The Kansas City Royals’ farm system isn’t in a bad spot by any means, but it’s hard to feel great about it, either.
After graduating Jac Caglianone to the majors last year, the Royals were left with a ton of catching depth in the farm system, some intriguing pitchers, and a bunch of wild cards. In a dream world, they’d have a couple of outfielders primed and ready to make their major league debuts soon, but that’s unfortunately not the reality.
But as the Royals get set to pick up the pieces of their rough 2025 season and try to contend this year, how much stock should fans put into the future in terms of the prospects on the way? According to one expert, perhaps not all that much.
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How Royals’ farm system stacks up to competitors
On Thursday, Keith Law of The Athletic released his annual farm system rankings, and the Royals came in 19th out of the 30 teams, while placing in Law’s “Tier 5” out of eight potential stratifications.
However, Law also left the door open for some major improvements on an organization-wide basis.
“My pick to make a big leap this year, the Royals have now banked two strong drafts under new scouting director Brian Bridges,” wrote Law. They also have a lot of catching depth, and they have some very intriguing guys in the low minors from their international scouting efforts, led by the pitching prospect with the best command in the minors in Kendry Chourio.
“Of course, if they contend again, they might end up trading some of these guys, but I see a ton of upside in this system right now. Their Low-A club in Columbia, South Carolina, will probably be loaded to start the year.”
Law put just three Royals prospects in his individual Top 100: rookie catcher Carter Jensen at No. 10, fellow backstop Blake Mitchell at 56, and the aforementioned righty Chourio at 61. He was positively bullish on Jensen, calling him a “legit Rookie of the Year candidate.”
Rankings don’t mean that much in terms of the end-of-year standings, as evidenced by the Royals ranking between the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees on Law’s list. At the same time, small-market teams depend on young talent to keep them in contention year after year, so it would be nice to see the improvements Law projects actually come to fruition.
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