Struggles at Triple-A Omaha may spell big trouble for 3 KC Royals prospects

Omaha, the Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, isn't having the best of seasons. After losing five of seven games to Iowa last week, the Storm Chasers are a disappointing 26-37 through Tuesday, and stand next-to-last in the 10-team International League West. Losing Jac Caglianone, KC's top prospect per MLB Pipeline, to the Royals last week won't help, especially considering the hit the Chasers' had already taken with the promotion to KC of (so far) wildly successful starting pitcher Noah Cameron.

And sooner or later — perhaps quite soon — the Royals are bound to find room for the good bat of versatile Storm Chaser Cam Devanney. It probably won't be long until the club recalls reliever Evan Sisk, who's been excellent in his two trips to Kansas City this season. Losing those two will hurt Omaha.

But promotions of some of their best players don't account for all the Storm Chasers' difficulties. Three Chasers who haven't made it to the Royals this year are struggling ... and might be in danger of damaging their immediate futures with the organization.

KC Royals prospect Chandler Champlain is having an awful Omaha season

At first blush, Champlain's 1-3 record may not seem so bad, and perhaps irrelevant to those who pay won-loss marks no heed. More to the point when it comes to Champlain, however, is his inability to prevent runs — he's been charged with 11 once, seven once, six once, five twice, and four on four occasions. And after Iowa knocked him around for five in four innings Friday, his ERA is an unacceptably ugly 9.23.

The .339 clip at which opposing batters are pounding him, and a 1.90 WHIP, simply compound Champlain's problems. And despite going a combined 11-8 with a 3.33 ERA for High-A Quad Cities and Double-A Northwest Arkansas in 2023, he went 6-10, 5.07 across 28 games split between the Naturals and Omaha last year.

How long the Royals can tolerate the kind of current season he's having remains to be seen, but their patience may be running thin — and justifiably so — with the righty they picked up in the 2022 trade deadline deal that sent Gold Glove outfielder Andrew Benintendi to the Yankees, and who MLB Pipeline ranks as their 20th best prospect.

Tyler Gentry's stock with the KC Royals can't be rising

Gentry has been on Royal radar since the club took him in the third round of the abbreviated five-round 2020 amateur draft. That season's pandemic delayed the start of his professional career until 2021, when in 44 games he batted .259 with six homers and an outstanding .395 OBP for High-A Quad Cities. He then slashed .326/.422/.542, homered 21 times, and drove in 86 runs in a 2022 campaign split between High-A and Double-A before putting together two straight 16-home run seasons at Omaha, and made it to Kansas City for five games in 2024.

This year, though, has been different, so much so that if things continue as they are, it will be the worst of his career — Gentry ended Tuesday night's action with a .214/.281/.386 line and just three homers in 43 games. Those numbers are not at all commensurate with his Pipeline ranking as Kansas City's No. 25 prospect.

There has been much talk, albeit little or none of it lately, of Gentry taking a spot in the Royals' outfield. But considering the season he's having, Gentry playing in Kansas City may not happen.

Peyton Wilson may also have trouble getting a KC Royals call-up

There was a time earlier this season when Wilson was outplaying Jac Caglianone at Northwest Arkansas. So hot was Wilson that his incredible .392/505/.689 line, 1.194 OPS, and 225 wRC+ (yes, 225), forced the Royals to bump him up to Triple-A Omaha before they did the same with Caglianone.

But it's with his late-April promotion that Wilson's performance began to suffer. He simply hasn't been the same — or anywhere near it — since moving up to Omaha, where in 23 games he's hitting .203 with only two extra-base hits (and no homers) in 74 at-bats. And through Monday, he's 2-for-14 in June.

The reversal in Wilson's fortune is stunning. He may need to turn things around quickly if he wants to avoid going back to Double-A.