KC Royals: Who's next in line for a big extension?

The KC Royals have been active this offseason, shaking off their thrifty reputation with multiple acquisitions to make the team better. Their biggest transaction came last week when they signed Bobby Witt Jr. to a team record contract extension that has Kansas City buzzing about the Royals again. Naturally, fans are wondering what current players might be at the top of the list for the next extension?

Here are three viable candidates.

Vinnie Pasquantino: Kansas City's next big bat

If one polled the fans, Vinnie Pasquantino would likely be the runaway top choice for an extension. One of the most popular Royals, Pasquantino has a higher ceiling than anyone not named Witt. He has a solid glove at first base, but it's Pasquantino's bat that has fans most excited.

Pasquantino is a true professional hitter, something this club has lacked in recent years. He doesn't strikeout much — 11.7% for his career, compared to the major league average of 22.6% — and he walks a lot. But unlike some analytics darlings, Pasquantino isn't about empty numbers. He knows how to make contact, and when he does, he has pop. He has 19 home runs and 27 doubles with a 122 OPS+ in his short career.

Those numbers may not be eye-popping, but keep in mind he's played only 133 big league games since breaking in two seasons ago. And that's the catch with Pasquantino — he has yet to play a full major league season, and is coming off major shoulder surgery which cut short his 2023 campaign. Hopefully, Pasquantino can bounce back this year, and fans will probably be overjoyed if Kansas City locks him up right away. But the franchise can't be blamed if it takes a wait-and-see approach, at least in the short term.

If Pasquantino returns to form quickly in 2024, however, the Royals would be wise not to hesitate. He has all the makings of a leader for a winning club for years to come.

Buying stock in Brady Singer

Despite their awful 2023 season, the Royals aren't devoid of talented young players. Outside of Witt and Pasquantino, though, none of them have proven enough to warrant an extension, so if the club is handing out money, it becomes a game of speculation and buying low. Pitching has been this team's greatest weakness, but there are a couple of intriguing candidates on the mound.

Many fans are understandably focused on Cole Ragans, especially after hisremarkably good second-half last season. The Royals need Ragans to at least come close to repeating that performance if they hope to soon reach their ceiling, but it might not be a bad idea to pump the brakes a bit. Starting pitching is notoriously volatile, and Ragans has an injury history to boot, so the club might be better served holding off until Ragans proves 2023 wasn't an outlier.

In the meantime, Brady Singer is an interesting alternative even if he's coming off arguably the worst season of his young career and has been a model of inconsistency.

Singer is one member of the Royals' once-ballyhooed but now disappointing 2018 draft class who's flashed an upside. Yes, consistency has been a struggle, and at times he's appeared resistant to completely embracing a third pitch. But after starting 2022 in the bullpen and a short trip back to the minors, he finished 10-5 with a 3.23 ERA for a bad Kansas City team.

Whether to extend Singer boils down to the Royals believing he'll find and embrace that third pitch and that his best is yet to come. Now, the timing might be right to buy low — the road ahead may be bumpy, but if the team thinks Singer can be a solid mid-rotation pitcher, this is the time to gamble.