Projecting KC Royals prospects: No. 17 Jeison Guzman

The KC Royals have a number of talented prospects and this shortstop is starting to make his way up the rankings, hoping for a future spot.

Welcome back to the Kings of Kauffman “Projecting the Prospects” series for 2020. We’ll be reviewing each of the KC Royals organization’s top 30 prospects and projecting the best, worst, and most likely scenarios for the upcoming season. Today, we are looking at shortstop Jeison Guzman.

Jeison Guzman has been working his way through the Royals minor league system since he was picked up as an international signing as a 17 year old. He has been a bit slow to start but has started to show some signs of progression, allowing him to come in ranked as the 17th prospect in the Royals system by the MLB.

Guzman has seen his share of struggles and rough starts, but over the past few seasons, the organization has really started putting the work in with him and he is improving. Guzman has typically been able to impress the Royals with his defense, which is perfect for their typical game plan.

He has struggled with errors, but MLB rankings note that he is better than the struggles he has shown and is able to make great plays at shortstop when needed. While his defense has never been much of a concern, there is some surrounding his offensive production.

Guzman has had issues at times hitting for a high average and hitting with much power, but that is something that is starting to look up. He has improved his lines over the past few seasons, and in 2019, after a slow start to the season, he was able to put up decent numbers.

Guzman is continuing to show improvement around the board, and at 21 years of age, he still has some time to progress even further.

Worst case scenario:

As stated above, Guzman has done a good job to show improvement over the last few seasons. This progression going away would seriously hold him back and push is ETA for the majors further and further away.

More specifically, if Guzman cannot adapt to the higher level pitching and continues to struggle offensively while giving up errors defensively, the Royals may have to start looking at other routes.

Best case scenario:

Guzman continues to progress both his in his skills and through the minor leagues. Guzman will likely see a good deal of 2020 in advanced A ball after a decent 2019 season in Lexington. If Guzman continues to show progress and makes the jump well, AA is not off the table.

As long as everything clicks as it’s supposed to, Guzman could see AAA ball as early as 2021, and could even see a short stint of time in Kansas City come 2022.

Most likely scenario:

Guzman will likely spend the majority of the 2020 season in advanced A, even if he progresses well. With his past struggles, it will be important for the Royals to ensure that he can have success and maintain it at each level before pushing him into another area to readjust.

Guzman will most likely struggle to start the season, but with continued work from his coaches has a good chance of finding his footing and continuing to impress defensively, while adding some confidence to his swing.

Guzman may have a difficult road to Kansas City with multiple shortstop options coming through the minors, but with continued growth, his defense could carry him far.

Continue to follow along as we keep working through the top 30 prospects.