Minor League Report: Various Royals Prospects Start Strong in First Week of Play

Minor League Week in Nutshell

The Minor League season officially kicked off, with all four affiliated levels in action this past week (March 30th to April 5th). Unfortunately, bad weather has delayed the start of the Quad Cities River Bandits season. Not only did rain postpone the first couple of games, but field conditions prevented the River Bandits and South Bend Bears from finishing the season. 

The Storm Chasers started their season the earliest, and they have nine games under their belt. The Fireflies and Naturals have only played one three-game series. Northwest Arkansas and Columbia host their first homestands of the year this week, along with the River Bandits.

Here are the records of the three Royals affiliates that have played games thus far, as of April 6th. 

Omaha: 4-5

Northwest Arkansas: 2-1

Columbia: 1-2

Omaha Highlights

The Storm Chasers are averaging five runs per game through the first nine games of the season. There aren't a lot of position player prospects on the Omaha roster, as most of them are veterans looking to get one last chance at the Major League level. Some familiar names include Josh Rojas, Brandon Drury, and Kevin Newman, who also played with the Royals during Spring Training.

One prospect that stood out this week was Luca Tresh, who had a big week for the Storm Chasers at the plate. In 16 at-bats, the former NC State product is hitting .375 with a 1.037 OPS. He doesn't have a home run, but he has four doubles and three RBI. He has one walk and struck out five times. Cutting down the strikeouts would be nice, especially since he's been one of the main catalysts in their lineup so far. 

On the pitching end, Eric Cerantola has been on fire after a shaky spring, when he was one of the first to be optioned to Minor League camp. In 4.1 IP, Cerantola has seven strikeouts and only one walk while posting a 0.00 ERA and 0.92 WHIP. His K% is 41.2%, and his BB% is 35.3%. Furthermore, he has done an excellent job not just generating whiffs but also limiting hard contact so far in Omaha.

The only concern I have with Cerantola is that the TJ Stuff+ doesn't profile well, with an overall score of 98. He's a two-pitch pitcher with a four-seamer that has a 90 TJ Stuff+. That may work in Triple-A, but it's harder to imagine it transitioning well to the Major Leagues. Nonetheless, it will be hard for the Royals to ignore Cerantola if he continues to dominate the International League hitters. 

Northwest Arkansas Highlights

Brett Squires had an eye-popping spring, showing excellent power and batted-ball ability, as demonstrated in his TJ Stats Statcast percentiles below. 

Squires only had 21 plate appearances in Cactus League play, but he had three home runs and posted an OPS of 1.128. So far in three games with the Naturals, the 26-year-old corner infielder hasn't missed a beat.

In 12 at-bats with the Naturals, he is hitting .333 with a 1.135 OPS. Squires has a home run, six RBI, and a stolen base in the Naturals' first three games. His home run was also launched against Wichita on the road, showing that his power from this spring is manifesting itself so far in Double-A play. 

Squires could be a candidate for a promotion soon, especially if the veterans in Omaha show they're unlikely to be players at the Major League level. 

On the pitching end, Frank Mozzicato, our No. 20 prospect, had an encouraging first start of the 2026 season. In 4.0 IP, he allowed one run on two hits and two walks while striking out four. He only had a 57% strike%, something he's been working on since making the move up to Double-A last year. However, the fact that he was able to limit the walks while striking out four shows that Mozzciato is slowly developing his control and command at the upper Minor League levels.

Mozzicato will be one to watch as his prospect stock has dropped a lot over the past couple of years. Fastball velocity and stuff will be key to watch with him in 2026. If he is able to keep that four-seamer velocity in the 90-93 MPH range, as he did this spring, then he could have at least a Major League outlook similar to Daniel Lynch IV. 

Columbia Fireflies Highlights

The Fireflies have a lot of big-name prospects, including 2025 MLB Draft picks Sean Gamble and Josh Hammond and 2024 international signing Yandel Ricardo. However, 21-year-old shortstop Ivan Sosa had the biggest week offensively for the Fireflies. 

In eight plate appearances, Sosa is hitting .375 with a 1.625 OPS. He has two home runs in two games played and has also collected a double and two RBI. This is Sosa's first exposure to Low-A ball after primarily playing in the Complex League the past two years. That said, he struggled in Arizona with a 72 wRC+ in 2024 and 70 wRC+ in 2025. 

He seems a lot more comfortable at the plate in 2025, as evidenced by his home run stroke below.

Strikeouts were a struggle for Sosa in the Complex League, as he posted 34.6% K% in 2024 and 33.6% K% in 2025. His K% is down to 12.5% this year, but he also hasn't drawn a walk. It will be interesting to see if Sosa's free-swinging approach will age okay, especially as he faces more developed pitching in the Carolina League. Nonetheless, he has shown himself to be a player to watch in Columbia, even with so many other talented prospects around him.

Like Sosa, a pitcher that didn't get a whole lot of attention this offseason, was Shane Van Dam, who made his professional debut this week. A 9th-round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft out of NC State, he went three innings, allowed zero runs, two hits, and zero walks while striking out three. Van Dam only pitched eight innings in 2025 with the Wolfpack due to injury, but he's an intriguing prospect with a mix that could help him move quickly in the Royals farm system.

Van Dam pitched in the instructional league last fall and turned some heads, especially among those who wondered why the Royals would select Van Dam in the ninth round after he only pitched in three college games in 2025. However, when looking at his stuff and mechanics on tape, it's easy to understand why the Royals liked him so much in this past MLB Draft.

If Royals fans or prospect junkies are looking for a pitcher like Dennis Colleran, who didn't get a whole lot of attention last year due to injury in college but progressed quickly in the Royals system, Van Dam could fit that bill. His Low-A debut was certainly promising and shows what he is capable of in 2026. 

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!