3 KC Royals prospects who need a change of scenery

The KC Royals need to let these once heralded prospects who have hit a wall try to revive their careers with another organization.

As often happens in baseball when you have 40 rounds of the Amateur Draft and International signings, players do not advance as hoped in their career.  It can especially painful when those players were listed on highly on the KC Royals prospect lists.

Giving them another opportunity and freeing up room in the organization to promote other players is beneficial for the prospect and franchise.  A change of scenery can breathe fresh life into the player and give them the incentive to prove they belong.

It could be injuries that cause the downfall, personal issues, bad timing or a slew of other reasons.  Unfortunately, it is not easy to put a finger on why it does not work out.  It is more disappointing when they earn their way into a top prospect ranking, only to not reach the projected potential.

Despite it having the highest rate of athletes who go on to play professional ball, a recent NCAA study shows that just under 10 percent of their athletes will advance.  Still, that floods the baseball market with several new bodies each summer.

Of course, baseball teams also are able to draft players right out of high school.  This adds more unknowns into the equation even with advanced scouting and following a player for several years during prep ball, traveling teams, and All-Star camps.

Research gathered on high school players from 1996-2011 and first-round picks that ended up playing in the majors was less than 15 percent.  Those that were able to stick around for three or more years at the top-level dropped to 10.5 percent for position players and just 7.6 percent for pitchers.

The number of players on major league rosters is short of 800 (assuming baseball’s new 26-man roster that was to be implemented in 2020) which means players will need to excel in order to make it to the top.

With all the obstacles in reaching the majors, there is no shame in being a highly-touted prospect whose stock falls in their organization.  Maybe a fresh start will be a catalyst to meet their ultimate baseball goal.