KC Royals prospects pair up for sterling performance at 2025 MLB Futures Game

The Kansas City Royals’ 2021 draft class has long been one of the franchise’s most criticized groups in recent memory. From the start, the front office raised eyebrows by going underslot and selecting left-handed pitcher Frank Mozzicato with the seventh overall pick—an unconventional move at the time.

But that strategy freed up the financial flexibility needed to sign high-upside prep talent like right-handed pitcher and catcher Carter Jensen. Now, with lefty Noah Cameron also emerging in 2025, that once-maligned class is beginning to rewrite its reputation.

Frank Mozzicato, Carter Jensen give KC Royals farm positive outlook at MLB Futures Game.

That 2021 draft class took center stage for the Royals at the 2025 MLB Futures Game, held July 12 at Atlanta’s Truist Park. Both Mozzicato and Jensen represented Kansas City in the 26th edition of the event—Mozzicato tossing an inning on the mound, while Jensen logged one plate appearance and worked behind the dish.

While neither had a standout performance in their Futures Game debuts and the American League squad fell 4–2, the experience was still a milestone moment. It was all smiles for the Royals duo, a visible payoff for the franchise’s long-term investment.

The fifth inning marked the biggest spotlight for the Royals duo. Jensen led off the frame with his lone plate appearance, a four-pitch strikeout. In the bottom half, he stayed behind the dish to catch Mozzicato, forming an all-Royals battery for the inning.

The southpaw made quick work of the opposition, facing the minimum and flashing his stuff. He struck out outfielder Slade Caldwell—MLB Pipeline’s No. 83 prospect—then induced outs from infielder Jesús Made (ranked No. 7) and outfielder Carson Benge (No. 73), capping a clean and composed inning of work.

Jensen, Kansas City’s No. 3 prospect, made plenty of noise in Atlanta—literally. The left-handed-hitting backstop stole the show during batting practice, leading all position players in BP home runs, according to Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper.

Sure, it’s only batting practice, but among this crop of elite young talent, that kind of performance earns bragging rights. Especially when one of Jensen’s moonshots drew a reaction from baseball analyst Ben Verlander, who sounded blown away by where the ball landed.

If Jensen’s blast truly cleared the right-field landmark at Truist Park, it would rival one of the most jaw-dropping homers ever hit there—a 452-foot rocket from Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Oneil Cruz on June 30, 2024. That moonshot left Cruz’s bat at 117.3 mph and still stands as the longest home run at the ballpark in the Statcast era.