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.

This former first-round pick in 2014 had a great 2017 season but has struggled while being assigned to Double-A and Triple-A the last two years.

Foster Griffin was selected by the KC Royals as an 18-year-old out of First Academy in Orlando, Florida.  He jumped right into the fray joining the Burlington Royals that summer and held his own in 11 starts with a 3.21 ERA. After struggling at Lexington in 2015 he looked good for the Legends the following year in seven starts again, but had difficulty with a promotion when he was sent to the Wilmington Blue Rocks.

2017 was easily the high water mark in Griffin’s career, as he split time between Wilmington and the Northwest Arkansas Travelers in AA.  His combined record was 15-7 with a 3.35 ERA and during his time with Blue Rocks, he had career bests in WHIP (1.11) and ERA (2.86).

It was also in 2017 that Griffin reached his highest point on the MLB KC Royals Prospect list, shooting all the way up to No. 6.  He was also named the Royals Minor League Player of the Year.  Oddly though, by the next season, he was nowhere to be found on the rankings.

Part of this could be due to the struggle with issuing free passes and that hitters in the Texas League hit .271 off of him.  They did much better in 2018, taking Griffin to the woodshed with a .315 average.  His ERA that year was 5.13.

One situation out of Griffin’s control was the draft class of 2018 that included five college pitchers who all could be part of the Royals big league squad in the next couple of years. It’s easy to see how Brady Singer, Jackson Kowar, Daniel Lynch, Kris Bubic, and Jonathan Bowlan can push you down the depth chart.

A promotion to Omaha occurred in 2019 nonetheless and once again he had difficulty getting big-league players out.  Despite an 8-6 record in 25 starts, the ERA creeped up to 5.23 and he walked 64 players in 130 2/3 innings.

Griffin did score an invite to the big league camp this spring and the results were not pretty statistically.  He had a 7.94 ERA in four games before being optioned to the minor league camp.

While the 6-foot-3 left-hander still may have a future at the big league level, with the KC Royals’ other plethora or arms quickly moving up the rankings it is probably best he get a chance with another team.

Another pitcher from the draft class of 2014 could use a fresh perspective on his career.

Six seasons in the minors seems like a long time but when you begin at the age of 18, you are still a young 24 years old at the end of that stretch.  Scott Blewett has had trouble putting together solid seasons however and perhaps another organization can help him realize his MLB dreams.

Outside of five starts with the Travelers in 2019, Blewett has never had an ERA below 4.07 with any team he has played for professionally.  Those in charge of the MLB Prospect Rankings in 2017 saw enough potential though and placed him at No. 7 that year. Another victim of the great pitching class of 2018, Blewett fell to 25th in 2018 and left the rankings in 2019.

Things looked to be taking a positive turn in the Arizona Fall League in 2018 as he went 4-0 in six starts with a 2.49 ERA.  Recording 21 strikeouts in 25 1/3 frames and a WHIP of 1.145 were all easily career highs.

The success was short-lived as a 18 appearances (16 starts) for Omaha in 2019 were disastrous.  Granted the Pacific Coast League is not pitcher-friendly, but an ERA of 8.52 and 46 free passes in 81 1/3 innings were unacceptable.  The result was a demotion back to AA where he did rebound in those five aforementioned starts.

Blewett did get his third straight taste of spring with the Royals but was optioned back to Omaha on March 7th.  He only put in three innings of work and gave up four earned runs in that time.

There are just too many other young arms dealing in the organization for Blewett to be in serious contention for a roster spot Kansas City.  A fresh start elsewhere could be a positive for this young man’s career.