Kansas City Royals: Offseason Prospect Watch, Trevor Oaks

With just a week left until MLB Pipeline releases a new list of top prospects in the Kansas City Royals organization, the 20th ranked prospect in the organization is right handed pitcher Trevor Oaks.

Trevor Oaks was ranked 15th at the beginning of the 2018 season before dropping to the 20th spot at mid-season. Oaks appeared in four games for the Kansas City Royals during the 2018 season.

The right handed pitcher was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2014, making him the highest draft pick out of California Baptist in history. That has since changed, with Tyson Miller being chosen by the Chicago Cubs in the fourth round in 2017. He joined the Royals organization in 2018 as part of a three-team, six player trade.

2018 Statistics

Oaks spent most of his time with the Omaha Storm Chasers in 2018 where he yielded a record of 8-8 and an ERA of 3.23 in 22 appearances. He started all 22 and tossed for a total of 128.1 innings.

Hitters batted .266 against him, and his WHIP sat at 1.36.

In his four games up in the MLB with the Kansas City Royals, he recorded an ERA of 7.24 through 13.2 innings of work. He is on the 40-man roster, so it’s likely he will see time in the big leagues again in 2019, potentially eating up considerable innings.

Whether it be as a starter like he is used to or shifting to a relief role coming out of the bullpen, you will likely see Trevor Oaks in a Royals uniform during the 2019 season.

The Grades

MLB Pipeline grades all players based on their tools. Overall, they profile Trevor Oaks as a 45 grade player. His strongest pitch is his fastball, at a 60 grade, followed by his changeup and cutter at 50, and his slider at 45.

His control grades out at a 55. He is able to keep his pitch counts low, walking very little batters in his innings of work. He had Tommy John surgery while in high school, and he has proven to have durability as a pitcher. He profiles as a back end starter, which is what the Royals are searching for.

It does not appear as if he is ready right now, but with a little more time in the minors, he could grow into the final starter the Kansas City Royals are looking for.