3 Royals prospects yet to make their MLB debut who deserve a September call-up

The Kansas City Royals are riding a hot August, both in the weather and win-loss column, into September. While they are still looking to secure the first winning month of the season, an eight-game winning streak goes a long way in showing the team still has fight and is competing despite the likely 90-plus-loss season outcome. Keeping that fire going into September will give fans a positive final taste of the season, but hopefully it will also point to some future roster hope heading into 2027.

The Royals did this when rosters expanded last year, notably bringing up catcher Carter Jensen in September. Once the calendar turns from August to September, MLB rosters go from 26 players to 28, allowing organizations to carry at most 14 pitchers. This is a change from the previous style, where MLB dugouts would become crowded with entire 40-man rosters eligible for a September promotion. Some teams will look to leverage the two extra players available for postseason pushes or to elevate high-tier prospects for a quick MLB look.

But neither is the case in Kansas City. This farm system lacks the best prospects ready to go in Triple-A Omaha, but that does not mean there are not high-performing farmhands worthy of a promotion. Whether it be team need or simply promoting the best available, here are three names Royals fans should watch for next week's roster expansion.

It's time for the Royals to really see what they have in Brett Squires

It feels like I have been banging the Brett Squires promotion drum for quite some time. Whether it be bumping up the former undrafted free agent from Double-A Northwest Arkansas or using him as an option amid Kansas City's first base cycle, Squires has the fit and performance to be a top promotion candidate heading into September. But that was once just a conversation contained within the Royals organization. Now, he is one of the International League's best-performing bats after a lengthy run in Omaha.

The lefty's bat has shined in Omaha, and not just in the counting stats. His .464 expected slugging percentage ranks in the level's 91st percentile, while he barrels up balls at a 12.6% rate, the league's 90th percentile. Squires gets the most out of his power pulling the ball in the air at a healthy 22.8% rate, among Triple-A's better numbers.

Squires has primarily been a first baseman in his professional career, but he has 13 appearances in left field for the Storm Chasers, his most at that position ever. Could the Royals be testing his fielding capacity ahead of a potential MLB call? There is only one way to find out.

Is Squires a flawed player? Yes, there are remaining swing-and-miss concerns for a Triple-A batter, especially one making the MLB jump. But he has handled breaking pitches well in Omaha, posting a .355 xwOBA against sliders. The strikeout rate is on the wrong side of 25%, the walk rate is below 10%, and Squires is not a high-ceiling prospect at this point.

But the reality is he has defied the trend of where he started professionally to even get to Triple-A. And now that he is producing at that level, it begs the question: can he be another power bat deeper down the Royals' lineup?

Royals have nothing to lose by giving Henry Williams a major league look

If Royals fans do not know pitcher Henry Williams, they should not beat themselves up too much. Williams was the headline return prospect when Kansas City sent closer Scott Barlow to the San Diego Padres at the 2023 trade deadline. The Duke alum had already undergone Tommy John surgery before the Padres drafted him in the third round of the 2022 MLB Draft, and the middle-rotation upside for Williams has not shown up often in the Royals system.

But looking at his last handful of starts, the Royals might want to see if Williams is a player worth keeping around ahead of this winter's Rule 5 Draft.

Let's get the ugly out of the way first. Yes, Williams has not performed well on a box-score level at Triple-A Omaha. He went into August sporting a 6.15 ERA and allowing a .277 opponent batting average across his 90.2 innings pitched. The strikeout-to-walk rate is not optimal for a prospect who was scouted to have at least average command, but that command showed up in blips rather than consistently.

But looking at his last five games, something has changed for Williams. He has gone at least 90 pitches deep in each outing, striking out 24.6% of batters while carrying a 2.63 ERA in that span. He has registered double-digit whiffs in four of those five games, something Williams only did four times in the 19 games prior.

There are some minor differences that could explain Williams' changed results. His slider has a slightly different shape, and he dropped his arm slot a few degrees, nothing revolutionary, but it is good to see a struggling pitcher at least try something as the season goes along. Williams is still not a surefire MLB pitcher, because he is not living remotely in the zone on a consistent basis. But he is generating weak contact and groundballs, which helps him prevent runs.

The reality is that calling him up at this point would both cover for any lingering injuries in the Royals rotation and give the organization a clearer read on where he stands following his age-24 season. Given his approaching Rule 5 eligibility, any starter-needy team would possibly have Williams on their radar as a selection who could come out of the bullpen in 2027 and maybe grow into something more. If the Royals have an inkling he is turning a corner and can help the rotation-light club to start 2027, they need to call him up in September.

If healthy, Gavin Cross' lengthy hot-stretch deserves to be rewarded

The 2022 first-rounder is not carrying the prospect profile he once did when Kansas City drafted him out of Virginia Tech years ago. But since a mid-season adjustment, Cross has been lighting up Triple-A pitching and looking like the player Royals fans hoped for. There is one big asterisk to consider here, though.

Cross, like current Royals outfielder John Rave, moved away from a high leg lift at the plate and switched to a toe tap in late May. The results eventually came around and really shined in July. Since the beginning of that month, Cross has a .336/.374/.689 line, translating to a 162 wRC+ with nine home runs and 22 total extra-base hits. Cross drew headlines when he went on a six-game home run streak in late July, validating the swing changes. All this while Cross has swiped at least 23 bags for the fourth consecutive season and continued to hold down one of the corner outfield spots.

This promotion is all hinging on Cross being healthy and ready to return. He landed on the IL on Aug. 14 after suffering a low-grade hamstring strain in an Aug. 12 game. But according to MLB.com's Anne Rogers newsletter from Aug. 19, "Cross is just beginning his rehab, but the Royals have said that they don't think he'll be sidelined for too long."

That leaves the door open for a couple of weeks off and still making that MLB jump if the hamstring cooperates.

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