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  • Minor League Notes

    Notes about the team are posted here.

    4 rumors in this category

      Kevin O'Brien

      On Thursday, the Omaha Storm Chasers shared their 2026 Opening Day roster. Their Opening Day will be on Friday in Louisville against the Bats, the Cincinnati Reds' Triple-A affiliate. 

      The Storm Chasers roster has a mix of veteran talent trying to reach the Majors and prospects looking to make gains in the Minor Leagues before making their MLB debuts. Omaha has ten players on the Royals' 40-man roster, with eight of those being pitchers. 

       

      Pitching may be the strength of this Omaha team. The rotation is deep with Luinder Avila, Ryan Bergert, Mason Black, Ben Kudrna, and Mitch Spence all in the mix. Those five pitchers are all on the 40-man roster and have MLB experience, with the exception of Kudrna. 

      They also have some crafty veterans looking to take one last shot in the Major Leagues. Aaron Sanchez was once an "ace-level" arm with the Blue Jays, and he had a decent spring with the Royals. In 10 IP, he posted a 4.50 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, 4.55 FIP, and 4.7% K-BB%. While he didn't generate a ton of whiffs or chase, he was effective in terms of limiting hard contact this spring.

      tjstats_season_summary (11).png

       

      Jose Cuas is also a former Royals reliever who had some fleeting success in Kansas City not too long ago. He will provide bullpen depth in addition to a veteran presence in the clubhouse.

      In terms of young arms, Steven Cruz is the most accomplished bullpen arm, having posted a 3.74 ERA and 4.11 FIP in 45.2 IP last season. He has a big fastball, and this spring, he had a 17.4% K-BB% and 108 overall TJ Stuff+. 

       

      tjstats_season_summary (12).png

      Other arms to watch in Omaha include Shane Panzini, Brandon Johnson, Eric Cerantola, Ryan Ramsey, and Beck Way. It would not be surprising to see one of these young pitching prospects emerge as a possible candidate for mid-season call-up, especially if an injury besets a reliever on the Royals' active roster. 

      In terms of bats, many of the expected producers for the Storm Chasers are veterans.

      Catcher Elias Diaz was a late addition to the Spring Training roster, but he had a solid spring in a limited sample. In 15 plate appearances, the former All-Star Rockies catcher had a .533 average, and he sported excellent Statcast percentiles, especially in terms of exit velocity and hard-hit rate, as illustrated below.

      Elias_D_az_percentiles.png

      The infield is flush with veterans, as Brandon Drury, Josh Rojas, Kevin Newman, and Abraham Toro will all compete for playing time in the Omaha infield. The lone infield prospect is Peyton Wilson, who had a good 2025 in Double-A but struggled in his transition to Triple-A.

      In terms of the outfield, Gavin Cross is the lone prospect, though he needs to have a better season in 2026 to stay relevant in the Royals system. In 39 plate appearances, Cross hit .270 with a .767 OPS. He showed strong skills this spring, especially in terms of exit velocity, barrel rate, and hard-hit rate. However, the former Virginia Tech product still struck out and whiffed way too much in Arizona.

      Gavin_Cross_percentiles.png

      Cross's whiff% ranked in the 12th percentile, and his K% ranked in the second percentile. Thus, it would be nice to see Cross show some progress in those areas in Omaha, especially since the power has seemed to tick back up this spring.

      Lastly, Kameron Misner and John Rave are outfielders who got cups of coffee with the Rays and Royals last season. Both have some upside, but are likely fourth outfielders at the Major League level. Misner has more upside than Rave, especially with Misner posting a .455 xwOBA and .808 OPS this spring. 

       

      Kevin O'Brien

       

      After the Royals' 4-1 victory over the Braves in the series finale, the Royals made an announcement on social media regarding the future of outfielder Drew Waters, who was designated for assignment last Wednesday.

       

      Waters has struggled at the Major League level with the Royals, who acquired him in a 2022 MLB trade with the Atlanta Braves, who initially drafted him. Last year, as a 26-year-old, he produced a .243 batting average, .604 OPS, and .268 wOBA in 219 plate appearances with the Royals. Over his career, he has an 84 wRC+ and accumulated 0.7 fWAR in 684 plate appearances. 

      As a result of his mediocre campaign in 2025, Waters had to earn his spot on the Royals roster this spring, especially with him being out of Minor League options.

      However, he didn't impress in Cactus League play. In 36 plate appearances, he hit .188 with a .531 OPS and struck out 22.3% of the time. His Statcast percentiles weren't impressive either, especially in the batted-ball and plate-discipline categories. 

      Drew_Waters_percentiles (1).png

      Waters likely will have a regular role as an outfielder in Omaha. He will compete for at-bats with John Rave, Kameron Misner, and Gavin Cross. Rave and Misner are on the 40-man roster, while Cross is not, but is trying to make his MLB debut at some point in 2026. The Storm Chasers struggled in their Opening Series of 2026, getting swept by the Louisville Bats, the Cincinnati Reds' Triple-A affiliate. 

      Kevin O'Brien

       

      On Tuesday, the Royals signed left-handed pitcher Anthony Gose to a Minor League deal and assigned him to Triple-A Omaha. 

      Gose was playing in the Mexican League this year with Yucatan and performed well in six appearances. In 7.2 IP, Gose allowed no runs, no walks, two hits, and struck out 15 batters. Not only was Gose's ERA 0.00, but he also posted a 0.26 WHIP with Yucatan. Thus, the Royals are hoping that Gose could be a low-risk, high-upside arm that could give them much-needed bullpen depth in Omaha.

      The 35-year-old was a former position-player prospect ranked as a Top-100 prospect in baseball while in the Blue Jays organization. Despite elite arm strength and speed, he struggled with hitting for contact at the Minor League level. As a result, he transitioned to pitching in 2017 and found more success. 

      Gose made the Majors as a pitcher and posted a career 4.78 ERA and 1.34 WHIP in 31 appearances and 32 IP, all with the Guardians. He was known for his high-velocity fastball and strikeout ability, as illustrated by his career 11.5 K/9 with Cleveland. Unfortunately, the last time he played at the MLB level was in 2024, when he made only 3 appearances with the Guardians and posted a 10.38 ERA.

      The former Top-100 prospect primarily pitched in Triple-A in 2025 with the Mets and Diamondbacks organizations. In 37 IP, he posted a 4.62 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, and 24.3% K%. He also showed some intriguing stuff and the ability to generate whiffs in his time in Triple-A in 2025, as seen below via his TJ Stats summary.

      tjstats_season_summary (20).png

      Gose isn't on the 40-man roster, so the Royals will likely keep him in Omaha for the time being. However, if any of the Royals' relievers get hurt, he could make a push for a spot on the active roster, especially if he's able to continue to throw a four-seamer in the mid to upper-90s. 

      Kevin O'Brien

      On Tuesday, Raising Royals, the Kansas City Royals Professional Development account, shared the 2026 Opening Day roster for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, the Royals' Double-A affiliate. 

      The Naturals kick off their season on Thursday on the road in Wichita, the Double-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are looking to improve on their 66-72 record from a season ago (they finished fourth in the Texas League North Division). 

      Northwest Arkansas will feature a good number of prospects who were on our 2026 Top-20 prospects list at Royals Keep. Here is a list of those prospects and their respective ranking.

      Beam and Arronde are the most accomplished pitchers of the group, both coming off solid seasons in High-A Quad Cities in 2025. Beam posted a 3.83 ERA and led the River Bandits in strikeouts with 110 in 131.2 IP. Arronde pitched three fewer innings but posted a 2.82 ERA and struck out 101 batters. The former Tennessee Volunteer pitcher had a better FIP (3.35) than the Cuban-born righty (3.87). 

      Vazquez had a good campaign in the Arizona Fall League, hitting .329 with a .928 OPS in 98 plate appearances for Surprise. He also posted excellent Statcast percentiles, as illustrated in his TJ Stats profile below.

      Daniel_Vazquez_percentiles.png

      Vazquez ranked in the 94th percentile in BB% and 92nd percentile in hard-hit rate. If he can combine those two traits in his stint in Double-A, then he could make a case for a spot in Triple-A Omaha sooner rather than later. 

      Roccaforte will begin the year again in Northwest Arkansas, where he finished last year.

      In 45 games in 2025, he had a solid Double-A campaign, hitting .290 with an .862 OPS with the Naturals in 212 plate appearances. The former Louisiana-Lafayette product also showed some nice progress this spring in Cactus League play, showcasing excellent hard-hit skills and plate discipline.

      Carson_Roccaforte_percentiles.png

      Even though he looked very good in Double-A in 2025, the Royals opted to have him start the year in Northwest Arkansas to begin 2026, especially with so many veteran outfielders in Triple-A Omaha at the moment. 

      Lastly, Mozzicato enters a crucial year that could make or break him as a prospect in the Royals system. The former first-round pick was poor in Northwest Arkansas, posting a 7.46 ERA in 17 outings and 56.2 IP. He also had a -1.8% K-BB%, highlighted by a a 19.4% BB%. 

      The Connecticut prep lefty made two appearances in Spring Training and posted a 13.50 ERA in two innings of work. He struggled heavily with throwing strikes and generating chase and whiff, and while his four-seamer was promising on a TJ Stuff+ end (102 TJ Stuff+), the rest of his repertoire was mediocre in Arizona.

      tjstats_season_summary (15).png

      There is hope that Mozzicato could turn into an MLB reliever like Daniel Lynch IV in a year or two. For that to happen, however, he will need to do a better job of throwing strikes in Northwest Arkansas (for starters). 

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