Royals Prospects: Luinder Avila return, Carson Roccaforte homer, Texas League POTW

While Kansas City Royals fans may be focusing on their push for the postseason, the minor league season rages on.

And there's plenty of notable minor league storylines that should be on the radar of the Royals faithful. From top prospects returning to action, to others thriving in their new environment, to even some league-wide hardware being captured, it's been a great week on the farm.

Royals Prospects: Luinder Avila returns to Omaha following rehab assignment

The Royals system will be getting a bit boost this week as a Top 20 prospect will be returning to the upper minors after a lengthy stint on the injured list.

MLB Pipeline's No. 19 ranked Royals prospect Luinder Avila will be returning to Triple-A Omaha after completing a rehab assignment in High-A Quad City over the past few weeks.

Avila was initially placed on the IL way back on May 27. Before hitting the shelf, he was off to a slow start, pitching to a 4.97 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and .223 BAA. However, he's managed a handful of rehab outings with the River Bandits, in which he's pitched to a 3.00 ERA across three outings.

The Royals seem to have their pitching down pat for the time being, with their trade deadline moves filling the holes in their rotation. However, being on the 40-man roster does make it a possibility that a strong performance in the final stretch of the minor league season could potentially tempt the Royals to call Avila up to the majors before the season ends should the need for an extra arm suddenly arise.

Royals Prospects: Carson Roccaforte shows off his power in Double-A

After a strong start to the minor league season in High-A Quad City, the Royals rewarded their No. 21 prospect Carson Roccaforte and his 13 HR and .830 OPS with a promotion to Double-A Northwest Arkansas on July 22.

And so far the upper minors has treated Roccaforte well. Through 12 games, the outfielder is hitting .283 with an .878 OPS.

Tuesday night also marked his first home run at the Double-A level, with a fifth inning three-run shot against the Wichita Wind Surge.

The 2023 66th overall pick will look to finish his 2025 season strong to better position himself for an opportunity to continue his climb of the Royals organizational ladder come 2026.

Royals Prospects: Oscar Rayo takes home Texas League Player of the Week honors

Sticking in Double-A, the Royals found themselves with a reliever who received some MiLB recognition, as left-hander Oscar Rayo was named Texas League Pitcher of the Week.

In two outings last week, the 23-year-old Rayo threw five innings without surrendering a run, while only giving up two hits, one walk and seven strikeouts.

Rayo has spent the entire 2025 season with the Naturals and is crafting quite the respectable campaign. In 58.2 innings across 26 outings (two of which have been starts), he's pitched to the tune of a 3.22 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and .214 BAA.