ESPN's incredibly bullish take on Royals' Angeibel Gomez only fuels his potential future stardom

ESPN's Kiley McDaniel is likely one of the most underappreciated prospect voices at the major outlet level, with work spanning from front offices to FanGraphs and to ESPN, all with the titular Future Value book nestled in there. The Connecticut-based sports giant does not give MLB much oxygen compared to the other major sports, but the group ESPN has together covering the game is notable. With that in mind, McDaniel's latest Kansas City Royals prospect update may be a head-scratcher for fans to see.

It is near an industry consensus that Venezuelan righty Kendry Chourio is the Royals' top prospect, with one of the quickest promotional rises ever seen in the past calendar year. After a still-elite run in High-A Quad Cities, the 18-year-old has some clamoring for a promotion to Double-A Northwest Arkansas before the season is over, putting him in even rarer air. However, it is another skyrocketing prospect who McDaniel has ranked as Kansas City's top prospect in DSL outfielder Angeibel Gomez.

Another young prospect shining from Venezuela, Gomez rightfully earned All-Star honors for his DSL performance with Royals Ventura. Across 42 games, he is slashing .348/.461/.591 with a 146 wRC+, good for 24th in the DSL despite being well below the league's average age.

Angeibel Gomez is at the heart of rising next generation of Royals talent

At 17 years old, Gomez is showing the tools that made him Kansas City's premier international free agent signing from this past winter, when the Royals signed him for $2.9 million. He was Baseball America's biggest riser in their top 100 prospect update earlier this month for a reason.

McDaniel also proved to be bullish on 2025 draftee Josh Hammond, who is showing consistent production and potential at Low-A Columbia. He ranked second on McDaniel's final prospect update this season, ahead of international finds Chourio and catcher Ramon Ramirez.

McDaniel's biggest faller was southpaw David Shields, who broke out in Columbia last year and has had an up-and-down season in Quad Cities. The 19-year-old Pittsburgh native has an inflated 4.74 ERA in his four starts since the All-Star break, but still carries an elite 11.5 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 3.31 FIP. Shields caught more attention earlier this season for his five-start stretch where he struck out at least seven batters in each outing.

The 2026 draftees did not come into the mix until later, with sixth overall pick Zion Rose ranking seventh on McDaniel's list. The outfielder had a breakout showing in his second High-A game, recording two hits while swiping four bases for the River Bandits. He still does not have a full week of action under his belt, but Rose does not look overwhelmed by the level. Right-handed pitchers Taylor Rabe and Jack Slightom, ranked eighth and tenth, respectively, are both waiting for their first affiliated assignments.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow