam the most MLB ready pitcher in the draft and some have said he could make a rotation in 2025. Now I don’t think that will happen, but I know that Beam will start high and could fly through the minor leagues, many people may not know his name yet, but I think he will make a splash early and Royals fans will be very excited about his future with the team.
C Blake Mitchell
Once the first pick in the Royals draft in 2022 taking him out of high school to the dismay of many fans. Mitchell shut them up quickly with his success early in his career and his elite athleticism behind the plate impressing everyone. Mitchell is only 20 years old and has shown MLB level athleticism and raw power that has impressed most if not all analysts. Mitchell doesn’t have incredible size at 6’0/200 but he has an elite arm and has great pop behind the plate. Mitchell isn’t very fast on the bases but checks the boxes as a guy who is an MLB calabar athlete and an exciting prospect for the Royals organization.
Mitchell spent almost all of 2024 in Single A Colombia where he consistently looked solid for them all year. He earned a promotion at the end of the year to A+ Quad Cities where I think he will start in 2025 after his success in 2024. The biggest weakness in Mitchells game is discipline at the plate. In Colombia Mitchell had a great walk rate at about 17%, which is a good sign. But unfortunately his K rate is at 35% which is way too high. So far his biggest problem has been that he takes too many pitches looking for walks, and while he earns walks, it hurts him when he strikes out looking. Mitchells power showed up in 2024 with an ISO above .200, and I think that this offseason will do him good and he could really pop in 2025.
RHP Dennis Colleran
We all know I love my fastball and when it comes to pitchers, I am a big fan of guys who have electric stuff. Colleran has a 3 pitch mix that screams leverage reliever to me and I think with the Royals recent development of pitchers, Colleran will find success in the Royals system. Colleran stands 6’3/225, so there is no doubt as to why he throws so hard with that frame. The Royals were able to land him in the 7th round of the MLB draft where he fell due to concerns with command and his recovery from TJ surgery.
The biggest problem scouts find with Colleran is that they feel he uses the fastball too much and it becomes hittable. Colleran showed that he has the velocity and enough control to get by. He won’t paint the zone by any stretch but his stuff is good enough to make it work. The Royals will need to work with Colleran on his off-speed pitches to keep hitters off his fastball, something I think the Royals staff is more than capable of. Colleran has a quality slider already that can be a put away pitch if he is commanding it well and he also offers a splitter that is a work in progress. If he improves the offspeed splitter, I think he could be a quality reliever leaning on the fastball slider combo and mixing in the spitter as needed. Reminds me of Kyle Finnegan with the stuff that he offers, but needs to work on the command. I think Colleran will rise fast as a reliever in the Royals farm, and the question will be can his command and velocity hold up as he gets higher up in the ranks.
Honorable Mentions
Hiro Wyatt, Luinder Avila, Ben Kudrna
Wyatt is a young pitcher who the Royals took a big risk on in the 2023 MLB draft where they paid well above slot value to bring him in. Wyatt just turned 20 and has touched 97 with his fastball and has a true wipeout slider. He has been working on a changeup that has shown improvement over time. Wyatt finished the year in Colombia and I think that is where he will start next year. But he saw a lot of success there and I see no reason why that wouldn’t continue. With his physical tools, this could be the year Wyatt makes a big jump.
Avila was just claimed to the 40 man roster after showing some elite stuff in 2024 pitching for NWA. Avila has a hard 97 MPH cutter, a curve with huge spin, a quality slider and rarely used changeup. Avila has been a starter but I think will start to move him to the bullpen in 2025. His jump in velo was impressive and I think it is really possible that we see Avila in the majors at some point in 2025. If he can improve his command of his pitches this offseason, we could see him hold a major league role for the end of the year and be a consistent member of the roster.
Ben Kudrna has been one of the best pitcher prospects in the Royals farm for several years after being taken in the 2nd round in 2021. Kudrna found his way to AA at the end of 2024 and looked okay despite some bad outings. But this offseason to improve his stuff and will show what he can do. He has a quality low 90s fastball as well as a solid change up and slider that tunnel well with the fastball. With some work this offseason Kudruna should finish the year in AAA and may contend for a starter spot in 2026.
