MLB Pipeline's latest Top 100 list snubs one red-hot Royals prospect

The Kansas City Royals were thankfully well represented in two headline lists from MLB.com: the Top 100 Players Right Now and MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects.

Catcher Carter Jensen’s meteoric rise into the top 20 of the prospect list likely will not last long, as he should graduate from prospect status early in 2026. Fellow catcher Blake Mitchell also stayed on prospect radars despite an injury-hampered 2025 season.

But it was the exclusion of one Royals pitching prospect that surprised some, especially because his 2025 rise was arguably the best in Kansas City’s system. This prospect, of course, is Kendry Chourio.

MLB Pipeline's snub of Royals' prospect Kendry Chourio will not age well

The right-handed pitcher Chourio was part of the Royals’ 2025 international free agent class, one of the more unheralded signings at the time. Few people blinked when the Venezuelan opened in the Dominican Summer League and dominated, but interest spiked when the Royals pushed the 17-year-old to the Arizona Complex League.

Then the momentum continued. He earned a promotion to Low-A Columbia, making Chourio the youngest pitcher in affiliated baseball last season. And he was not simply taking his lumps for the Fireflies. Chourio was starting postseason games, still striking out far more hitters than he walked, and finishing the year on a strong note.

Chourio went from a non-prospect to the Royals’ eighth-ranked prospect on MLB Pipeline by season’s end. Perhaps left-hander David Shields stole some of the spotlight from his rotation mate, but Chourio flashed rare, top-end movement throughout 2025.

He looked like a prospect poised to rise in 2026 rankings, and he did exactly that for several outlets. Baseball America, for example, placed Chourio 82nd on its Top 100 list. He even supplanted Mitchell as their second-best Royals prospect, after a season in which Chourio was a “buzzsaw” through his competition.

Baseball America writer Josh Norris put it best when describing just how much momentum Chourio carries into 2026:

"The righthander blends now stuff with uncommon poise into a skill set that has helped him ascend to the top of the Royals’ system. If he does it again, he could have a case as the sport’s best pitching prospect."

Josh Norris, Baseball America

It is just one opinion, but it is also a rare outlook for a prospect to earn, much less a Royals pitching prospect. It felt like Chourio had done enough to get the MLB Pipeline shine, the default Top 100 for plenty of baseball fans.

Instead, Mitchell and Jensen were the only Kansas City prospects named, and Chourio did not get so much as a mention.

He may get another push when MLB Pipeline updates the Royals’ organizational rankings, but even that would feel like a modest response to what he accomplished in 2025.

Chourio is in rare air as a 17-year-old in his first professional season walking just five batters in 51.1 innings. The 63 strikeouts speak for themselves, and that production stayed consistent at every level. Chourio’s command is more refined than people realize, and that is before you even get to the quality of his present stuff.

Chourio is one of the most exciting Royals prospects at this point of the calendar. He could open 2026 back in Low-A if the organization wants to be overly cautious, but a move to High-A alongside Shields would not surprise anyone. Get on board the bandwagon, even if MLB Pipeline is still catching up.