The Top 25 Kansas City Royals Player Assets of 2026: Part 3 (15-11)

In part three of our countdown of the Royals’ assets, we will be talking about the 15th through 11th most valuable player assets. If you missed the previous two lists, they are listed here.  

Part 1: #21-25
Part 2: #16-20

15. Michael Wacha  

Age: 34 
Controlled Through: 2027 with a club option in 28 

Wacha has been a steady and reliable presence on the mound and in the locker room. His 2.8 bWAR was third-best on a Royals team flushed with pitching depth. He also led the team in wins (10) and innings pitched (172.2), so he was the team’s workhorse for long stretches of the season. His advanced metrics on Baseball Savant show that he is in the 99th percentile in offspeed run value and in the 82nd percentile in pitching run value. Entering his age-35 season, it’s good to see Wacha still has some gas left in the tank and hopefully can continue to be solid for years to come.  

14: Lucas Erceg  

Age: 30 
Controlled Through: 2029  

Erceg took a slight step back from 2024, but he was still one of the better arms in the Royals' bullpen in 2025. Throughout the year, Erceg served as the set-up man behind Carlos Estévez, and his ERA of 2.64, along with eight wins, helped the Royals have one of the more underrated bullpens in baseball. While most of his numbers were down from his excellent 2024 season, he still posted a high pitching run value of 72, and his fastball run value increased. If Erceg can continue to have quality appearances, he will be a mainstay in the Royals' bullpen for years to come.  

13. Sean Gamble  

Age: 19 
Controlled Through: 2031+ 

Gamble was selected 23rd overall by the Royals in the most recent MLB Draft. He was placed on the ACL Royals, but did not play any games for them in 2025 because he was not officially signed until July. The Royals see a lot of potential in Gamble, especially in the at-bats he took while at IMG Academy. He is a contact-heavy hitter and a plus runner with positional versatility, which the Royals love in their players. Now, whether he can turn his high school success into success at the minor league level is left to be determined, but he is an intriguing prospect that Royals fans will undoubtedly keep an eye on.  

12. Josh Hammond   

Age: 19 
Controlled Through: 2031+ 

Hammond was selected five picks after Gamble, at 28th, because of the Prospect Promotion Incentive (PPI) reward for Bobby Witt Jr. finishing in the top three of AL MVP voting. Hammond was a two-way player throughout high school and helped lead Wesleyan Christian Academy to its second state title in three years. Hammond has a lot of raw power at the dish to all sides of the field and has a cannon for an arm. Despite his two-way approach in high school, the Royals will focus more on his hitting, as that’s where he shows the most potential. He was drafted as a shortstop, but scouts say he could move to third base due to his arm. It’ll be intriguing to see what the Royals do with Hammond in the near future.  

11. Vinnie Pasquantino  

Age: 28 
Controlled Through: 2028 

The Pasquatch is coming off a stellar year as he put up career highs in hits (164), RBIs (113), home runs (32), and bWar (2.4). It was a year that Vinnie needed, as he wasn’t able to contribute much during the Royals' playoff push in 2024, but he was able to contribute big time this year. His bat is his most valuable asset; his defense is what really needs work, as his fielding run value of 21 and his -7 OAA is not good enough for a team that prides itself on good defense. Still, there is no doubt that Pasquantino’s bat will stay in the middle of the order as long as he puts up the numbers he did this past year.