Kansas City Royals: Reviewing debut seasons for top 2017 draft picks

The 2017 draft class for the Kansas City Royals has the feel of being one of the best in recent memory. Here’s how the top picks performed in their first professional seasons.

It often takes years before proper judgement can be passed on an entire draft class, especially one which includes as many players as the MLB draft. That being said, early projections would suggest the 2017 class for the Kansas City Royals could be among the best the franchise has ever seen.

The class has great potential with each of the team’s first five selections currently in the organization’s top 25 prospects, according to MLB.com’s rankings. Not all of those players will likely pan out with the club. However, it’s a sign the front office has a vision. Granted, it also points to a farm system devoid of high-end talent.

As beneficial as collecting prospects can be, they often prove more valuable as trade chips than future franchise cornerstones. For every Eric Hosmer, there is a Sean Manaea. Both helped the Kansas City Royals win a World Series, but in very different ways. Hosmer lived up to the hype that comes with being a top-five draft pick with important hits throughout the playoffs. Manaea, also a first-round pick, helped land Ben Zobrist who proved key to ending a 30-year drought.

It’s too early to know the ultimate fate of the members of the 2017 class. But it’s the perfect time to look back on how they performed in their debut seasons. We’ll examine each of the players the Kansas City Royals selected in the first 10 rounds. We’ll start with a pitcher who joins the organization from nearby Kansas State.

LHP, J.C. Cloney, ninth round, pick No. 270, Arizona

In 2014, the Kansas City Royals drafted Brandon Finnegan. The left-hander remarkably pitched in the College World Series and the MLB World Series in the same year. J.C. Cloney never came close to matching that feat, but he could accomplish both at some point.

Another lefty, Cloney shined for Arizona during the 2016 CWS. Playing in Omaha, he went 2-0 with 16 scoreless innings on his way to making the all-tournament team. The 6-foot-1, 226-pounder tossed a complete-game shutout against eventual champion Coastal Carolina. For an encore, he produced seven scoreless innings versus UC-Santa Barbara.

He showed some of that moxie during his first professional season. The 23-year-old made 12 appearances, including seven starts, for Burlington in 2017. He compiled a 3-1 record with a 3.77 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. His most impressive stat proved to be his strikeout-to-walk ratio. Over 43 innings, he piled up 35 strikeouts to just three walks.

On the downside, his batting average against of .260 is higher than one would like. Although, his biggest issue proved to be the home run, of which he allowed four. Other than that, Cloney produced one of the best debut seasons among the top Royals draft picks. If 2017 proves to be a springboard, Cloney has an opportunity to advance through the farm system rather quickly.

LHP, Holden Capps, eight round, pick No. 240, Central Oklahoma

You might have sensed a pattern, so far. The Kansas City Royals really like drafting left-handed pitchers, so much so that it borders on an obsession. One of the many who wound up being taken by the organization in the first 10 rounds came out of a small Oklahoma college. Holden Capps, who’s originally from Lawton, Oklahoma, didn’t perform as well as some of his fellow lefties in his inaugural season.

After making four appearances, stretching over 12 innings, in the Arizona League, Capps started nine games for Idaho Falls in the Pioneer League. He showed an ability to keep balls on the ground with a stellar 2.45:1 groundout-to-flyout ratio, while limiting opponents to just two home runs over 53 total innings. However, that’s where the positives end.

Capps pitched decent enough in his limited time with the AZL Royals. He put up an 0-1 record with a 3.00 ERA and 1.33 WHIP. He allowed one out of every four batters to reach via a base hit, and his 11 strikeouts to four walks aren’t exactly great. Things went further south as he traveled north to Idaho Falls.

Over his nine starts in the Pioneer League, Capps allowed 33 runs (25 earned). He allowed 52 hits and 15 walks, against 34 strikeouts, over 41 innings. That worked itself out to a 5.49 ERA, a 1.63 WHIP and a .313 batting average against. The 22-year-old will need to show more if he has any chance to make good on his eighth-round selection.

OF, Brewer Hicklen, seventh round, pick No. 210, UAB

Like several of his fellow 2017 draft classmates, Brewer Hicklen split his time between a couple of affiliates this past summer. Few, if any, split their time as evenly as the outfielder out of UAB. Hicklen played in 19 games in the Arizona League and 20 games in the Pioneer League. He did markedly better in the former.

While some of his counting stats were fairly comparable, due in large part to 18 more at-bats in Idaho Falls, Hicklen’s triple-slash line dropped off considerably after he joined the Pioneer League. During his time with the AZL Royals, the right-handed hitter put up a .348/.439/.609 line. Those numbers fell across the board to .299/.384/.471. Granted, his overall numbers (.321/.409/.532) ended up pretty great, and the club would certainly take that kind of production moving forward.

As mentioned before, going beyond the slash line, Hicklen put up fairly comparable numbers across his two stops. He scored 19 runs in both places and drove in 13 (AZL) and 10 (Pioneer). His strikeout and walk numbers were similar. He had 24 strikeouts and nine walks in Arizona against 22 strikeouts and nine walks in Idaho Falls. Hicklen ironically had three doubles, three triples and three home runs in Arizona. After moving north, he had eight doubles, two triples and one homer.

The biggest dropoff came in regards to stolen bases. Despite reaching base a few more times in Idaho Falls, Hicklen attempted to steal just four bases. He successfully swiped three of them. Before that, he had successfully stolen bases on 13 of 16 attempts. Particularly, if his speed makes itself known in 2018, Hicklen has shown an ability to hit extremely well in the lower realms of the minor leagues.

RHP, Tyler Zuber, sixth round, pick No. 180, Arkansas State

It’s fair to say Tyler Zuber had a rough go of it in his limited time with Lexington in 2017. It’s also fair to point out that the right-hander only pitched three times at the Low-A level. And finally, it’s fair to say if he replicates his performances from Burlington, where he spent the majority of his first professional season, Zuber has a chance to be an intriguing bullpen option going forward.

A sixth-round pick out of Arkansas State, Zuber went six-for-six in save opportunities with the Royals’ Appalachian League affiliate. In total, the 22-year-old tossed 25 innings over 16 relief appearances with Burlington. Prior to his promotion, Zuber had a solid 1-0 record, 2.16 ERA and 1.32 WHIP. While his .265 batting average against is higher than you would like, he made up for it with a stellar 38:7 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Things went downhill quickly once Zuber arrived in Lexington, though. He only pitched 2 1/3 innings, but he allowed just one fewer run than he did in Burlington. Despite getting hit hard in two of his performances — he had one scoreless outing, Zuber didn’t allow a single home run during his combined 27 1/3 frames. Ideally, an entire season with Lexington will allow the 5-foot-11, 175-pound Zuber to come closer to matching his numbers from Burlington. Although, it’s possible a realistic expectation would fall somewhere in between.

RHP, Charlie Neuweiler, fifth round, pick No. 150, Monsignor McClancy (East Elmhurst, N.Y.)

Charlie Neuweiler has the unfortunate distinction to be the highest drafted player from the Kansas City Royals’ 2017 class to not currently reside among the organization’s top 30 prospects. However, if this past season is any indication, he soon will be. That’s because Neuweiler put together arguably the most impressive campaign of the recently selected prospects.

He only pitched in 12 games (five starts) for the Royals’ Arizona League affiliate. Regardless, Neuweiler pitched phenomenally. His 3-3 mark belies his ridiculous 1.76 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and .192 batting average against. Over 41 innings pitched, the 18-year-old allowed just 28 hits and eight earned runs. Had the right-hander displayed better control — he had 12 walks, his numbers would have been even better.

Aside from the walks, Neuweiler also gave up three home runs and hit a pair of batters. His 34 strikeouts mean he struck out almost three times the number of batters he walked. At 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds, he doesn’t have the size of some of the pitchers the Royals took near him in the draft. But his debut season showed plenty of promise. If he continues to improve his strikeout-to-walk ratio, the fifth-round pick could soon become one of the most promising arms in the lower reaches of the farm system.

OF, Michael Gigliotti, fourth round, pick No. 120, Lipscomb

As mentioned before, the 2017 class has shown plenty of promise as a group. One of the players who really jumped out to a great start to his professional career is Michael Gigliotti. The fourth-round selection debuted with Burlington, playing 42 games with the Appalachian League affiliate, before eventually advancing to Lexington. The outfielder saw action in 22 games with the Low-A team in 2017.

The 21-year-old former Lipscomb star slashed a healthy .329/.442/.477 in Burlington. Not known for his power, Gigliotti produced just 14 extra-base knocks in his 51 hits with the club. Although, he did manage to drive in 30 runs and score 30, as well. The left-handed hitter showed great plate discipline, drawing 32 walks to 21 strikeouts. Gigliotti also stole bases at a 75-percent clip.

His numbers understandably dipped after his promotion. In Lexington, his hitting fell off to a still respectable .302/.378/.419, but it included a more than 100-point drop in OPS. Overall, his counting stats also suffered. Gigliotti’s RBI total dropped to eight and his runs scored fell to 14. He also struck out 20 times to eight walks, giving him virtually identical strikeout and walk numbers over the entirety of the year. Gigliotti also got caught stealing five of the 12 times he attempted to swipe a bag.

Between the two levels, Gigliotti produced 13 doubles, four triples and four home runs. As stated above, power is not his strong suit. But his ability to hit for average, field and run the bases give him a chance to start in Kansas City’s center field soon. It could happen by 2020 when MLB.com, who has him 21st in the organization’s prospect rankings, predicts he’ll reach the majors.

LHP, Daniel Tillo, third round, pick No. 90, Iowa Western CC

The fourth Kansas City Royals pick inside the top 100 landed them another left-handed pitcher. A former basketball standout in Iowa, Daniel Tillo spent an abbreviated freshman season at Kentucky. He then transferred to Iowa Western, where the Royals selected him in the third round.

Tillo, who turned 21 on the day he was drafted, has incredible size at 6-foot-5, 215 pounds. Despite struggling in limited action in the Arizona League, he received a promotion to Burlington after just three outings. That’s when Tillo turned his 2017 season around.

After allowing six earned runs in 5 2/3 innings for the AZL Royals, he only gave up 12 earned runs in 31 innings at Burlington. Overall, he showed good control — only allowing six total walks (although he did have four hit batsman) against 32 strikeouts. In his seven starts with Burlington, Tillo managed a 3-2 record with a 3.48 ERA and 1.32 WHIP. One of his greatest strengths appears to be keeping the ball out of the air. Tillo gave up just one home run, while compiling a 2.43:1 groundout-to-flyout ratio.

Currently 20th in the Royals farm system, according to MLB.com, Tillo has the upside to be in a big-league rotation one day. Based on the MLB.com projections, that could be as soon as 2021.

LHP, Evan Steele, competitive balance round, pick No. 73, Chipola JC (Florida)

The path for Evan Steele to become a supplemental pick in the 2017 draft by the Kansas City Royals is a winding one to be sure. Coming out of Marietta (Georgia) High School in 2015, Steele chose to attend Vanderbilt. However, academic issues forced him out of one of the premier baseball programs in the country. He wound up at Chipola Junior College in Florida. All he did there was help lead the team to a national title, earning MVP honors along the way.

Steele measures out at 6-foot-5 and 210 pounds, giving him excellent size, particularly for a left-hander. Thanks in part to that, he currently ranks 22nd based on MLB.com’s rankings for the Royals farm system. Signs point to him eventually moving to the bullpen, but for now, he remains a starting pitcher. MLB.com projects Steele will reach the majors by 2020.

His 2017 season left plenty to be desired. Steele started just five games in the Arizona League. He lasted only eight combined innings and allowed 11 hits, including a pair of home runs. The most encouraging sign came from his 16 strikeouts and just two walks. To average two strikeouts per inning, even in such a small sample, shows some potential.

C, MJ Melendez, second round, pick No. 52, Westminster Christian (Miami)

It’s generally a good sign for a draft class — and a bad sign for the farm system as a whole — when a second-round pick immediately becomes one of the 10 best players in the system. But that’s what happened when the Kansas City Royals selected MJ Melendez with the 52nd pick in the 2017 draft.

A left-handed hitting catcher, Melendez went to high school in Miami and became an all-American at Westminster Christian. Unlike many selected after him by the organization, he came straight out of high school. That gives him plenty of time to improve and grow as a player. The fact that Salvador Perez (and his long-term deal) currently holds down the catching duties with the Royals gives Melendez even more leeway.

Melendez, who just turned 19, joins a rather deep position — arguably the second-deepest in the farm system behind first base. Besides himself (No. 10), Chase Vallot (No. 12) and Meibrys Viloria (No. 17) land among the top 20 prospects in the system, according to MLB.com’s rankings. Viloria recently found himself on the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. But Melendez clearly has the most upside in the group and is projected by MLB.com to reach the majors by 2021.

This past season saw Melendez play in 47 games for the Royals’ affiliate in the Arizona League. He slashed .262/.374/.417. Only 15 of his 44 hits were of the extra-base variety. Melendez accounted for 55 runs — 25 scored and 30 driven in. His 60 strikeouts were more than you would want, but he did walk a respectable 26 times. That being said, his best attributes are his arm and his defense, meaning the solid offensive production is just a nice bonus.

1B, Nick Pratto, first round, pick No. 14, Huntington Beach (California)

The crown jewel of the 2017 class has already jumped to the top of the Kansas City Royals prospect list. Nick Pratto, one of the few high schoolers the team drafted high, comes in ahead of Khalil Lee on the MLB.com list. It’s a lot for a young player to live up to, then again the pressure of being a first round pick — particularly for an organization that has missed on some in recent years — is high by itself.

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Pratto is well-remembered in many parts of the country for his game-winning hit in the 2011 Little League World Series. Playing for his Huntington Beach, California, team against Japan, the left-handed hitter smacked an RBI single to break a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the sixth inning. The walk-off win, which came on his third hit of the game, put Pratto on the map early.

It’s safe to say his prep career lived up to the hype, leading him to be drafted 14th overall in June. As a left-handed pitcher and a first baseman, Pratto earned all-America honors his senior year. Pratto turned 19 years old in October giving him plenty of time to develop in the minors before he will be expected to reach the majors. Even still, he’s predicted by MLB.com to be playing for the Kansas City Royals by 2021.

He spent his first professional season in the Arizona League. Pratto managed just 49 hits in 52 games. Of those, 22 hits went for extra bases, including four home runs. He drove in 34 runs and scored 25 times. Pratto stole 10 bases in 14 tries, while striking out 58 times to 24 walks. The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder slashed .247/.330/.414. The Kansas City Royals will hope those numbers improve across the board in 2018.

Next: 50 best Royals in franchise history

What do you think? What prospect are you most looking forward to following in the coming years? Let us know your thoughts.