3 prospects Royals shouldn’t be scared to trade at deadline despite being sellers

If the reports are true, then the Kansas City Royals appear to have determined an approach to the upcoming trade deadline. While it's all but a sure thing that they'll be sellers, they'll likely take more of a conservative approach, rather than an all-out fire sale. This means that any major leaguer moved by Monday will all but likely be names on expiring deals, like a Lane Thomas or a John Schreiber.

However, by all accounts the Royals are trying to improve in order to bolster themselves up for a run in 2027. Expiring contracts likely won't move the needle all that much meaning if they want to get to better they may have to get creative. It's not overly common to see sellers trade from their prospect pool, but it's not as if the Royals haven't moved off prospect pieces already this month in the name of focusing on their competitive future.

Just last week they traded High-A reliever Max Martin to the Houston Astros in exchange for a controllable relief project in Nate Pearson. Perhaps they could identify more prospect names to help address major league or near-major league depth holes on their roster. And to be quite frank, they shouldn't be afraid of embracing this approach either.

Here are three Royals prospects that could be expendable at the deadline.

Former Top 100 prospect Blake Mitchell seems as blocked as blocked can be

With Carter Jensen not only usurping Blake Mitchell in the Royals catching hierarchy, but already taking on the primary duties behind the plate at just 23-years-old, where does that leave Mitchell?

The answer might be more complicated than you'd think, as Mitchell is no longer just facing pressure from above in Jensen, he's getting it from below now too from his High-A teammate in Ramon Ramirez. Mitchell has fallen from the Royals' best prospect and Top 100 mainstay, to out of the Top 100 according to MLB Pipeline and now holding onto his Top 5 status in the Royals' system for dear life.

Ramirez on the other hand is surging, ranking as the Royals sixth overall prospect according to Pipeline, thanks to his .296 AVG, .879 OPS and 125 wRC+ in Quad Cities this season.

It's not as if Mitchell is having a bad season per se, but he's having a statistically weird season. The more time goes by the more he looks like he's going to develop into a three true outcome hitter. His power and ability to draw walks is undeniable with 17 homers and 23.1% walk rate, respectively. However, he also sports a very concerning 33.4% K-rate.

There's still plenty of reason to think he has a major league future, but what comes into question is what that will look like. With teams like the Los Angeles Angels reportedly looking for young catching talent, there could very well be a market for a recent Top 100 prospect like Mitchell. Now seems as good a time as ever to unload him while he still has considerable value.

Yandel Ricardo has plenty of upside, but the Royals have other options in the infield

Another Royals Top 10 prospect who's having a respectable season this year is 19-year-old infielder Yandel Ricardo, ranked ninth according to Pipeline. In Low-A Columbia, Ricardo is hitting .268 with a .775 OPS, 10.7% walk rate and 105 wRC+. These numbers are good for a teenager, but don't exactly jump off the page either.

And when you consider how fellow teenagers have broken onto the scene in the Royals' system in their first year like Josh Hammond and Angeibel Gomez, Ricardo seems to get lost in the fold a bit.

There's a lot to like about Ricardo, as he's a patient-enough bat with 30+ stolen base capabilities, but at the end of the day, there are other shortstops in this system that could account for his absence if he were traded, like Hammond or high-profile 2026 international free agent signing Jaider Suárez.

With a 2029 ETA, he doesn't overlap too much with the Royals competitive window, so perhaps his Top 10 prospect status in the organization should be taken advantage of to find a piece that will be more of a factor while Bobby Witt Jr. and the rest of this core is guaranteed under contract.

Drew Beam seems more like an afterthought than competitve solution in Royals' system

The Royals have done a great job developing pitching in the minor league ranks, with the red-hot Kendry Chourio and fellow teenaged extraordinaire David Shields being prime examples of this.

One name that looked to be on the rise in 2025 was former Tennessee hurler Drew Beam. Last season with High-A Quad Cities, the righty threw to a respectable 3.83 ERA in his first season of professional baseball. However, after being given the opportunity to throw in the upper minors this season with Double-A Northwest Arkansas, he's looked overmatched, posting a 7.13 ERA and 1.44 WHIP in 19 starts.

Now, the Royals aren't spoiled for choice when it comes to starting pitching depth in their top two minor league ranks - or at the major league level for that matter - meaning a mature-aged prospect like Beam could be intriguing to keep around. However, with the rise of Justin Lamkin into the Top 10 in this system, other high performers like Michael Lombardi impressing as well and the recent addition of Taylor Rabe in the Competitive Balance round of this year's draft, there's plenty of potential quick risers the Royals could call upon over the next few seasons beyond Beam.

Not to mention, there's still hope arms like Ryan Bergert and Ben Kudrna could still come back and contribute in 2025 and Steven Zobac is still on the 40-man roster.

And despite the poor season, Beam is still young and not without promise entirely. He's still sporting a BB/9 rate under 3.00 (2.81) and has been unlucky to considerable degree with a FIP over 1.50 points below his ERA. He's a near Top 10 organizational prospect that's shown promise since being drafted. Surely someone would value that as a change of scenery candidate.

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