KC Royals: Risers and fallers in 2020 top prospect rankings

The KC Royals’ top 30 prospects for 2020 represent a light at the end of what’s been a dark tunnel for the past few years.

The KC Royals are entering a pivotal season as an organization. As the team is coming off consecutive 100-plus loss campaigns, the pressure is on to field a competitive product within the next year or two. Some of that work starts now, but a lot of it has been going on for several years.

One of the downsides of having a great team to root for is coming to terms with the fact that finding top-tier talent in the MLB Draft and being able to keep it is a tall task. Winning more games means the team is later in the draft order, which in turn leads to lesser talent to pick from. Trades have to be made to acquire MLB-ready pieces (Johnny Cueto, Ben Zobrist), resulting in the farm system becoming depleted.

The last few drafts have been a lot better than the ones Dayton Moore led when the Royals were a World Series team. MLB.com has the farm system ranked 17th among all 30 teams, citing the “pitching-heavy 2018 draft” as one of the main reasons why.

MLB Pipeline has come out with its list of the top 30 Royals prospects for 2020. Let’s compare that list to the one from last year, pointing out any changes and noting who stayed relatively static in the rankings.

Jeison Guzman (2019: N/A, 2020: 17)

Guzman soars up this year’s list after not qualifying a year ago. He is an infielder who’s turned a few heads, including our own Michael Huckins. Michael recently put out an article on Guzman’s spring training performance and what it could mean for the future.

Guzman made solid progress last season and is still just 21 years old. His ability to get to pretty much any batted ball in the infield is terrific and he has the raw power to become a solid player. This season will be quite telling in regards to his future.

Darryl Collins (2019: N/A, 2020: 25)

Collins also cracks the top 30 after not appearing on the list in 2019. He came over from the Netherlands and is a prospect our Shawn Bauman now has on his radar. Collins has a high-contact approach at the plate and can defend well at any of the three outfield positions. Read Shawn’s article on the 18-year-old here.

Daniel Tillo (2019: 30, 2020: 18), Zach Haake (2019: 27, 2020: 18)

Tillo and Haake are both minor leaguers with bright futures if they can maintain their control and develop as the KC Royals expect them to. Tillo has the ability to be a pretty good starter one day but will have to learn to be repeatable in his delivery. Haake seems more likely to join the bullpen once he reaches the MLB level.

Austin Cox (2019: 21, 2020: 11), Jonathan Bowlan (2019: 16, 2020: 9)

Cox is a 22-year-old lefty with a potential future as a starter. His 2020 season will almost surely be spent in the minors but there is legitimate hope he can join KC in 2021. Bowlan, the son of former MLB player Mark Bowlan, weighs around 260 pounds and can flat-out fill up the strike zone. He projects as a starter as well.

Erick Pena (2019: 23, 2020: 5)

Pena, an outfield prospect, just turned 17 about a month ago. He ranked as the No. 5 international prospect when he signed with the Royals. He is a jack-of-all-trades with star potential. His ranking is based on how he’ll progress over the next few years, and he won’t rise to the MLB for several years.

Bobby Witt Jr. (2019: 1, 2020: 1)

Witt is the son of a former major leaguer and is probably the closest thing to Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes the KC Royals are going to get. He is a true five-tool prospect and for the first time in his life, he’ll be devoting an entire year to playing professional baseball.

The jury is still out a bit as to just how complete of a hitter Witt will be but aside from those minor concerns, he looks like the real deal. Defensively, he’s great. When he’s on base, he can swipe bags and run with the best of them. His raw power is tremendous. A strong start to his 2020 season would help alleviate any worries about the team’s best prospect in recent years.

Brady Singer (2019: 2, 2020: 2)

Singer’s running mates have already been sent to minor league camp or been reassigned. He remains with the MLB club, which could be a telltale sign of just how much faith the Royals have in him. The results haven’t been spectacular but nevertheless, these innings have done little to dissuade the team from considering him its best pitcher.

The Royals’ No. 5 starter spot in the rotation is still undecided. Manager Mike Matheny hasn’t ruled out the possibility of Singer grabbing it. The opportunity is there, and we’ll likely see Singer pitching at Kauffman Stadium before we know it.

Daniel Lynch (2019: 3, 2020: 3)

Lynch has the highest ceiling of any pitcher currently in the farm system. His pure stuff is electrifying and his poise on the mound is beyond his years. The Athletic’s Keith Law likes him enough to rank him 13th on his list of top 100 prospects. There’s a lot of hype surrounding the young starter.

If Lynch can stay healthy, there’s little reason to believe he won’t be called up by the end of the season. Even if it’s in September, it should happen. He’s that good already.

The future of the KC Royals is in good hands (or bats, or arms).