Four Players in Omaha Who Deserve Shots in Kansas City Soon

The Royals' season is plummeting fast, much to the chagrin of fans. Going into Thursday's game, Kansas City was 35-52, good for last in the AL Central. At the time of this writing, the Royals are losing 5-1 and are on the verge of being swept by the Tampa Bay Rays at home. That's not a good sign, especially with a tough weekend home series against the Philadelphia Phillies coming up.

With 1.1% odds to make the postseason, according to Fangraphs, the Royals are clearly in rebuilding mode. They likely will bring in a lot of new pieces later in the month, especially as they near the August 3rd MLB Trade Deadline. For now, however, they have to rely on players on their 40-man roster or those up in Omaha who can make the transition from Triple-A to Major League competition. 

Right now, there isn't a lot of depth in the Royals system, both on the hitting and pitching end. However, the Royals really have nothing to lose at this point, especially being 17 games under .500. 

Therefore, Kansas City could benefit from bringing in some fresh faces from Omaha to help spark this club over the next few months. While they may not be long-term solutions to the Royals' roster problems, they deserve a shot to show the front office what they can do and whether or not they will be part of the Royals' roster in 2027 and beyond.

Here are four players in Omaha (three hitters and one pitcher) who should get an opportunity for some playing time with the Royals at some point in the second half of this brutal season. 

Ryan Ramsey, LHP

The Royals do not have much pitching depth, both on the 40-man roster and in Triple-A Omaha and Double-A Northwest Arkansas. The only pitcher who deserves a chance who isn't on the 40-man (and not injured) is Ramsey, who is in his second year with the Storm Chasers. 

Ramsey's surface-level metrics aren't eye-popping. In 15 outings (13 starts) and 69.2 IP, the former Maryland product is posting a 4.78 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 5.57 FIP, and 9.2% K-BB%. That said, he seems to be trending positively recently, as he went five innings and only allowed one run on four hits in his most recent start on June 26th. 

Ramsey is not a strikeout (19.7% K%) or swinging-strike machine  (9.7% SwStr%). However, he is efficient in generating called strikes, as evidenced by his 14.2% called-strike rate. The former 13th-round pick has also demonstrated an ability to limit hard hits and contact in the zone. That is illustrated in his Statcast percentiles summary from Triple-A this season via TJ Stats.

When it comes to TJ Stuff+, Ramsey's overall 97 mark isn't impressive, but his slider and curveball rate as above-average offerings with 101 marks. He also has produced a decent whiff rate this year, with his 23.7% whiff rate ranking in the 59th percentile, according to TJ Stats.

Ramsey may not be a long-term option for the Royals. That said, the former Terrapin could be a nice hybrid guy for the remainder of the season who could thrive if given the opportunity. 

Peyton Wilson, 2B/3B

Wilson has not gotten much attention in Omaha because he's been overshadowed by veteran infielders like Josh Rojas, Abraham Toro, Kevin Newman, and Brandon Drury. Furthermore, he was hurt in mid-April and missed roughly a month of play. That said, since returning, Wilson has performed much better in his second stint in Omaha.

Last year, the former Alabama product hit .223 with a 65 wRC+ in 319 plate appearances with the Storm Chasers. This season? He's hitting .294 with a 102 wRC+ in 186 plate appearances. He also has shown a strong ability to not just hit with more power in Omaha this year (.107 ISO compared to .086 last year), but hit fewer pop-ups and more line drives as well.

Wilson is still striking out and whiffing a lot, but he's launching the ball better and hitting it hard, as illustrated by his TJ Stats Statcast percentiles summary from Omaha.

Wilson has long been known for a solid glove at the keystone and hot corner, so he's the kind of player who at least would hold his own defensively in the infield. The biggest question mark with him has been his bat. That's been the primary reason he hasn't been added to the 40-man roster or picked up in the Rule 5 Draft. 

When looking at Wilson, his profile feels very similar to Michael Massey. While Massey has had a solid year (1.2 fWAR and 96 wRC+), he is also 28 and will be 29 next season. Furthermore, Massey could be a trade candidate. If Wilson can fill in for Massey adequately, then Royals president JJ Picollo may be tempted to trade the former Illinois product by August 3rd. 

Matthew Lugo, OF

The Royals claimed Lugo off waivers after he was designated for assignment by the Angels. Since coming over to the Kansas City organization, he's done nothing but hit in Omaha.

In 90 plate appearances with the Storm Chasers, Lugo is hitting .321 with a 151 wRC+. The former 2019 Red Sox draft pick has also shown tremendous home run power, with seven home runs in 22 games with Omaha. 

Lugo had a cup of coffee with the Angels last year, but didn't do anything earth-shattering in his rookie debut. 

In 31 games and 70 plate appearances, the 25-year-old hit .232 with an 89 wRC+. He flashed some power with the Halos with four home runs. However, he struck out 34.3% of the time and didn't draw a single walk in his MLB tenure last year. Thus, his free-swinging approach was a big reason why the Angels opted to part ways with him this year.

Still, even though his profile is flawed, there's some big-fly and power potential with Lugo, who can reasonably play all three outfield positions. In Triple-A this year, with both the Angels and Royals organizations, he has demonstrated the ability to barrel and launch the ball consistently, per TJ Stats Statcast percentiles.

The Royals have a dearth of right-handed bats on the 40-man roster right now. That has been obvious in this Rays series, as manager Matt Quatraro has had to bat lefty hitters like Kameron Misner and Michael Massey against lefty starters like Shane McClanahan and Ian Seymour.

Misner has cooled off significantly after a strong start, and the Royals may opt to bring up Lugo to take Misner's place, especially since Lugo would give Kansas City a right-handed bat who can play multiple positions in the outfield. 

Brett Squires, 1B/3B

I have talked about Squires before here on Royals Keep, as he's been the kind of player who's hit at every level in the Royals system. Since being called up to Omaha, the former Oklahoma product has hit .293 with a 131 wRC+ in 162 plate appearances. That includes 10 home runs in 40 games.

The main issue preventing Squires from a possible promotion or addition to the 40-man roster is his lack of positional versatility. He is a corner infielder who primarily plays first base. Thus, he's been blocked by Maikel Garcia and Nick Loftin at third base and Vinnie Pasquantino, Salvador Perez, and Jac Caglianone at first. 

That said, those positions have become a lot more open. Garcia is currently on the IL, and Loftin has cooled at the plate, as he is hitless in his last 21 plate appearances. Vinnie is also on the IL, Salvy is hurt, and Caglianone seems to be rotating between right field and first base, depending on the pitching matchup.

Thus, the Royals may have a spot for Squires, who is producing some of the most impressive batted-ball metrics in Omaha, as evidenced by his TJ Stats Statcast percentiles. 

It is hard to see Squires as a long-term answer, especially once Garcia and Pasquantino return healthy. Nonetheless, the Royals need some pop and consistency in the middle of the batting order, and Squires could provide that, even if there is some swing-and-miss risk with his hitting profile (15th percentile whiff rate, 12th percentile chase rate, and 26th percentile K rate).