The Royals May Have Found A Gem In Lefty Justin Lamkin

[Sam Caulder]

The Kansas City Royals’ farm system is full of guys who, in my humble opinion, deserve more national attention. None more so than pitcher Justin Lamkin.

The 6-foot-4, 210-pound left-hander was selected 71st overall by Kansas City in the 2025 MLB Draft out of Texas A&M, and he currently ranks as the Royals’ No. 12 prospect. While a shoulder injury cut his first full professional season short, he showed plenty of reasons to be excited about his future.

Lamkin began the 2026 season with High-A Quad Cities, where he got his first taste of professional baseball. Across six starts, Lamkin posted a 1.27 ERA and 0.92 WHIP while racking up an outrageous 34.9% strikeout rate. It didn't take long for the Royals to decide he was ready for a bigger challenge, earning a promotion to Double-A Northwest Arkansas.

He made two starts with the Naturals, allowing five earned runs over 11 1/3 innings. The jump to Double-A is widely considered one of the most difficult transitions in the minor leagues, so it's not surprising that his ERA climbed to 3.97. However, his ability to miss bats remained just as impressive. His strikeout rate remained exactly the same at 34.9%. Yes, that came across just two starts, so it's a small sample size. But the fact that he continued to rack up strikeouts against more advanced competition is certainly encouraging.

Unfortunately, Lamkin's season ended early due to left shoulder impingement. The good news is that he's healthy again and pitching in the Arizona Fall League, where he's continuing to show what makes him such an intriguing prospect. So, what made Lamkin so successful in 2026, and how can he take another step forward next season?

Lamkin's Pitch Arsenal

Lamkin has two pitches that give him a really strong foundation: his four-seam fastball and his slider. He's not a flamethrower by any means, sitting in the low 90s with his fastball. But his ability to command the pitch is impressive for a 22-year-old, and his 6-foot-4 frame allows him to get good extension down the mound. That helps his fastball play up, making it more difficult for hitters to square up than the velocity alone might suggest. The overall shape of the pitch isn't anything spectacular, but that's not necessarily a problem. Just as dads everywhere tell their children, he’s a pitcher, not a thrower, and there's a difference between the two.

A fastball with elite velocity and movement is great, but it doesn't do a pitcher much good if he can't consistently locate it. Lamkin's ability to put his fastball where he wants it gives him a solid foundation to build upon, especially when paired with a secondary pitch that can keep hitters guessing. That's where his slider comes into play.

Lamkin's slider has relatively tight movement, but what makes it effective is how he tunnels it with his fastball. He starts the two pitches in similar locations before they separate, making it difficult for hitters to distinguish between them early in their swings. It's an effective pitch against both left-handed and right-handed hitters, and it's widely considered his best secondary offering. Depending on who you ask, it might even be better than his fastball.

He also has a changeup that remains a work in progress, giving him another avenue to attack hitters as he continues to develop. But there's another pitch in his arsenal that really caught my attention: his curveball.

He didn't throw a curveball in college, adding it to his repertoire last offseason. Unfortunately, the shoulder injury limited the time he had to refine the pitch during the regular season. However, he's been using it quite a bit in the Arizona Fall League, and the early results are intriguing.

Lamkin In The Arizona Fall League

Across his first two AFL starts, Lamkin has thrown his curveball just over 31% of the time, according to MLB.com's Sam Dykstra. That's significant usage for a pitch he only recently added to his arsenal, and it's been effective, too. Hitters have swung at the curveball 17 times, coming up empty on seven of those swings. That's a 41.2% whiff rate, giving Lamkin another pitch that can generate swings and misses. And that's where things get really interesting.

Hitters already struggled to make contact against Lamkin in 2026, recording just a 66.1% contact rate. His ability to miss bats was one of the biggest reasons for his early success, and adding another legitimate swing-and-miss pitch could make him even more difficult to handle. The key is that his curveball moves differently and comes in at a different speed than his slider. Rather than simply giving hitters another version of the same pitch, it forces them to account for a different look. When you combine that with a well-commanded fastball and an effective slider, there's a lot to like about the foundation he's building.

Expectations For Lamkin In 2027

Of course, we need to see Lamkin stay healthy next season. That's the biggest priority after his shoulder injury limited him to just eight regular-season starts. Before worrying about another pitch or a potential promotion, he needs to show he can take the ball consistently and continue developing. Still, the fact that Kansas City was willing to move him to Double-A after just six professional starts says something about how the organization views him. The Royals clearly believe he's capable of handling advanced competition, and his swing-and-miss numbers suggest that confidence wasn't misplaced.

This is a prospect who could have generated considerably more national attention if he had stayed healthy throughout the 2026 season. Instead, he's flying a little under the radar, even as he continues to show off an exciting combination of command and swing-and-miss stuff. I think the Royals have something special here. Lamkin still has plenty of development ahead of him, particularly with his changeup and newly added curveball, but the ingredients are there for him to become a very interesting starting pitching prospect.

If he can remain healthy this offseason and carry his progress into 2027, we could see him take another significant step forward. And if that curveball continues to develop into a legitimate weapon, don't be surprised if Lamkin takes another step forward next year, potentially even all the way to Kauffman Stadium.

Image courtesy of Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

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