Carter Jensen, Kendry Chourio, David Shields, and Blake Mitchell Headline Royals' Spring Breakout Player Pool

The Kansas City Royals' top prospects will be on display on March 20th in the third-annual Spring Breakout. They will play in Surprise against the Texas Rangers' top prospects (Kansas City and Texas share the same facility).

This is an exciting event for Royals fans, especially those who crave seeing budding young stars in the Kansas City farm system. Many top Royals prospects have built on strong Spring Breakout performances to successful Minor League campaigns in the regular season. 

Rosters were announced on Thursday, March 5th, with a preliminary pool of players for each team. A final gameday roster will be due on March 18th and will consist of 23 to 27 players from the initial 40-man list. This is a change from previous years due to the World Baseball Classic, which runs until March 17th.

All 30 prospects on the Royals' MLB Pipeline top prospects list were selected to the preliminary pool. An additional 10 prospects outside that list were also added. It will be interesting to see which of the 40 will be on that final Kansas City Spring Breakout roster in 13 days.

The Royals' top prospect, Carter Jensen, headlines the 40-man group. The local Park Hill High School product hit .300 with a .403 wOBA and three home runs in 69 plate appearances at the MLB level last September. He likely will make the Opening Day active roster, so the Royals may opt for another prospect in his place so Jensen can focus on preparing with the MLB club.

Other notable position player prospects include Blake Mitchell, the Royals' No. 2 prospect and 75th overall prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline. Mitchell had a down year due to a broken hamate bone in his hand, which he suffered at the start of Spring Training. However, he had a strong Arizona Fall League campaign and has been turning heads in Royals camp in Surprise this spring.

Also, 2025 draft picks Sean Gamble and Josh Hammond are on the 40-man player pool and will likely play in the game, barring injury. Gamble and Hammond are the 5th and 6th-best prospects in the Royals system, according to Pipeline. Catcher Ramon Ramirez is another Top-10 prospect who will likely play in the game and has been getting some experience this spring behind the plate in Big League camp as a non-roster invitee. Ramirez was the Royals' 2025 Columbia Player of the Year. 

On the pitching side, righty Kendry Chourio and lefty David Shields highlight the list. Chourio made a meteoric rise from the Dominican Summer League to Low-A Columbia ball last year. He posted a 3.51 ERA, 2.68 FIP, and 29.9% K% in 51.1 IP across the DSL, ACL, and Low-A levels in 2025.

Shields was a 2024 MLB Draft pick by the Royals and dominated as a 19-year-old in the Carolina League. In 75.2 IP, he posted a 2.38 ERA, 2.75 FIP, and 28.5% K%. That performance earned him Carolina League Pitcher of the Year honors.

The rest of the Royals Spring Breakout pool can be found below, courtesy of MLB.com Royals beat writer, Anne Rogers.

PITCHERS (20)
Felix Arronde, RHP, No. 14
Luinder Avila, RHP, No. 9
Drew Beam, RHP, No. 12
Chourio, RHP, No. 3
Dennis Colleran, RHP, No. 25
Josh Hansell, RHP, No. 28
Ben Kudrna, RHP, No. 10
Justin Lamkin, LHP, No. 15
L.P. Langevin, RHP, NR
Michael Lombardi, RHP, No. 16
Cameron Millar, RHP, No. 23
Frank Mozzicato, LHP, No. 29
Hunter Owen, LHP, NR
Shane Panzini, RHP, No. 21
Hunter Patteson, LHP, NR
Yeri Perez, RHP, NR
David Shields, LHP, No. 4
Blake Wolters, RHP, No. 24
Hiro Wyatt, RHP, NR
Steven Zobac, RHP, No. 13

CATCHERS (5)
Jensen, C, No. 1/MLB No. 18
Moises Marchan, C, NR
Mitchell, C, No. 2/MLB No. 75
Ramon Ramirez, C, No. 8
Hyungchan Um, C, NR

INFIELDERS (9)
Austin Charles, INF, NR
Jose Cerice, INF, NR
Darison Garcia, INF, NR
Hammond, SS, No. 6
Sam Kulasingam, UTIL, NR
Ramcell Medina, SS, No. 19
Yandel Ricardo, SS, No. 11
Brett Squires, INF, NR
Daniel Vazquez, SS, No. 26

OUTFIELDERS (6)
Gavin Cross, OF, No. 27
Gamble, OF/2B, No. 5
Asbel Gonzalez, OF, No. 17
Spencer Nivens, OF, NR
Carson Roccaforte, OF, No. 18
Nolan Sailors, OF, NR

Interested in learning more about the Kansas City Royals' top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!