clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Baseball America ranks four Royals prospects in their mid-season top 100 list

The farm system is definitely improving.

From left to right: Royals top prospects Brady Singer, Daniel Lynch, and Jackson Kowar before a Wilmington Blue Rocks game. Ryan Griffith

Baseball America ranks four Royals prospect in its updated mid-season Top 100 prospect list, the most the Royals have placed on the list since before the 2015 season. Bobby Witt, Jr. the #2 overall selection from the 2019 draft, enters the list as the #21 prospect in all of baseball. Right-handed pitcher Jackson Kowar, a 2018 draft pick out of Florida, also enters the list for the first time at #66 after his promotion to Double-A this year. Two other 2018 draft picks - left-handed pitcher Daniel Lynch and right-hander pitcher Brady Singer ranked were ranked #78 and #94, respectively.

Before the season, Brady Singer was the only Royals prospect in the top 100, ranking at #71, and the year before that, not a single Royals prospect made the list. The Royals last placed four prospects on the list before the 2015 season, when Adalberto Mondesi, Brandon Finnegan, Kyle Zimmer, and Sean Manaea made the list. Baseball America notes that Singer experienced the biggest drop in their rankings out of any prospect. Singer has struggled in a few starts since his promotion to Double-A with an ERA of 4.97 in eight starts, although he looked better his last time out, giving up three runs (all unearned) in six innings on Wednesday.

Baseball America also updated their ranking of the top 30 prospects in the Royals organization, with Witt, Kowar, Lynch, and Singer topping the list. Outfielder Khalil Lee is ranked #5, with 2018 draftees outfielder Kyle Isbel and left-handed pitcher Kris Bubic ranked behind him. Catcher M.J. Melendez sits at #8 despite a rough offensive season in High-A Wilmington. Infielder Brady McConnell, the Royals’ second round pick in the 2019 draft, is ranked #9, with 2017 first-round pick first baseman Nick Pratto rounding out the top ten.

Jonathan Bowlan is the biggest riser on the list, going from being unranked before the season to being ranked #13 in the mid-season update. Bowlan has a 2.78 ERA with 112 strikeouts in 103 2/3 innings across Low-A and High-A and tossed a no-hitter last week for Wilmington. Pitcher Daniel Tillo also went from unranked to making the list and outfielder Michael Gigliotti is also a big riser in his return after missing most of last season with an ACL injury.

Baseball America Top 30 Royals prospects

Rank BA Top 30 List Pre-season rank MLB.com rank
Rank BA Top 30 List Pre-season rank MLB.com rank
1 SS Bobby Witt, Jr. NA NA
2 RHP Jackson Kowar 4 7
3 LHP Daniel Lynch 3 3
4 RHP Brady Singer 1 1
5 OF Khalil Lee 2 4
6 OF Kyle Isbel 9 9
7 LHP Kris Bubic 10 8
8 C MJ Melendez 6 5
9 SS Brady McConnell NA NA
10 1B Nick Pratto 7 2
11 OF Seuly Matias 8 6
12 LHP Austin Cox 16 21
13 RHP Jonathan Bowlan NR 29
14 OF Brewer Hicklen 20 16
15 OF Michael Gigliotti 27 12
16 LHP Richard Lovelady 17 NR
17 RHP Zach Haake 23 25
18 C Meibrys Viloria 14 18
19 LHP Daniel Tillo NR 24
20 RHP Yefry del Rosario 11 11
21 RHP Jon Heasley NR NR
22 RHP Kyle Zimmer NR NR
23 RHP Josh Staumont 24 20
24 3B Kelvin Gutierrez 12 13
25 LHP Evan Steele NR NR
26 RHP Carlos Hernandez 18 10
27 RHP Yohanse Morel 19 19
28 RHP Alec Marsh NA NA
29 2B Gabriel Cancel NR 30
30 RHP Grant Gambrell NA NA