The Kansas City Royals’ farm system may be better stocked than it looks on the surface, and that was the central takeaway from the latest episode of “Royals Pipeline.”
Hosts Jared Perkins and Kevin O’Brien brought in Overslot founder Joe Doyle to dig into the Royals’ 2026 MLB Draft class and the organization’s broader minor league picture, and Doyle came away impressed with what Kansas City put together.
One of the first names to come up was Zion Rose, whom the Royals took with the sixth overall pick. Doyle liked the pick, even though Rose went earlier than many expected. He pointed to Rose’s offensive upside, his ability to make hard contact, and the fact that Kansas City saved money elsewhere in the draft.
The conversation also turned to third-round left-hander Max Yell, whom Doyle described as one of the more underrated prospects in the class. He also mentioned a group of later-round arms, saying the range of pitchers Kansas City selected could help build out the organization’s pitching depth down the line.
From there, the focus widened to the farm system itself, and Doyle’s view was clear: it runs deeper than a lot of people think. He singled out Josh Hammond as a player he believes could eventually become a relatively unanimous top-100 prospect across industry rankings.
Doyle also brought up Blake Mitchell, Ramon Ramirez and Sean Gamble as players who could grow into impact major leaguers. The biggest concern raised by the hosts was that much of the best talent in the system is still down in the lower levels of the minors.
Other names Doyle highlighted included Angel Beltré Gomez and Camden Johnson. At the same time, he pointed to one area where the Royals still look thin: impact infield depth, especially at shortstop and second base.
The discussion finished with a look around the American League Central, where Doyle said the Detroit Tigers are the team Kansas City should be most worried about. In his view, Detroit’s mix of young talent, a strong front office and continued player development could make the Tigers a lasting threat in the division.
Those topics and more were part of the latest “Royals Pipeline” episode on the KC Sports Network.
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