Thank you all very much for following us along the last four years. It was just over a month ago in 2017 when our Founding Father, Patrick Brennan, released our very first top 30 prospects list. And now, in July of 2021, we have the fifth edition of our mid-season rankings here at Royals Farm Report. Here are the links to the previous years’ mid-season rankings and the first piece of our 2021 rankings:

• 2017
• 2018
• 2019
• 2020
• 2021: Honorable Mention and 46-50
• 2021: 36-45
• 2021: 31-35
• 2021: 21-30
• 2021: 11-20
• 2021: 6-10
• 2021: 1-5

You can find individual write ups and plenty of video for each of our top 50 prospects in the links above. Here’s a quick recap of what that list looks like with on minor tweak. We accidentally left Seuly Matias off of our list because he was injured at the time we started the project and I just totally forgot to add him back in. While he certainly won’t be in our top 10 like he was preseason (which was dumb anyway), he absolutely still has a place on the top 50 list. So, here’s our top 51 Royals prospects:

#51: Dayton Dooney, 2B

#50: Saul Garza, 1B/C

#49: Omar Hernandez, C

#48: Shane Panzini, RHP

#47: Eric Cerantola, RHP

#46: Christian Chamberlain, LHP

#45: Zach Haake, RHP

#44: Yohanse Morel, RHP

#43: Carter Jensen, C

#42: Daniel Vazquez, SS

#41: Tyler Gentry, OF

#40: Wilmin Candelario, SS

#39: John McMillon, RHP

#38: Kale Emshoff, C

#37: Brewer Hicklen, OF

#36: Noah Murdock, RHP

#35: Charlie Neuweiler, RHP

#34: Drew Parrish, LHP

#33: Seuly Matias, OF

#32: Emmanuel Rivera, 3B

#31: Rylan Kaufman, LHP

#30: Luca Tresh, C

#29: Tucker Bradley, OF

#28: Anthony Veneziano, LHP

#27: Will Klein, RHP

#26: Yefri Del Rosario, RHP

#25: Ben Hernandez, RHP

#24: Daniel Tillo, LHP

#23: Dylan Coleman, RHP

#22: Darryl Collins, OF

#21: Vinnie Pasquantino, 1B

#20: Jon Heasley, RHP

#19: Maikel Garcia, SS

#18: Peyton Wilson, UTIL

#17: Jeison Guzman, SS

#16: Austin Cox, LHP

#15: Clay Dungan, 2B

#14: Frank Mozzicato, LHP

#13: Ben Kudrna, RHP

#12: Michael Massey, 2B

#11: Angel Zerpa, LHP

#10: Nick Loftin, SS

#9: Erick Pena, OF

#8: Jonathan Bowlan, RHP

#7: Kyle Isbel, OF

#6: Asa Lacy, LHP

#5: Alec Marsh, RHP

#4: Jackson Kowar, RHP

#3: Nick Pratto, 1B

#2: MJ Melendez, C

#1: Bobby Witt Jr., SS

Positional Breakdown:

• Pitchers: 25
  • RHP: 16
  • LHP: 9
• Catchers: 6
• 1B: 3
• 2B: 3
• SS: 6
• 3B: 1
• OF: 7

Biggest Strength: Pitching and Middle Infield

Biggest Weakness: Legitimate CF Options

Potential Risers for Preseason 2022: Omar Hernandez, Dayton Dooney, Austin Cox, Carter Jensen

Potential 2021 Graduates: Jackson Kowar, Bobby Witt Jr., Nick Pratto, Kyle Isbel, Emmanuel Rivera

Honorable Mentions:

• Anderson Paulino
  I just haven’t seen enough from Paulino to keep him in the top 50 at the moment. He’s got a big fastball and that’s about it in terms of high-profile stuff. Wild card worth holding onto, could be back on this list next midseason.
• Diego Hernandez
  Toolsy CF that can really go get it on defense. Young kid that has plenty of time to develop. Could be nothing. Has the tools to be a big leaguer.
• Grant Gavin
  Good fastball/slider combo with a new split change that’s helped him neutralize LHH. Needs to be more consistent but has a chance to see big league time as soon as this year.
• Adrian Alcantara
  Good pitchability for a younger guy, but the stuff just hasn’t come together yet. Of all the guys falling off our list, I think I’ll regret this one the most. He’s probably #51.
• Delvin Capellan
  Similar story as Alcantara here but with lesser stuff.
• John Rave
  Toolsy CF that needs to hit more.
• Tyler Tolbert
  Kid can fly and actually strikes the ball sort of well. Just doesn’t strike it often enough. Plays all over the field. Could be a Terrance Gore like asset in a playoff run with better defensive versatility.
• Roger Leyton
  Having some success as an 18-year old in Arizona. Name to watch.
• Rothaikeg Seijas
  Good batted ball data. 18, Arizona. Could be a big riser next year.
• Foster Griffin
  I’m a sucker for a good comeback story. Also features a cutter now that I am kind of intrigued by.
• Herard Gonzalez
  Tooled up MIF. 20-year old in Low-A. Keeping an eye on him.

Photo Credits: Josh Franzen (@BanditsPhotog)