Royals Minor League Pitcher of the Month, April 2026: Michael Lombardi

[Cory Moen]

There have been a few prospects who have started the year strong, and a handful of pitchers who have stood out throughout the minor leagues in the Royals organization in the first month of the season.

There are a handful of starters and a couple of relief prospects who have stood out at various levels.

Choosing the minor league pitcher of the month was not easy, but I have chosen to highlight Michael Lombardi, who is pitching with Single-A Columbia. He started the year as the #18 prospect in the Royals system and has turned some heads over his first four appearances, two of them being starts. He has thrown 12 1/3 innings and has recorded 24 strikeouts on the season. While his 2.92 ERA might not be the lowest, the strikeout percentage numbers are hard to ignore.

Lombardi was drafted by the Royals in the second round of the 2025 draft, so he is pitching in his first professional season this year. He was mostly a reliever in college, pitching at Tulane, but he has been tried as a starter in two of his appearances this year. He’s yet to throw more than 4 innings in a single appearance, but this is not uncommon for young pitchers.

At 22 years old, Lombardi has plenty of upside, and the Royals may look to try him as a starter, and if that doesn’t work out, a bullpen role is a very realistic option for him down the line. One thing to keep an eye on is his walk rate, as he has walked 9 batters in the 12 1/3 innings pitched so far this year. If he can reign in the control and still strike guys out at a high rate, the upside is quite high for him. 

While I chose to highlight Lombardi’s first month, there were a few other names that I wanted to give a shoutout to for their performance over the first month of the season.

 

Honorable Mentions

Single-A: 

Blake Wolters - 5 games, 5 starts, 1-1, 1.66 ERA, 21.2 IP, 24 SO, .179 avg against

High-A:

Justin Lamkin - 4 games, 4 starts,1-0, 1.02 ERA, 17.2 IP, 24 SO, .153 avg against 

Emmanuel Reyes - 4 games, 4 starts, 1-0, 1.13 ERA, 16 IP, 12 SO, .154 avg against 

Yimi Presinal - 7 games, 0 starts, 2-0, 0.84 ERA, 10.2 IP, 12 SO, .156 avg against

Double-A: 

Caden Monke - 8 games, 0 starts, 2-0, 2.51 ERA, 14.1 IP, 22 SO, .128 avg against

Triple-A: 

Eric Cerantola - 11 games, 0 starts, 1-0, 1.54 ERA, 11.2 IP, 17 SO, .233 avg against

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