The Kansas City Royals are next on our Players Likely to Debut series. In case you missed it, here’s a look at all the teams that we have covered so far.
AL East: Red Sox — Yankees — Orioles — Blue Jays — Rays
NL East: Marlins — Braves — Phillies — Mets—Nationals
AL Central: Tigers
Below, you will find a list of three prospects from the respective organization. Each prospect will have a number score next to their name — this number will represent the estimated amount of time we anticipate that player seeing at the big-league level. Players that have already made their big-league debut will not be included on this list.
BREAKDOWN OF TIME ON ROSTER SCORES:
1 — September call-ups / guys that are likely to see less than 20-25 games on the roster
2 — 1/4 of the season (roughly 40 games on roster)
3 — 1/2 of the season (roughly 80 games on roster)
4 — 3/4 of the season (roughly 120 games on roster)
5 — Full season on the MLB roster
Kansas City Royals
Position — Name (Time on Roster Score)
RHP — Jackson Kowar (3)
If you don’t like pitching, you might want to just stop reading now. This is going to be a pitcher-heavy list of players that should spotlight for the Royals at some point in 2021. While he doesn’t get as much hype as Brady Singer, his college teammate at the University of Florida, Kowar’s fastball can reach high-90s and he has one of the best changeups among all minor league prospects. Once he gets the call, you can expect the 6-foot-8 right-hander to be a rotation mainstay for years to come.
Despite the immense talent that he has, this is still a small-market team with an emphasis on developing homegrown talent and keeping them for as many years as possible. For that reason, expectations should be limited — in terms of playing time — for both he and the next player on the list.
LHP — Daniel Lynch (2)
Likely to start on Opening Day, Danny Duffy is on the final year of his contract. For this reason, one might suggest that the Royals shop the 32-year-old righty at the trade deadline. While a trade would certainly open up space for Kowar or Lynch on a full-time basis, you can expect both of these guys to be subconsciously battling each other for opportunities throughout the season.
Personally, I see Lynch getting some work out of the bullpen this year. The Royals are projected to have three lefties in the rotation — Duffy, Mike Minor, and Kris Bubic — when the club breaks camp. Obviously things can change and injuries will pop up and Lynch is a starter moving forward, however, there’s a good chance that Richard Lovelady is the only left-handed arm out of the bullpen. Singer, Kowar, and Lynch are constantly mentioned in the same breath when discussing the future in Kansas City and there’s a chance that the triumvirate suit-up together this season at Kauffman Stadium. If you are solely looking at 2021, perhaps the most likely scenario for that is with Singer and Kowar in the rotation and Lynch in the bullpen, as a late-inning set-up man.
LHP — Holden Capps (1)
Again, with a bullpen that lacks left-handed experience, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to see the Royals open doors for several left-handed farmhands. Capps put together a strong performance at High-A in 2019 before giving way to early struggles after being promoted to Double-A.
He’ll turn 26 years old prior to the start of the season so he’s probably not a name that you’re too familiar with. That said, the Royals only have two lefties, outside of Lovelady, currently on the 40-man roster. Daniel Tillo will miss the entire season recovering from Tommy John surgery and 21-year-old Angel Zerpa is only on the list because the club didn’t want to risk losing him in last December’s Rule 5 Draft. If you remember, Elvis Luciano was once a well-regarded prospect in the organization that was lost to the Toronto Blue Jays because they chose not to protect him.
Notable
A pair of former third-round draft picks provide the most likely offensive options this season. Khalil Lee (2016) and Kyle Isbel (2018) could both get their first big-league swings in 2021. Lee is on the 40-man roster already, has displayed good on-base skills, a strong arm, and the ability to run well on the base paths.
Photo Credit: Getty Images