10 Royals Prospects Among Baseball America’s Positional Rankings

Photo Courtesy of: Minda Haas

On Thursday, Baseball America released their top 100 prospects list (which can be found here), and the Royals had four of their farmhands in the rankings: Kyle Zimmer (23rd), Yordano Ventura (26th), Raul Adalberto Mondesi (47th), and Jorge Bonifacio (90th). I thought the Royals might get one or two other guys in there somewhere, but having four on the list is nothing to sneeze at. With three prospects in the top 50, it’s clear the Royals’ farm system is in very good shape.

Today, however, the positional rankings were released at Baseball America (here’s the link to the index of all the rankings). There were ten Royals prospects among the top 25-40 at their respective positions. Zimmer and Ventura were ranked the 11th and 13th best right-handed pitchers, respectively, and they were joined on that list by Miguel Almonte at 36th. Mondesi was tabbed as the 6th best shortstop in the minors, which is incredible based upon how many star prospects are at that position. The top five shortstops are all in the top 14 overall, so you can see how much talent is there. Bonifacio was ranked the 5th best corner outfielder, and Elier Hernandez also made the list, at 21st.

At third base, 2013 first-round pick Hunter Dozier came in ranked 11th, and Cheslor Cuthbert ranked 23rd. Bubba Starling was named the 18th best center fielder in the minors, coming into a critical season for his development. Finally, Sean Manaea was ranked as the 10th best left-handed pitching prospect. The Royals didn’t have anyone ranked at catcher, first base, second base, or reliever.

While no one will be proclaiming this version of the Royals’ farm system The Best Farm System in the History of Whatever, I think we can all recognize the organization has compiled a lot of talent in the minor leagues, and even if Dayton Moore isn’t able to lock up all of the young players already in Kansas City, the team should be able to rely on the bevy of talented depth currently coming through the system. It’s a far cry from where the franchise was in 2006, and for as much criticism as Moore has received (much of it deserved, in my opinion), he’s done a very good job of stocking the minors, and he absolutely deserves credit for that.