Royals' 2025 Top 30 prospects takeaways

MLB Pipeline revealed its club Top 30 lists this week, and the Royals�� list, along with every scouting report, can be viewed here.

It��s headlined by Jac Caglianone as their No. 1 prospect (No. 22 on Pipeline��s Top 100 list). And it features big jumps by two pitchers who will help out in Kansas City soon: Noah Cameron (No. 5) and Steven Zobac (No. 7).

There��s a lot of work that goes into this project, from reporting to watching video to talking to as many evaluators as possible about the players and where they should rank in comparison to others. It��s in no way a perfect science; some prospects are surefire Major Leaguers, some come onto the scene late, some we miss on entirely.

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Now that you have the list and have read the recap, here are three more takeaways:

1. The catching depth is deep

There are four catchers on the Royals�� Top 30 list, and three of them are in the top 10: Blake Mitchell comes in at No. 2, Carter Jensen is right behind him at No. 3, Ramon Ramirez rounds out the top 10 at No. 10, and Hyungchan Um is ranked No. 29.

With Salvador Perez only under contract potentially two more years (the team holds a club option for 2026), having this much talent behind the plate in the Minors bodes well for the Royals.

And the top three -- Mitchell, Jensen and Ramirez -- have an especially high ceiling with their bats, including contact quality and power. Jensen is the closest to the Majors, having reached Double-A last year, and depending on his performance this season he could be knocking on the door to Kansas City -- his hometown, by the way -- by this summer. Jensen has a good combination of power and plate discipline, and his catching has vastly improved as he��s matured through the Royals�� system.

While Mitchell is dealing with a broken hamate bone this spring, he should be in High-A Quad Cities this season once that heals. Both Ramirez and Um should head out to full-season affiliate ball in Single-A Columbia in 2025.

It��s not likely that all four of these catchers remain backstops when they get to the Majors, which could help the Royals out, too. Behind Caglianone, there aren��t a lot of power-hitting first basemen in the system, and a corner outfielder could always be helpful to have. Mitchell, Jensen and Ramirez especially are all athletic enough for a position change, especially if their bats dictate a move, but the Royals will continue to develop them as catchers for now.

2. Pitching turnaround

There was a theme that kept popping up in conversations with officials and scouts who evaluate the Royals�� organization for other teams: The pitching depth is much, much better than what it was just a few years ago.

Part of the reason is better talent throughout the system, while the Royals have greatly improved their development process under senior pitching coordinator Paul Gibson.

Ben Kudrna (No. 4), Cameron and Zobac headline the Royals�� pitching prospects, with Cameron likely making his debut this season and Zobac not far behind if he continues pitching like he did last year. There are a couple of high-ceiling young pitchers in David Shields (No. 8) and Blake Wolters (No. 9) who catch eyes every time they throw. There are sturdy older pitchers, too, in Chandler Champlain (No. 20) and Tyson Guerrero (No. 24), as well as a potential fast-mover in Drew Beam (No. 14), whom the Royals selected in the third round out of Tennessee last year.

There��s also Felix Arronde, who came in at No. 18 this spring but who could easily jump up several spots by the midseason rerank or next spring. The 21-year-old has a disappearing split-finger changeup that gets a lot of weak contact when it��s not missing bats entirely. He dominated in Columbia last year and will look to build on that in Quad Cities.

3. Just missed

One name that just missed out on the Top 30 list but is someone who will make an appearance eventually is right-hander Yeri Perez.

There were many debates about putting him on the list (and, subsequently, who should then fall off). Why? Because of the 20-year-old��s electric stuff. His upper-90s fastball that has natural cut to it and a hard, 90-mph slider pop on the radar gun. He��s developing a changeup, but it��s so new we don��t have a grade for it yet. Perez is a bit wild and has had a hard time controlling that stuff so far in pro ball.

But Perez, part of the Royals�� 2022 international signing class, has the tools, including a quick and loose arm and tall and lean frame. In scouts�� terms, it��s easy to dream on the kid. He just needs to harness his stuff as he moves up in the system (and potentially the Top 30 list).