KC Royals: Top prospect rewind, pitcher Brady Singer

Let’s take a look at the KC Royals’ first-round selection in the 2018 MLB Amateur Draft, right-handed pitcher Brady Singer.

As the KC Royals continue their rebuild, an emphasis will be placed on prospect development. Welcome to the continuation of our “Top prospect rewind” series. The subject of this article: pitcher Brady Singer.

Singer was the first of multiple pitchers to be drafted by the Kansas City Royals organization early in the 2018 MLB Draft. He was one of the top arms in all of college baseball, putting together back-to-back stellar seasons with the University of Florida.

The final two years of his collegiate career saw Singer post a combined 21-8 record with 243 strikeouts in 239 innings pitched. MLB Pipeline had him ranked No. 2 on their prospect list ahead of the draft, yet he fell to the Royals at 18th. The team was thrilled to have the 6-foot-5 righty join the ranks of its minor league system.

After taking the remainder of 2018 to rest and prepare for 2019, Singer hit the ground running with Advanced-A Wilmington. He proved to be dominant at this level, posting a 1.87 ERA in 57.2 innings. He earned a promotion to Double-A Northwest Arkansas midway through the year and although he wasn’t great, he still performed admirably.

Singer made 16 starts for the Naturals, spinning a 3.47 ERA and striking out 85 hitters in 90.2 innings of work. His walks were up, probably due to the increase in difficulty experienced in the jump from A to AA. As a whole, though, Singer was quite solid in his minor league debut season.

There have been rumblings that Singer could be given an opportunity to compete during spring training and possibly even make the Opening Day roster. While that’s far from a lock, it’s a testament to how advanced he is for his age. College pitchers naturally spend less time in the minors than high school prospects, so it would make sense for a polished arm like Singer’s to debut at some point during the 2020 campaign.

MLB Pipeline ranks Singer as the No. 2 prospect in the system. They grade his fastball(s) and slider as plus pitches, while giving credit to his changeup as well. Baseball America‘s rankings peg Singer at No. 4 in the organization.

Here’s to Brady Singer (hopefully) making his MLB debut this year!