Three Kansas City Royals Prospects Who Could Make Big Impact in 2018

Not to beat a dead horse, but the Kansas City Royals are going to be looking at a much different roster in 2018. The team will need to look for answers down on the farm as cheap options to fill roster spots.

Free agency is no way for a small-market team like the Kansas City Royals to build a roster. Sure, guys like Ryan Madson and Alex Rios helped KC to a World Series title in 2015. I’ve written more than one article detailing my desire for KC to bring back Eric Hosmer, but that’s hardly building a team through “free agency.”

No, the Kansas City Royals built a championship team from the ground up. They drafted young players, signed more in the international pool and raised them to be champions. That’s exactly what they’ll have to do if they want to win another title in the future.

Luckily for Kansas City, that future can start as early as 2018 for a few key prospects. There are a number of different guys who I think could make their MLB debuts in 2018, but there are three in particular that I think have a chance to make some serious noise at the MLB level.

There may be others who debut and make impacts that no one predicted. Whit Merrifield set the world on fire in 2017 after starting the year in Omaha. Scott Alexander turned into one of the Kansas City Royals’ most valuable relievers. Sometimes those guys come out of nowhere; sometimes they are top prospects.

Here are three of KC’s prospects that I think have the chance to make a big impact on the team in 2018. Remember, guys like Jorge Soler and Raul Mondesi don’t count as prospects anymore—or they’d surely be on this list.

1.) Hunter Dozier 3B

The Kansas City Royals’ first-round selection back in 2013 out of Stephen F. Austin has had an interesting journey through the minors. When Hunter Dozier was drafted back in 2013, he was almost immediately moved from shortstop to third base, which blocked his path to the majors until Mike Moustakas became a free agent. To me, this meant that the Kansas City Royals were willing to take their time with Dozier and let him develop at his own pace until Moose departed at the end of 2017.

Well, the time is here.

In 2016, between Double-A and Triple-A, Dozier slashed a combined .296/.366/.533/.899 with 23 home runs in 486 at-bats. If we’re being perfectly honest with each other, I didn’t realize how monstrous of a season Dozier had last year until it was over. I knew he was hitting well, but holy crap. He destroyed the ball. I got really excited for the potential for Dozier to get some at-bats with Kansas City in 2017.

Unfortunately, Dozier just couldn’t stay healthy this year. He hit the ball OK across three levels in 2017 but only registered 111 total at-bats. Luckily for the Kansas City Royals, Dozier ended the year healthy and appears to be ready to go for 2018.

What about Cuthbert?

A lot of what I’ve read about the Royals seems to suggest that Cheslor Cuthbert is going to be the man to play third base in 2018. I say, not-so-fast. Dozier’s impressive 2016 season still has him near the top of most Kansas City Royals prospect lists, and the kid is still just 26. Dozier has Whit Merrifield 2.0 written all over him, in my opinion.

There’s a chance that Dozier starts out with Triple-A Omaha next season, but I wouldn’t be shocked at all if Dayton Moore felt comfortable enough with his bat to give him a chance to be on KC’s Opening Day roster.

Hunter Dozier could be a huge piece in the middle of KC’s lineup in 2018. I wouldn’t be surprised if—with a full season of at bats—Dozier hit .270 with 20 homers next year for the Royals. He’s still a guy that I am really high on. He may not be Mike Moustakas just yet, but remember that Moose didn’t have his career year until the age of 28. There’s still plenty of time for Dozier, and I think he can be a very solid addition to this Kansas City lineup in 2018.

2.) Bubba Starling CF

Bubba Starling feels like more of a folktale these days than he does an actual prospect. Drafted fifth overall back in 2011 out of Gardner-Edgerton (Kansas) High School, Starling appeared to be a savior for this Kansas City Royals franchise. A can’t-miss, five-tool prospect, Starling was surely going to be a key cog in the Royals march to a World Series title.

Surprise! He wasn’t, and he’s still a prospect yet to make his MLB debut. Luckily for the Royals, that could be on the brink of changing. With star center fielder Lorenzo Cain ready to hit free agency, Starling’s MLB debut could come as soon as Opening Day 2018.

If you read Kings of Kauffman semi-regularly, you may have read that I think the Kansas City Royals will attempt to re-sign Cain. However, nothing in life in baseball is guaranteed. If the Royals can’t bring Cain back to KC, Starling will be the next man up.

It’s no surprise to anyone why Bubba Starling hasn’t made his MLB debut yet. After starting off his minor league career fairly well (.856 OPS in 2012 and .785 in 2015), Starling hit a wall and slashed .185/.251/.322/.573 at Double-A Northwest Arkansas in 2016. This was a crushing blow to a Royals franchise that probably expected Starling to be starting in right field by 2016 when they drafted him.

Up and Down 2017

To make matters worse, Starling slashed .129/.217/.194(!!!)/.411 in the month of April with Triple-A Omaha. To be honest with you, after the abysmal April, I was just about ready to write Bubba off. His bat was gone. He’d turn 25 in August. The Kansas City Royals had wasted the fifth overall pick and $7.5 million on Starling. It hurts even more considering some of the players the team passed on.

Then something clicked. I can’t explain it, but Starling started hitting. In May, Bubba hit .289. In June he hit .291. And in July he hit .290 (over eight games) and appeared to be back on track to debut in September.

Then he got hurt. An oblique injury sidelined Starling for the rest of 2017 and delayed a potential debut even longer. I really thought we were finally going to get Bubba Starling in KC. It never happened. But don’t fret. Starling’s 2017 with Omaha was incredibly encouraging for the former top prospect.

I have no expectations for Starling in the big leagues. Any contributions he makes at this point will really just be gravy. But he’s coming. I don’t know when, and I don’t know what position he will play. But if the Texas Rangers offer Lorenzo Cain a massive deal this offseason, Bubba Starling and his Gold Glove caliber defense could be patrolling center field at Kauffman Stadium as soon as Opening Day.