Is the Kansas City Royals farm system hitter heavy with Witt Jr., Melendez and Pratto?
The tide has shifted in the Kansas City Royals farm system from dominated by top-tier pitching prospects to highly regarded hitters, led by Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year Bobby Witt Jr.
Baseball America released its Top 10 Royals prospects this week, updated after the conclusion of the minor-league season, and the bats have taken over.
The Royals, who have the third-best farm system of the 30 major-league teams according to that same publication, now feature three position players among their best five prospects in Witt, catcher MJ Melendez and first baseman Nick Pratto. Witt, the third-best overall prospect, ranks No. 1 in the Royals system while Melendez ranks No. 3 and Pratto No. 4.
Two pitchers were rated among the Royals five best prospects. Asa Lacy ranked No. 2 and Jackson Kowar, who made his major-league debut this season, ranked No. 5.
Going into 2020, three of their top five prospects were pitchers (No. 2 Daniel Lynch, No. 3 Kowar and No. 4 Brady Singer). Then going into last season, four of the top five prospects in the Royals farm system were pitchers (No. 2 Lynch, No. 3 Lacy, No. 4 Kowar, No. 5 Kris Bubic).
The Top 10 is currently split evenly among pitchers and hitters.
Royals Top 5
No 1. Bobby Witt Jr., shortstop
In his first full season of professional baseball, Witt impressed with his performance as he made the jump from the Rookie level at the end of 2019 to Double-A and then Triple-A this year. He proved, in the words of Royals president of baseball operations Dayton Moore, that “he’s the real deal, on the field, off the field.”
He slashed .290/.361/.575 with 33 home runs, 35 doubles, 29 stolen bases and 97 RBIs in 123 games (61 at Double-A, 62 at Triple-A). He experienced some high strikeout totals in his initial periods at both levels, but he reduced those with more games. Baseball America dubbed him the “Best Athlete” in the Royals farm system.
“The biggest thing was just (remembering) it’s the same game I’ve been playing,” Witt said in early October. “That was the biggest aha moment for me, just knowing I don’t have to do too much. I don’t have to do too little. I’ve just gotta keep going out there and be the best Bobby Witt Jr. I can be and keep things as simple as possible.”
No. 2 Asa Lacy, LHP
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The No. 4 overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft coming off of a pandemic-shortened college season, Lacy has appeared in 14 games (52 innings) at High-A plus another four outings (7 2/3 innings) in the Arizona Fall League.
Lacy’s raw “stuff” has been impressive as indicated by his 79 strikeouts at High-A. Though he has also racked up some high walk totals (41 in 52 innings).
No. 3 MJ Melendez, catcher
A left-handed hitting catcher, Melendez made adjustments both mechanically and to his approach that helped him lead Minor League Baseball with 41 home runs. Along the way, he posted a better OPS than both Witt and Pratto and registered a slash line of .288/.386/.625 between Double-A and Triple-A while catching 81 games and played 123.
Baseball America rated him as the best power hitter in the Royals farm system.
In August, he credited a large portion of the progress he made to the time spent at the alternate site in 2020.
“I think it’s something that in a couple years on how I got to a point in my career, I feel like that’s going to be a huge, huge stepping stone,” Melendez said.
“It’s something that I feel has really helped me develop into who I am becoming. I definitely attribute a lot of my success to that alternate site because it was just a time where I was able to experiment with a lot of new things and gain confidence and really, truly trust the process.”
No. 4 Nick Pratto, first baseman
The Royals’ top pick in 2017 (14th overall), Pratto bounced back from a dreadful 2019 season that included a slash line of .191/.278/.310 with nine homers, a strikeout rate of 34.7% and a walk rate of 10.4% in 124 games.
This season, the left-handed hitting first baseman put himself back among the elite prospects in the game as a MiLB.com All-Star as well as a minor-league Gold Glove Award winner. He slashed .265/.385/.602 with 36 home runs and 98 RBIs in 124 games (61 at Double-A, 63 at Triple-A). Along with his power, his walk rate increased to 16.7% at Double-A and 13.7% at Triple-A.
He did hit a little bit of slump in September, his second full month at Triple-A. He slashed .203/.330/.500 in 23 games.
No. 5 Jackson Kowar, RHP
A first round pick in 2018, Kowar went through a Jekyll & Hyde type of season this year. He was largely dominant in the minors at Triple-A and earned the organization’s Pitcher of the Year award. He went 9-4 and held Triple-A hitters to a .220 batting average and posted a 1.24 WHIP with 115 strikeouts in 80 2/3 innings.
However, he went 0-6 with an 11.27 ERA in the majors. Command became a glaring issue in his nine appearances (eight starts). Opponents batted .336 against him in the majors and his walks per 9 innings jumped from 3.79 at Triple-A to 5.93 in the majors.
Rounding out the Top 10
No. 6 Kyle Isbel, OF: Made his the Opening Day major-league roster this season after having not played above Single-A. He spent most of the season at Triple-A (105 games). Showed improvement when recalled in September.
No. 7 Frank Mozzicato, LHP: The club’s top draft pick this summer (seventh overall), the left-hander from Connecticut got his feet wet at the club’s Arizona facility in the fall instructional league.
No. 8 Ben Kudrna, RHP: A local product from Blue Valley Southwest High School, the Royals made him their second-round pick (43rd). Like Mozzicato, Kudrna’s introduction came at the club’s Arizona facility in the fall instructional league.
No. 9 Jonathan Bowlan, RHP: A second-round pick in 2018 as part of the draft class that brought Singer, Bubic, Lynch, Kowar, Isbel and Jonathan Heasley into the organization, he’s built like a potential workhorse. He added to his repertoire headed into 2021, but he suffered an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery.
No. 10 Vinnie Pasquantino, first baseman: The Royals High-A Player of the Year, Pasquantino combined power and an advanced hitting approach in his 6-foot-4, 245-pound frame. Selected as the Royals “best hitter for average” by Baseball America, the lefty slashed .300/.394/.563 with 24 home runs and as many strikeouts as walks (64 each) in 116 games between High-A and Double-A.
