Format = Position Player | Age on 4/1/2024 | Highest Level Played | Estimated Time of Arrival
1. 2B Nick Loftin | 25 | MLB | 2023
The 32nd overall pick out of Baylor in the 2020 draft, Loftin plays all over the field, logging eight games at first base, seven games at second base, and four games at third base in his 19 games with the major league squad in September. He hit .323 over that stretch and has a chance to beat out Michael Massey for the primary job at second base after slashing .270/.344/.444 with 14 home runs and six stolen bases in 82 Triple-A games. He’s always controlled the zone well and struck out just 13.1 percent of the time in those 82 games.
2. 2B OF Javier Vaz | 23 | AA | 2025
A spindly left-handed hitter at 5’9” 151 lbs, Vaz makes a ton of contact. He struck out just 50 times and drew 64 walks in 119 games across two levels in 2023. He also hit eight home runs and stole 30 bases. If there’s even a tiny uptick in power, Vaz will look like an every day option for Kansas City and fantasy mainstay for us.
3. OF Tyler Gentry | 25 | AAA | 2024
I thought Gentry would debut in 2023, but he stumbled out of the gate and was hitting .213 with a 77 wRC+ by mid May (through 33 games). By the time he’d gotten up to speed, Kansas City had other options to sort through such as Nelson Velazquez and Drew Waters. In his final 45 games of the Triple-A season, Gentry hit .318 with seven home runs, nine steals and a 148 wRC+. His prospect stock remains pretty low in dynasty leagues, but I’ve long held a shine for this 6’0” 210 lb right handed hitter and think he could do just enough to be serviceable for our purposes if given the chance.
4. RHP John McMillon | 26 | MLB | 2023
McMillon battled some forearm soreness late in the season but looked like a back-end weapon while he was on the field. He pitched at four levels and allowed just two home runs in 55.1 innings, collecting ten saves and skipping Triple-A along the way. It’s mostly a fastball-slider look, but that’s just fine when they’re both double-plus pitches he can control. His four-game stint in the majors was pretty clean. Four innings, eight strikeouts, one hit, zero walks, good for a 0.25 WHIP and 61.5 percent strikeout rate. So if I’m doing a little back-of-the-envelope math and prorating that across a full season, that makes McMillon the best pitcher in baseball. I’m joking of course haha so funny, but it’s true that he could become a relief ace if health and wellness cooperate.
5. 3B Cayden Wallace | 22 | AA | 2025
The 49th overall pick in 2022, Wallace checks in at 5’10” 205 lbs with something close to average tools across the board. Plate skills have been his calling card so far, as he’s walked in about ten percent of his appearances across three levels while keeping his strikeout rates around 20 percent. Double-A wasn’t kind to him at the end of 2023, but he’d posted a 116 wRC+ in High-A to get there, so his 77 wRC+ in 33 games at AA doesn’t move the needle much for me. One nice aspect of the profile for our game is his 18 steals in 24 attempts. He’s probably just quick enough to help us there if he’s willing to try and the Royals are willing to let him.
6. OF Gavin Cross | 22 | AA | 2026
A left-handed hitter at 6’1” 210 lbs, Cross was supposed to be a steady-near-ready college bat when the club drafted him 9th overall in 2022, and he still might settle into that profile, but 2023 was something of a nightmare season for his kind of prospect. If a high school kid goes to High-A and gets owned for a season, it’s not the end of the world. If a 22-year-old strikes out 27.8 percent of the time and bats .206 for 94 games against same-age arms, some red flags appear. He still netted out a 91 wRC+ for his troubles and is by no means roadkill. We just have to see some positive outcomes in Double-A before he regains much status as a dynasty prospect.
7. C Ramon Ramirez | 18 | DSL | 2028
A right-handed hitter at 6’0” 180 lbs, Ramirez walked (14%) more than he struck out (12%) in 41 games (150 PA) against Dominican Summer League pitching, slashing .344/.440/.615 with eight home runs and six stolen bases. He might not be a premium thrower behind the plate like first-round-pick Blake Mitchell, but I think Ramirez’s bat will have him passing Mitchell on the organizational depth chart sooner than later.
8. LHP Frank Mozzicato | 20 | A+ | 2026
An under-slot reach at 7th overall in the 2022 draft, Mozzicato looked good in Low A to open the season, posting a 36.2 percent strikeout rate and 3.04 ERA in 56.1 innings across 12 starts. His 14.5 percent walk rate was concerning but not enough to slow his ascent to High-A, where the wheels came loose. He walked 18.5 percent, and his strikeout rate fell to 25.3%. The result was a 1.83 WHIP and 7.12 ERA in 36.2 innings across nine starts. He lost some fastball velocity along the way, which isn’t surprising for a high school draftee’s first full season. If he can keep the heater above the meat zone, his off-speed stuff is plenty good to generate great outcomes. His slider, curve and changeup could all play as plus.
9. C Blake Mitchell | 19 | CPX | 2027
The 8th overall pick in the 2023 draft, Mitchell signed under slot value, a needle the club has been trying to thread with its high picks over the past few years. A left-handed hitter at 6’1” 202 lbs, Mitchell didn’t swing the bat a whole lot in his 13 games on the complex, slashing .147/.423/.176 with a 26.9 percent strikeout rate. He drew 17 walks to his 14 strikeouts, so that’s something, I suppose, but it was an odd look. They passed on Kyle Teel to take Mitchell and his double-plus throwing arm, and Teel tore his way to Double-A and posted a 167 wRC+ in his nine games at that level. He also wound up signing for about a million dollars less than Mitchell, who could become a strategy-altering defender in the go-go era of stolen bases for everyone.
10. 1B Derlin Figueroa | 20 | CPX | 2027
Oh my Derlin came over from Los Angeles in the Ryan Yarbrough trade and proceeded to go absolutely clementine for a couple weeks, slashing .571/.659/.1.029 with two home runs and a steal in 11 games. The theory goes that the Royals found something in his set-up, particularly how he sets and fires his hands, and that he took well to the coaching. And to that, I say alright, I’m listening.
Thanks for reading!
