KC Royals farm system in great shape after promising pitcher earns MiLB honors

When it comes to the conversation around the Kansas City Royals prospect system, it's easy to gravitate towards the star power at the top of the list, whether that be the electrifying power bat in Jac Caglianone leading the charge or fellow Top 100 names, according to MLB Prospect Pipeline, in Blake Mitchell or Carter Jensen.

However, last week the the rest of the Royals system got some well-earned shine, as a great week down in High-A Quad City saw their No. 12 overall prospect in Frank Mozzicato earn High-A Midwest League Player of the Week honors.

Frank Mozzicato earns High-A Player of the Week honors

The Quad City River Bandits have opened the MiLB season tremendously, with a 10-4 start and Mozzicato has been a key contributor that.

Last week, it was an electrifying five inning start from the 21-year-old southpaw on April 16 - where he allowed just one unearned run off one hit, and two walks while striking out four - that sealed him the his league wide recognition.

This outing was representative of the strong start Mozzicato is putting together overall in 2025, as through 15 2/3 innings across three starts, he's pitched to the tune of a 1.72 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and .111 BAA with 13 strikeouts and just six hits allowed.

The Royals are finally starting to see from Mozzicato, the talent the motivated them to draft him 7th overall in the 2021, which is something they haven't always been able to say.

His first taste of professional baseball in Low-A 2022 saw him throw to just a 4.30 ERA with high strikeout numbers (11.61 K/9) but also with a high walk rate (6.65 BB/9) across 19 starts. The next season was much of the same, as he posted a 4.65 ERA with 12.58 K/9 and 6.48 BB/9 in 21 starts split between Low-A and High-A.

Then come 2024, Mozzicato started to look a little different, as his K/9 dropped pretty dramitically down to 8.06 K/9 but he also saw a notable dip in his walk rate, down to 5.49 BB/9. He posted his best ERA as pro last season as a result, dipping below a 4.00 ERA to a clip of 3.45.

Now we're seeing a version Mozzicato that looks more controlled in 2025. We've touched upon his shimmering sub-2.00 ERA already, but that's a result of that better control, as while he may be striking out hitters at a rate of just 7.47 K/9, he's also now only walking them at rate of 4.02 BB/9.

There's still a ways to go for the Royals with Mozzicato. MLB pipeline tabbed him with a 2027 major league ETA and he's yet to make it to the upper minors. He'll certainly need to string some more starts like this together to make that next jump, but GM J.J. Picollo and the rest of the Royals' front office have to feel good about the fact that there may still be a promising big leaguer down the road in one of their former first round picks.