The best KC Royals prospect at each position going into 2025

The best KC Royals infield prospects going into 2025

First base: Jac Caglianone

• MLB Pipeline ranking: No. 1
• Baseball America ranking: No. 1
• Just Baseball ranking: No. 1

Sticking with first rounders who are highly touted, Caglianone was the Royals' first-round selection in this past year's MLB Draft. The 6-foot-5 Floridian carries an ungodly amount of raw power in his bat but also a strong ability to make contact with the ball. Players of his size usually bring one or the other to the table, not both.

Caglianone is fresh off of a 66-game showing in his senior year where he hit 35 home runs and drove in 72 with a .419 batting average and 1.419 OPS. Those are video game numbers, but they're also not fabricated in any way. The guy can straight up hit.

He also hit .236 with a .749 OPS and five home runs across 21 Arizona Fall League games and is reportedly going to get some runway as a two-way player moving forward, too. He's an immensely talented player whose long-term future is probably going to be as a 40-homer power hitter, which would work out perfectly for the Royals.

Second base: Javier Vaz

• MLB Pipeline ranking: No. 13
• Baseball America ranking: N/R
• Just Baseball ranking: No. 8

Vaz's prospect stock is where things start to get divisive amongst the industry's top prospect analysts, but it's not a surprise to see a 15th-round pick fly under-the-radar — especially one that stands at 5-foot-6 and barely tops the 150-pound mark.

Vaz, 24, is right on the cusp of a big-league debut and brings a ton of exciting tools to the field. He has some power that's still very much a work in progress, but he's a solid slap hitter who can steal bases with the best of them. This past season, he hit 8 home runs with 51 RBI, 30 steals in 33 attempts, and had a .279/.373/.400 line with a .773 OPS.

The speedy utility man can bounce around all over the diamond, but his long-term home is likely as a second baseman. His so-so throwing arm and above-average range would result in him being a great option there in the big leagues, perhaps even as soon as the 2025 season.

Shortstop: Yandel Ricardo

• MLB Pipeline: No. 8
• Baseball America: N/R
• Just Baseball: Honorable Mention

There's not much in the way of true shortstop prospects in the Royals system, but being an up-and-coming shortstop in this organization is ... less than ideal with that Bobby Witt Jr. guy tearing it up in the big leagues.

Riacrdo, 18, is very raw, but he just finished his first stint in the DOSL with the Royals, recording 15 extra-base hits with 23 RBI, 14 stolen bases in 19 attempts, and a .696 OPS. He's a switch-hitter who doesn't strike out much, but he's got a ton of time to live up to the significant $2.4 million contract he earned as an international free agent last year.

Third base: Austin Charles

• MLB Pipeline: No. 14
• Baseball America: N/R
• Just Baseball: Honorable Mention

Another late-round pick who's starting to find his footing in pro ball, Charles just wrapped up a full season in Low-A where he made his name one worth remembering. The 20-year-old played in 117 games, hitting 10 home runs with 64 RBI, 36 steals in 43 attempts, and a smooth .739 OPS to round it all out.

Charles, a 20th-round pick by the Royals, is a left-side infielder through and through, getting a ton of looks at both shortstop and third base this past season, but Witt Jr.'s presence at shortstop makes a player like Charles more of a fit at third right off the bat.