Royals promote hometown pitching prospect to Triple-A Omaha

The Kansas City Royals were poised to be buyers at the trade deadline, and there was a real chance that an aggressive approach could have cost them one of their homegrown arms in pitcher Ben Kudrna.

The 22-year-old Shawnee Mission native had been scuffling in Double-A Northwest Arkansas’ rotation but still carried one of the highest ceilings among the organization’s pitching prospects.

Holding onto him has already paid off, with Kudrna turning things around on the mound and earning a well-deserved promotion to Triple-A Omaha.

The Royals added a new face to the Omaha rotation on Monday

The Royals announced Monday afternoon that their top-10 prospect had been promoted from the Naturals to the Storm Chasers.

Kudrna has been on a tear for the Naturals after a rocky start to the season. Whether it was tossing a career-long seven shutout innings on Aug. 13 or racking up a career-high 11 strikeouts on July 22, he’s looked like a completely different pitcher of late.

As Royals Farm Report’s Alex Duvall noted, the turning point came on June 14. Since then, in nine starts, Kudrna has struck out 44 while issuing just 14 walks across 45.2 innings. His 2.36 ERA over that stretch is no fluke, backed by the low walk rate and a rare home run allowed that fuel a sharp 2.88 FIP.

Kudrna’s early-season struggles, paired with a strong 2025 MLB Draft class, dropped him to seventh on MLB Pipeline’s midseason Top 30 prospects list. Still, he’s widely viewed as a potential back-end starter—and could one day fill that role alongside his former batterymate, catcher Carter Jensen. Both were selected in the 2021 MLB Draft, where the underslot signing of left-hander Frank Mozzicato helped Kansas City lure Kudrna and Jensen away from their college commitments.

Kudrna features three solid pitches, with his developing two-seam fastball and changeup helping to round out his arsenal. Baseball America lists the changeup as his best secondary offering, though his slider also earns a 55-grade mark from the outlet.

His development will be especially important to track this fall, as he’ll be Rule 5 Draft eligible this winter—meaning other teams could select him if Kansas City doesn’t add him to the 40-man roster. Kudrna should get a handful of starts in Omaha to show where he stands and whether he’s earned that roster spot heading into his fourth professional season.