The Best Path Forward For Royals Prospect Blake Mitchell May Be In Another Organization

[Eli Nitz]

Image courtesy of IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Kansas City Royals selected Blake Mitchell with the 8th overall pick in the 2023 MLB draft. Mitchell was a high school catcher out of Sinton, Texas. As the first prep catcher off the board, the Royals had incredibly high hopes for Mitchell’s long-term success. The draft prospect grades for Mitchell were outstanding. Hit 55, Power 55, Arm 70, Field 50, Run 35 for an overall grade of 55. Very deserving numbers to be taken that high in the draft.

Mitchell spent the 2023 season at the Complex League, appearing in 13 games in his first taste of professional baseball. In 2024, he was assigned to Low-A Columbia and, in 106 games, had an exceptional season, posting a .238 batting average, .376 OBP, .439 slugging percentage, an .815 OPS, and slugging 18 home runs. He also posted a 35.0% strikeout rate. That earned Mitchell a brief five-game promotion to High-A Quad Cities to end the season. The 2025 season was derailed before it ever got started. On February 23, 2025, it was announced that Mitchell would undergo surgery on his right hamate bone, leading to 4-6 weeks of downtime plus a rehab assignment. A hamate bone injury is notorious for sapping power, and that's what happened. Mitchell returned to High-A and in 49 games produced a .207 batting average, .372 OBP, .296 slugging percentage, and a .668 OPS while being reduced to just 2 home runs. He also continued to post another high strikeout rate of 32.9%.

Fast forward to the end of Mitchell’s fourth professional campaign, and he is putting up another really good season, batting .233, with a .414 OBP, .469 slugging percentage, and a .883 OPS while bashing 17 home runs. Unfortunately, his strikeout rate has continued to climb to an unsustainable 34.5%. Mitchell has become the epitome of a true three-outcome hitter: walk, strike out, or hit a home run. What do you do with a player with this truly interesting batting profile?

Option 1: Promote Mitchell To Double-A

There are definite arguments for a promotion. Mitchell is having a good season, save for his strikeout rate. He would definitely see better pitching at Double-A Northwest Arkansas. It is clear Mitchell has an excellent grasp of the strike zone. He has walked at an incredible 23% rate in 2026. With better pitches to hit, does his contact rate increase? We won’t know until Mitchell is promoted, but there are signs that contact rate has been getting better right before our eyes. Since July 1st, Mitchell is hitting .321/.433/.643/1.076 with 4 home runs, 11 walks, and just 12 strikeouts in 67 plate appearances. That is a 16.4% walk rate with a 17.9% strikeout rate. It is a small sample size, but is it sustainable? Has Mitchell figured some things out and deserves a promotion? Or is the sample too small and it is just a hot streak?

Option 2: Keep Mitchell At High-A For Remainder Of 2026

The High-A season ends September 6. With 38 games remaining and hopefully a playoff appearance in their future, there are benefits to remaining with the River Bandits. If Mitchell has figured some things out to improve his contact rate while dropping his strikeout rate, this would allow him to continue to build on the 67 plate appearances currently trending in a positive direction. The Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals did not win the first-half split and are currently tied for fourth place and 2.5 games behind the division leader in the North Division. A playoff spot and extending the season is unlikely at Double-A. A promotion potentially denies Mitchell exposure to high-pressure playoff baseball. Additionally, if this was just a hot streak, Mitchell could get exposed and further diminish his already declining prospect status.

Option 3: Trade Mitchell, Either At Trade Deadline Or In Offseason

Internally, if the Royals do not believe the player will ever hit for average, you could look to move them in a trade. Mitchell happens to have a running mate at High-A in Ramon Ramirez that is also a catcher. Ramirez is still learning the position, as he was converted to catcher from the outfield four years ago when he was a Royals international signing. By all accounts, Mitchell is the superior defender, but Ramirez is the more well-rounded hitter. Until recently, Mitchell has been the more highly touted prospect, which makes sense given his first-round draft status. In 2024, MLB Pipeline had Mitchell ranked as the 94th overall prospect and climbed to 52 by season's end. In 2025, Mitchell ranked 48th overall even with an injury-marred season. In 2026, Mitchell started the season as the 50th-ranked prospect but has fallen out of the top 100 in MLB.com rankings and to 105th in the FanGraphs pre-trade-deadline rankings.

Do you look to move a once top 100 prospect before the shine wears completely off of them? You do have 23-year-old rookie Carter Jensen already ranking in the top 10 as an offensive catcher in the major leagues and an up-and-coming catcher in Ramón Ramírez that recently surpassed Mitchell in those same 2026 FanGraphs top 100 rankings at 81st overall. This would be a great time to trade from a clear position of organizational depth to address an area of weakness. According to MLB Trade Rumors, the Angels are looking to acquire a young catcher and are clear sellers at the trade deadline. Could the Angels be a potential trade partner for a Royals franchise that hopes to rebound in 2027?

The Royals have an interesting dilemma on their hands. They have a former first-round pick with great defense, a good eye, and immense power, who strikes out too much but has recently been making better contact. They have young organizational depth with Carter Jensen and Ramon Ramirez in the organization. They also have a clear need in both the high minors and with the MLB club lacking talent in the outfield, starting pitching, and relief pitching. Arguments can be made for all three scenarios. It will be interesting to see what decision the Royals front office will make with Blake Mitchell.

Which path would you pick? Maybe you have other ideas on how to handle the situation. Please leave your comments. I would love to hear your thoughts.

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