5 players Royals fans should be watching closely in Triple-A after roster revealed

The primary focus of Kansas City Royals faithful on Friday will be the on the major league squad finally getting their chance to hit the field, when they square off against the Atlanta Braves.

However, they’re not the only team in the Royals organization kicking off their 2026 campaign on Friday.

The Omaha Strom Chasers will start their Triple-A season the road versus the Louisville Bats as big league rotation hopeful Ryan Bergert takes the bump.

And after they revealed the crew they’ll be opening the season with on Thursday, there’s several names for Royals fans to watch.

While many eyes will first go to the trendier names like Bergert, Eli Morgan, Luinder Avila or Steven Cruz after the waves made from their MLB Opening Day roster omissions, there are several other names that also deserve a close look this season.

Who should Royals fans be watching closely in Triple-A Omaha?

Mason Black – Right-handed pitcher

The Royals prioritized pitching depth this offseason and no acquisition of this type has looked more worth their time than Black has so far.

After a few hit-or-miss years in the San Francisco Giants organization as a prospect flipping between the majors and Triple-A Sacramento, the Royals acquired him via an early offseason trade.

And he immediately delivered during spring training, looking like one of the Royals more promising arms. In 8.0 innings across six outings, Black didn’t surrender a single earned run and posted a shimmering 1.00 WHIP and .172 BAA.

Bregert or a healthy Stephen Kolek might be the first names the Royals call upon if they have holes in their starting staff. But when discussing the next men up after those names, Black’s looked better than names like Mitch Spence and the Royals could very well not be ready to give up on Luinder Avila as a starter, boding well for Black.

And with Bailey Falter acting more like a relief option, perhaps Black could follow suit and be an outside option for length in the bullpen should Falter not work out.

Aaron Sanchez – Right-handed pitcher

Then there’s Sanchez, who unlike Black did not have a great spring training – despite a deceivingly decent-looking 4.50 ERA – didn’t dazzle in Surprise this spring.

However, Sanchez does have the prior MLB track-record of being an All-Star arm and did seem to capture some of that high-level form during a great run in the Dominican Winter League, winning Pitcher of the Year honors.

What to watch here though in particular, similar to Rich Hill last season, is how he performs in relation to his April 15 and May 15 opt-outs.

Will he perform well enough to join the Royals staff? And if he does, will they have room for him or will he opt to look for major league opportunities elsewhere?

Elias Díaz – Catcher

Now, spring training proved that Díaz isn’t the only name in the Royals catching depth to pay attention to – given how strong his now Storm Chasers teammate Luca Tresh looked as well – his former All-Star status makes him a bit more of a household name.

Last season, Salvador Perez’s moves towards DH and first base required the Royals to lean on a third catcher towards the middle of the season. This is where they opted to call-up veteran Luke Maile on multiple occasions.

This makes an experienced name like Díaz all the more intriguing, especially after he looked more than just a defensive catcher this spring with a .533 AVG, 1.333 OPS and 257 wRC+ in Surprise.

Josh Rojas – Infielder

Sticking with veteran big leaguers, we have Rojas, who appeared to a strong candidate for a Royals Opening Day bench spot before they went with Nick Loftin and Tyler Tolbert instead.

However, Rojas simply looked too strong in spring training to not keep an eye on in him. He was nothing like the 44 wRC+ hitter that released from the White Sox midseason in 2025. In 48 plate appearances across 18 games, Rojas belted a pair of homers with eight RBI, an .842 OPS and 122 wRC+.

Now, considering how good Loftin also looked this spring and Michael Massey hopefully returning from the injured list soon, it may be hard for Rojas to find immediate opportunities with the Royals.

That being said, with no real timeline yet for Massey’s return, other injuries always a possibility, the real possibility Tolbert can’t hold his weight beyond his speed and the off-chance Loftin reverts to his frustrating ways of old, Rojas could be the next utility man up on the bench.

Gavin Cross – Outfielder

Lastly, we round off to the name with most promise on this list and the only one to have not appeared in the majors yet in Cross.

Whenever he manages to hit the field with Omaha, it will be his first taste of Triple-A ball. This comes from the momentum he’s built off the back of a strong finish to the Double-A season in 2025 and a 100 wRC+ showing in spring training this year.

Being a former Top 10 Draft pick, Cross carries a lot of expectations and has yet to really fulfill them, particularly and concerningly at the upper-minor level.

Is this the year he finally breaks through and makes a legitmate run at a big league call-up? Or will he flame out before he even gets a chance?