The Kansas City Royals are struggling through a rough start to the season. At 5-8 heading into Friday’s games, they’re sitting three games back of the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central.
The offense has looked shaky, and the pitching staff hasn’t done them any favors. While it could be worse, the club needs to figure out what’s holding them back—and fast.
That’s where their farm system comes in. The Royals have quite a few prospects waiting to make their mark in the big leagues, especially on the pitching side.
Luinder Avila and Ben Kudra are two names likely to get called up at some point this season. The same goes for Shane Panzini, who was selected as a high schooler in the fourth round of the 2021 MLB Draft.
What sets Panzini apart from other pitching prospects is his ability to spin the baseball. He’s got a ton of ride on his four-seam fastball and a curveball that can make opposing batters look foolish with how much it drops.
He’s someone that MLB Pipeline has circled as a potential impactful call-up for the Royals this year.
“Working as a multi-inning option in the Omaha bullpen, he could be pushing for that elusive MLB look. Panzini has shown 18-20 inches of ride on his low-90s fastball in the early going this season and has played off that with a mid-70s curveball that’s averaged five feet of drop. If he can keep his K rate going around its current level of 30 percent over a larger sample, a spot with the Royals won’t be far off.”
While Panzini doesn’t throw too hard, his pitches rarely end up where batters think they’re going to. That multiplied by his command and strikeout rate could be enough for the front office to at least give him a shot at some point this season.
The way I see it, with Kansas City needing help and Panzini showing this kind of potential in Triple-A, it’s not a matter of if but when they make the call.
