Royals News: Salvador Perez speed, KC undrafted free agent thrives, Justin Topa new MLB opportunity

The Kansas City Royals are certainly basking in the glow of their current eight game winning streak, with the postseason conversation suddenly coming back into earshot - within reason of course. Very seldomly have the Royals been able to proved the fanbase with a palpable buzz quite like this this season, but no one can say they aren't playing great baseball of late.

One name that's been great in particular during this winning streak is their captain Salvador Perez. Amid what's been a season of immense struggles for the aging veteran, Perez has looked far more himself in the second-half as the Royals have simultaneously looked better. Since the All-Star break, Perez is slashing .261/.318/.471 with a 114 wRC+. And since the winning streak started, Perez has looked even better, hitting .345 with an .884 OPS and 146 wRC+ in 32 plate appearances.

On Sunday though, Perez's recent success hit an unexpected new high after the 36-year-old stole his first base in five seasons. With just seven big league swipes in his 16-year career, he's never been known for his speed by any means, but you wouldn't have known that in bottom of the second against the Tigers on Sunday.

"That feels even better than a home run," Perez said to MLB.com's Anne Rogers. "It took me five years to steal one bag."

There's still surely a long way to go before Royals fans will feel entirely confident in the their captain again. He's still sporting just a 73 wRC+ after his dreadful start to the season. However, between moments like this and his climb throughout the franchise record book, Perez is at least finding ways to continue to be an endearing figure to this organization.

Ben North looks like more than just undrafted afterthought for Royals in High-A

Moving to the farm, while many may be focused on the high-ranking prospects standing out, like Kendry Chourio or Angeibel Gomez, or big-time draft talents looking the part in their debut, like Zion Rose, there's plenty more going on throughout the Royals pipeline.

Another name that's been making his mark in High-A Quad Cities just weeks into his professional career is Ben North. In his first nine games in the pros, the infielder has slashed .290/.421/.710 with four homers, eight RBI, a 15.8% walk rate and 177 wRC+.

North came to the Royals as a undrafted free agent after last month's draft following a sensational collegiate tenure at nearby Creighton University. In his senior season in 2026 with the Big East's Blue Jays, North slashed .319/.442/.556 with 11 homers, 44 RBI and 26 steals.

Not all farm systems can be filled out by top-round talent. It's a mix of skillsets of all levels. That being said, while many might not have thought big things for North given his undrafted tag, perhaps he's starting what could end up being a great feel-good underdog story.

Former Royals farmhand Justin Topa gets his next MLB opportunity with Yankees

Then there's the matter of old friends finding success in new places. After Eli Morgan latched on with the New York Yankees last week following his DFA, it was one of their earlier former Royals signings making headlines to start this week.

According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post and MLB Network, the Yankees are planning on selecting the contract of reliever Justin Topa and promoting him to the big league roster. With New York off Monday, the news will likely become official on Tuesday.

Topa's time in the Royals' system didn't last long and represented his third of four stops so far this season. After first being cut by the Minnesota Twins in May, Topa was then picked up and subsequently sent packing by the Toronto Blue Jays in July after a stint in Triple-A Buffalo. But as a Storm Chaser, Topa made plenty of noise across his 12.2 innings of work. He posted a sterling 0.71 ERA along with a .229 BAA.

Whether it was his spotty control with a WHIP north of 1.20 or his lack of strikeout abilities with just 6.39 K/9, the Royals didn't seem to view his time with Omaha as anything worthy of a call-up. However, time will tell whether or not they were right for that decision when he gets further big league run in the Bronx.

Should he appear for the Yankees, this will represent fourth major league stop in Topa's career. After debuting with the Milwaukee Brewers back in 2020, Topa got his first full-time bullpen gig with the Seattle Mariners in 2023 before moving over to Minnesota from 2024 to 2026.

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