The one prospect that got away from KC Royals

The unexpected highs of the Kansas City Royals in 2014 and 2015 had fans feeling like anything was possible. From savvy buy-low acquisitions to a blossoming prospect pipeline, it all culminated at the perfect time to bring championship baseball to Kauffman Stadium. Yet that success evaporated as quickly as it appeared, with a clear culprit — a depleted prospect pool.

This was years before shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. was a draft-eligible prospect, and first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino was still attending James River High School. Many of the Royals’ homegrown players from 2024 were years away from The Show in 2016. However, that same year, the Royals drafted several future MLB players, but they let the wrong one go — pitcher Anthony Bender.

The KC Royals mid-2010s draft classes were among baseball's worst

Bender had recognizable draft peers, including infielder Nicky Lopez and pitcher Richard Lovelady. Overall, though, the 2016 draft class was a huge disappointment for the Royals franchise. The team's draft selections from 2013 to 2016 were largely forgettable, and the 2017 class threatened to join them. If Kansas City had held on to Bender, there might have been a brighter spot amid all that darkness.

Kansas City selected Bender 613th overall in that year’s draft out of Santa Rosa Junior College. While the school isn't a powerhouse for MLB talent, the righty pitcher stood out from the crowd. The Royals assigned him to a relief role almost immediately in 2017, and he split that season between the Low-A Lexington Legends and High-A Wilmington Blue Rocks, posting a 3.96 ERA and a 1.241 WHIP across 77⅓ innings pitched. He wasn't climbing the prospect rankings around the league, but he was putting together plenty of respectable outings.

Bender carried his success into the 2018 season, spending the entire year at Wilmington. His workload increased to 93⅓ innings, and his 3.57 ERA and 6-3 record showed progress. Yet, without warning, that was the last season for Bender in the Royals system. Kansas City released the California native on March 21, 2019, with little fanfare and even less reasoning.

Anthony Bender quickly made the KC Royals regret letting him go

Bender continued his baseball career in an independent league before eventually signing with the Milwaukee Brewers. This partnership was also short-lived, despite Bender posting an impressive 1.49 ERA across three levels. He pitched in 29 games that 2019 season, but the pandemic-affected 2020 season ultimately led to him becoming a free agent once again.

In November 2020, the righty joined the Miami Marlins, and the rest is history. Bender made his MLB debut on May 5, 2021, and did not allow an earned run until June 29, 2021. His rookie campaign was nothing short of stellar, with a 2.79 ERA across 60 appearances.

Fast forward to today, and Bender has 141 MLB games to his name. Not only is that the most from any pitcher in the 2016 Royals draft class, but Bender has also performed at an enviable rate. His career 3.37 ERA would be a welcome addition in Kansas City, even if he did miss the entire 2023 season.

While Bender isn’t a prospect to lose sleep over, he represents a rare success story from that era of Royals draft classes. He is the only pitcher from the Royals 2016 class with a positive fWAR, and he and Lopez are the only players from that draft worth more than 1 fWAR in their MLB careers.

Whether it was the process or the prospects, the Royals had an incredible swing-and-miss rate on MLB talent in the 2013-2016 draft classes. This reality makes letting Bender go for no reason at all hurt even more.