The Kansas City Royals are hoping the future is brighter than their 2025 season has been so far, and their top prospects are going to play a major role in making that happen.
For much of the season, the hype around the Royals’ farm system centered on first baseman/outfielder Jac Caglianone, the team’s 2024 first-round pick. But after a rough first month-plus in the majors and a trip to the injured list, Caglianone is no longer considered a “prospect” by most ranking systems.
However, the Royals still have some exciting future big leaguers rising through the minor-league ranks, and the latest Top 100 list from the evaluators at MLB Pipeline demonstrates that fact.
The Royals placed two players on that Top 100 list, and both of them happen to be catchers. Blake Mitchell, the 20-year-old former first-round pick, came in at No. 49. Carter Jensen, the 22-year-old who was promoted to Triple-A this season, ranked 70th.
It’s going to be highly intriguing to monitor the push/pull between Jensen, who is closer to the big leagues and has performed well this year, and Mitchell, who started the year hurt but has come on strong and possesses the louder tools of the two.
Meanwhile, on the Royals’ new team Top 30, a pair of newcomers debuted in the top five. They were infielder/outfielder Sean Gamble, the 23rd overall pick in this July’s MLB Draft, and third baseman Josh Hammond, who was the 28th overall pick. Those two slotted in right behind Mitchell and Jensen at No. 3 and No. 4.
Having two early draft picks was a major boon to the Royals, part of their continuing reward from promoting Bobby Witt Jr. to the major league roster at the start of the 2023 season.
One other name to keep an eye on from the updated MLB Pipeline rankings is right-handed pitcher Kendry Chourio. He’s a 17-year-old Venezuelan right-hander who was signed this year, and already graduated from the Dominican Summer League and Arizona Complex League to make his debut in Low-A Columbia.
The fast-rising Chourio ranks eighth in the Royals’ new Top 30.
Though other teams will get more publicity for their farm systems, there’s a lot of exciting talent for the Royals that should have a widespread impact in both the near and distant future.
More MLB: Royals Snakebitten Once More As Veteran Reliever Heads Back To IL
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.si.com ’
