3 Royals prospects Royals fans should pay attention to in second-half

The Kansas City Royals’ farm system can certainly leave fans wanting more, especially after reaching to select Zion Rose with the 6th overall pick in this year’s draft. The team’s system routinely ranks near the bottom in all of baseball. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t players worthy of the fans’ attention. In fact, there are plenty of prospects that should leave the average Royals’ fan feeling optimistic about the future. 

But as the name suggests, being a prospect doesn’t mean that a player is guaranteed to succeed at the MLB level. It just means that they have enough tools to give them a leg up in the competition. For players like Blake Mitchell, those tools could mean a bright future as a cornerstone of the Royals’ organization. But for players like Gavin Cross, his once highly-rated tools simply buy him time. Regardless of their trajectory, how they perform in the second-half of the season should be on your radar.       

Blake Mitchell has one major hole in his game that he needs to fix

Mitchell has been regarded as a top prospect in the Royals' minor league system for the last couple of seasons. Unfortunately, he hasn’t always been able to consistently stay on the field due to an assortment of injuries. This has stunted his development a bit, resulting in Mitchell remaining in Single-A in his fourth season in pro ball. But with 79 games played for the Quad City River Bandits in 2026, Mitchell is finally able to play ball. And he has been playing very well. 

With 17 home runs and 51 RBI, Mitchell is developing into a formidable presence in the lineup. Which is exactly why he was selected to participate in the 2026 Futures Game in Philadelphia. The main thing holding him back is the giant hole in his swing. Mitchell is currently striking out nearly 35% of the time, putting him on a historic strikeout pace in any league. 

While he’s also shown an impressive ability to draw free passes, it’ll be tough for the Royals to pencil Mitchell into a MLB lineup in a few years if he’ll strikeout over a third of his at-bats. Fans should keep an eye on Mitchell throughout the second half to see if the young catcher can continue to work on his swing and cut down on those sad trips back to the dugout. Because if he’s able to even get that K% down to somewhere below the 30s, we could be looking at the Royals' future cleanup hitter. 

It's time the Royals to put Gavin Cross to the major league test

After being drafted 9th overall in 2022, Cross immediately showed a glimpse of his potential in Single-A. Despite playing in just 26 games that year, he smacked seven home runs and drove in 22 runs to the tune of an OPS of 1.019. Those kinds of numbers seemed to prove that the Royals made the right call in selecting him. However, he hasn't come close to that type of production in the years since. 

Although he's hitting just .241 in Omaha this year, Cross may be a name for fans to watch following the club's likely fire sale at the trade deadline. After spending the past four years in the minors, it is as good a time as any for the Royals to see if they have anything of value in 25-year-old outfielder. Giving Cross an extended look in the big leagues may even pay off in the long run if he is able to perform at the type of level scouts once thought he'd easily reach. 

Cross is already in danger of being labeled as a draft bust. As the Royals compete for the worst record in baseball, there is nothing to lose in seeing what their former first-rounder has. There actually may never be a better time either. Cross has raised his batting average by 33 points since July 2, posting an OPS of 1.054 and wRC+ of 164 over the same timespan. He can certainly be a name to watch out for in the next coming weeks.  

Jaider Suárez may already have the makings of the next Royals star

At just 17 years old, it is way too soon to envision Suárez playing in a Royals’ uniform alongside Bobby Witt Jr. and Jac Caglianone. In fact, we likely won’t see him even scratch a big league call-up for at least the next three years. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve the fans’ full and undivided attention. While he’s currently playing in the Dominican Summer League, the young shortstop has already shown a lot of upside for someone who can’t legally buy a drink at a bar in most countries. 

Through his first 30 games, Suárez is hitting .337 to pair with his .958 OPS. Not to be outdone, the youngster has swiped 21 bags in 24 attempts. Although he has yet to hit any home runs at the professional level, scouts still project Suárez as someone capable of hitting at least 20 a year. This is exactly why the Royals had their eye on Suárez when refocusing their attention on the international market. 

It will be interesting to watch Suárez continue to develop as a ball player over the next few seasons. There is only about a month left in the DSL season, but fans shouldn’t take their eyes off of Suárez. His refinement at such an early age could mean that he’s able to effectively handle the various levels of the minor league system.

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