The Royals added Kudrna to the 40-man roster last week (along with fellow right-hander Steven Zobac) to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft in December. A former Blue Valley Southwest High School product and 2021 second-round pick, the right-hander has shown growth the past couple of seasons in ways that Frank Mozzicato, who was drafted ahead of Kudrna in 2021, hasn't.

Kudrna has done a much better job of striking out batters each season in the Minor Leagues. After only generating a 19.2% K rate in 2023 in High-A Quad Cities, he has shown improvement over the past two seasons. In 2024, in 115.1 IP between High-A and Double-A, he produced a 24.2% K rate. In 2025, in 105.1 IP, he posted a 22.9% K rate between Double-A and Triple-A, but sported a 24% K rate in 94 IP in Northwest Arkansas.

In addition to strikeouts, the 22-year-old has also demonstrated solid CSW (called-strike plus whiff) rates as well as strong groundball rates over the past two years. In 2024, he posted a 30% CSW and a 45.6% GB% across High-A and Double-A. In 2025 with the Naturals, he induced a 45.4% GB% and 27.5% CSW, both solid marks for a starting pitcher.

Unfortunately, Kudrna hit a bit of a wall in his first exposure to Triple-A at the end of last season. In four games (three starts) and 11.1 IP, he posted a 14.29 ERA, 2.74 WHIP, and 9.94 FIP. He struggled immensely with his command while pitching for the Storm Chasers. His K rate didn't just drop by 8.1%; his walk rate also jumped to 27% (resulting in a K-BB% of -11.1%). Furthermore, the stuff didn't profile well on a TJ Stuff+ end as well.

He only sported a TJ Stuff+ mark of 94, and only one of his six offerings had a TJ Stuff+ mark in the triple digits. His other metrics, such as zone rate (35.5%) and chase rate (20.6%), didn't profile well either. That said, he did generate a decent 29.5% whiff rate, and his GB% of 45.7% was actually 0.2% higher than his GB% in Northwest Arkansas. Hence, there were some positive signs for Kudrna in his brief exposure to Triple-A, even though the overall metrics weren't great.

With a fresh start and a complete Spring Training in big league camp, Kudrna could make a push to join the rotation midseason, especially if he can continue to generate whiffs and strong groundball rates in 2026.