Royals top prospect finally giving reason for KC to feel good about first-round draft faith in him

The Kansas City Royals drew quite a few questions last summer when they doubled down on prep position players in the MLB Draft. Infielder Josh Hammond and jack-of-all-trades Sean Gamble were both top talents in the draft pool, but drafting both at 28th and 23rd, respectively, was still unexpected.

Through the first few months of each player’s professional season, there have been few qualms about Hammond’s performance and projection. It has been Gamble who people have been quick to criticize and turn against, despite his being a consensus top-10 talent in the Royals’ prospect pipeline. Thankfully, the Iowa native is turning a corner at the plate and showing why Kansas City made him their draft priority last year.

Heading into June, Gamble was abysmal at the plate. The IMG Academy product was already known mostly for his versatility and gap-to-gap approach rather than his hit or power tool, but a .149/.251/.223 line while striking out 26.4% of the time was unacceptable. He was still getting regular work for the Low-A Columbia Fireflies, and flashes showed what he could bring at the plate or on the basepaths. Thankfully, since the calendar flipped to June, Gamble has been meeting his draft slot’s expectations.

Gamble has a 122 wRC+ across 21 games in June, thanks to a .260/.389/.384 line and .772 OPS. He also has 10 stolen bases in that span, bringing his season total to 19. Gamble’s improvements also came with his plate discipline, walking 14.4% of his plate appearances in June while only striking out 20% of the time.

Kansas City has to like what Sean Gamble has shown in recent weeks

Gamble carried a 12-game hitting streak for much of the month as well, running from June 10-25. He was not hitting for much overall power, but he was putting the bat to the ball, all while only striking out nine times and walking six times. His .123 ISO in June is better than his .089 ISO across the season, but that remains a part of his game Gamble can improve upon. After all, he has shown he can get ahold of the ball.

MLB Pipeline lists Gamble as Kansas City’s fifth-best prospect, trailing behind teammate Hammond who is third. Gamble has lived up to expectations on the basepaths and in the field, although he has primarily playing centerfield for the Fireflies after playing all over the diamond prior to the draft.

There is still plenty for Gamble to work on, and hopefully he finds more power as his age-19 season progresses. Gamble’s overall season numbers are still lackluster for a first-round pick, but hopefully June is a sign of more to come for the rest of the season, solidifying Gamble’s spot as a future big league contributor beyond his first-round stats.