Minor League Report: Fireflies and Naturals Surging in Their Divisions

Minor League Week in Nutshell

All the Royals' affiliates were finally in action, though weather issues did cancel some games. Columbia, which is loaded with many of Kansas City's top prospects, had a solid week, going 4-2 this week. Northwest Arkansas also continued its winning ways, going 4-2 this past week after going 2-1 in its Opening Weekend of play.

After a long layoff, Quad Cities finally played ball for the first time in 2026. They played at home in Davenport, Iowa, at Modern Woodsman Park and finished 2-4 for the week. One has to wonder if the long layoff affected their play in their first six contests of the season. Lastly, Omaha had a winning record, going 3-2 against the Iowa Cubs, though one game was rained out. 

In terms of individual performances, some of the top prospects in the Royals system had solid weeks, especially on the hitting side. It's still early, but there's a lot to feel good about with the Royals' farm system, especially if these position player prospects continue to develop at their respective levels. 

Here are the records of the three Royals affiliates that have played games thus far, as of April 13th. 

Omaha: 7-7

Northwest Arkansas: 6-3

Quad Cities: 2-4

Columbia: 5-4

Omaha Highlights

John Rave didn't make the Opening Day roster, but he's had an excellent start in Omaha.

Over the past seven days, Rave hit .474 with a 1.447 OPS. He hit two home runs, collected 9 RBI, stole two bases, and had three walks to only four strikeouts. For his strong performance at the plate, the outfielder was named International League Player of the Week.

For the year, Rave is hitting .319 with a .996 OPS in 47 at-bats. He has two home runs, two RBI, six stolen bases (on six attempts), and has 12 walks to 11 strikeouts. Now, I'm not sure if Rave is more than a Four-A player, as he only posted a 65 wRC+ in 175 plate appearances last year. That said, if he continues to produce like this, he could earn himself a call-up to Kansas City, especially if the offense continues to flounder (especially with runners in scoring position). 

Another Storm Chasers hitter who had a strong week against the Iowa Cubs was Kameron Misner, who was acquired from Tampa Bay this offseason.

In 18 at-bats, Misner hit .333 with a 1.288 OPS. His performance against the Cubs this week included two home runs, 10 RBI, four walks, and only two strikeouts. Misner is proving he can generate power and plate discipline, though he will need to cut down on strikeouts at the next level. 

Last year, in 217 plate appearances with the Rays, the former Mizzou product struck out 31.8% of the time and hit .213 with a 75 wRC+. There's some power potential with Misner, but the swing-and-misses limited his ceiling last year. His strong plate discipline and ability to launch the ball in Omaha this year are encouraging signs that he may be figuring it out.

The bullpen continues to be an area of strength for Storm Chasers. Last week, it was Eric Cerantola. This week, it's Beck Way, who didn't allow a run and only had a 0.71 WHIP in two appearances and 5.2 IP this week. He also had six strikeouts and only one walk, a positive sign for him, given his past walk issues, especially in Triple-A.

Way is the last remaining prospect from the 2022 Andrew Benintendi trade with the New York Yankees. T.J. Sikkema and Chandler Champlain are both no longer with the Royals organization. It still seems like a long shot that Way will make the Major League squad, and he could do a better job this year of generating chase and whiffs. However, his stuff and zone metrics have been really solid this season, as evidenced by his TJ Stuff+ summary from this season.

Royals fans shouldn't sleep on Way as a potential middle-innings or sleeper late-inning reliever at the Major League level, especially if he's able to generate more chase and whiff as he pitches more innings in Triple-A. 

Northwest Arkansas Highlights

Carson Roccaforte got off to a slow start, but he was absolutely scorching this week at the plate.

In 22 at-bats, the former Louisiana-Lafayette outfielder hit .364 this week with a 1.500 OPS. He also launched three home runs, had three doubles, a triple, collected five RBI, and six walks while striking out eight times. The only blemish for Roccaforte this week was that he was caught stealing twice. Other than that, Roccaforte showed that he could be an impact player for the Royals as soon as 2027.

For his strong performance, Roccaforte was named the Texas League Position Player of the Week.

Another position player who was arguably as effective as Roccaforte this week was Sam Kulasingam. 

In 21 at-bats, the Air Force grad hit .381 with a 1.224 OPS and a home run and five RBI. Kulasingam had five doubles, four walks, eight strikeouts, and stole a base. The utility player has been known for his defense, baserunning, and intangibles as a prospect. However, it was nice to see him put up some solid numbers this week, especially in terms of power. 

On April 8th, the switch-hitter launched his first home run of the year from the right side of the plate.

On the pitching end, reliever Oscar Rayo had a solid week and may be a sleeper arm in this Royals organization.

The Nicaraguan lefty, who pitched for Nicaragua in the WBC, made two appearances and pitched 6.2 innings this week. In that sample, he posted a 2.70 ERA and 0.60 WHIP with two runs on four hits and zero walks. He also had six strikeouts. While his stuff needs to play up a bit more, some scouts have remarked that Rayo resembles former lefty reliever Angel Zerpa.

According to TJ Stats, Rayo has succeeded by flooding the strike zone and generating strikes. His CSW% is 34.3% this year, and he hasn't issued a single walk either. As a result, he's producing a 2.08 ERA for the season in Northwest Arkansas.

Rayo did give up two home runs this week, both coming in one outing against Amarillo. However, if he can avoid the longball, Rayo could be a reliever who could make his way to Omaha at some point and could be considered for a roster spot in 2027.

Quad Cities River Bandits

It wasn't a great week for the River Bandits' bats, which explains why they went 2-4 this week. That said, some of the Royals' top prospects are playing in Quad Cities and showed flashes of promise despite the losing record in their first full week of play.

In 19 plate appearances, Blake Mitchell, our No. 2 prospect at Royals Keep, is hitting .211 with 11 strikeouts. However, he has a .375 OBP, .901 OPS, and hit home runs in back-to-back games. Thus, the plate patience and power haven't skipped a beat from this fall and spring.

Another hitter that went yard this week for Quad Cities was fellow catching prospect Ramon Ramirez, our No. 8 prospect at Royals Keep. He hit his first home run of the year in the same game that Mitchell hit his second and also had a walkoff single in an April 12th win against Wisconsin. 

In 19 at-bats, Ramirez is hitting .264 with a .774 OPS. He also has a double and three RBI, as well as a walk and five strikeouts. Like many River Bandits hitters, Ramirez started slow, but it seems like he's beginning to heat up at the plate.

In terms of pitching, Justin Lamkin stood out the most on the starting end this week.

In his first outing of the year, the former Texas A&M product went four innings and allowed no runs and no hits while walking two and striking out six. Of his six strikeouts, five came against the first six hitters he faced in the game.

A competitive round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, Lamkin posted a 3.42 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and 22.6% K-BB% in 84.1 IP with the Aggies last season. While he doesn't have the prospect shine of David Shields, who started on Opening Day for the River Bandits, the 21-year-old lefty has the potential to develop into a middle-of-the-rotation starter at the Major League level.

In terms of relievers, Kamden Edge stood out with two solid performances this week.

In 2.1 IP, Edge struck out five and allowed no runs, no hits, and only one walk (he did have one hit batter). A 20th-round 2025 MLB Draft pick by the Royals out of Northwestern Oklahoma JC is an enticing arm with high-upside stuff and strikeout ability. Last year in Low-A Columbia, he posted a 1.88 ERA and 28.3% K% in 14.1 IP. Walks were an issue (18.3% BB%), but he has the stuff to be a Major League setup man or closer.

Edge doesn't have the prettiest pitching motion, but he can get outs in multiple ways, and he could move quickly in the Royals system, similar to Dennis Colleran a year ago.

Columbia Fireflies Highlights

The Fireflies bats were in full force this week, ranking third as a team this week in the Carolina League in home runs and OPS. When it came to top hitters from this group this past week, three particularly stood out: catcher Brooks Bryan, shortstop Josh Hammond, and infielder Yandel Ricardo.

An 8th-round pick out of Troy University, Bryan absolutely mashed this week. In 16 plate appearances, he hit .375 with a 1.399 OPS. He also had two doubles, two home runs, six RBI, a stolen base, five walks, and only four strikeouts. The 21-year-old catcher was a consistent producer for the Trojans in college, and it looks like he's on his way to do the same for the Fireflies in 2026.

After a slow opening weekend, Hammond got on fire in his first full week of play. 

Hammond led the Fireflies in plate appearances this week with 21, and he hit .286 with a 1.090 OPS. The 28th-overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, he collected three doubles, 1 triple, a home run, and three RBI. He also showed good discipline at the plate with five walks to eight strikeouts.

On April 10th, Hammond had four hits and was a single shy of the cycle (though I wonder if one of his doubles could've been shortened to a single to allow him to get it). 

Hammond definitely had one of the most impressive offensive performances this week from an infield prospect, as he ranks No. 7 in our top prospects list. However, Ricardo wasn't that far off.

In 20 at-bats, the Cuban-born infielder hit .300 with an .867 OPS. He had six hits, which included one double, one triple, four RBI, and three stolen bases. Ricardo was known for his plate discipline as a prospect in the DSL and Arizona Complex League, and he showed that patented discipline with four walks to four strikeouts this week. It would be nice to see him be more efficient on the basepaths (he was caught twice), but overall, Ricardo made a solid impression this week for the Fireflies, especially with his ability to spray the ball all over the field. 

After an okay, but not great, 2026 debut, Kendry Chourio bounced back in full force in his second start of the year. 

In 4.2 IP, Chourio allowed no runs, no hits, no walks, and struck out six batters. It was an impressive performance from the 19-year-old righty and showed the kind of ace potential he possesses, which is exciting for Royals fans. 

Chourio has excelled so far this year at limiting walks while maximizing strikeouts. His CSW, though, could be better, and that could be due to him still developing the movement on his current pitch mix, especially his four-seamer. Here's a look at some of his rates and numbers via TJ Stats.

While he has impressive K%, BB%, and GB% marks, his whiff% (34th percentile), CSW% (28th percentile) and SwStr% (52nd percentile) could use some improvement. However, there's no need to panic, as Chourio could see these rates improve as he gains more experience and develops his pitch quality with the Columbia pitching coaches. 

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!