The Royals don’t need to become a finished product overnight. That’s the big takeaway here. The offense doesn’t have to morph into a juggernaut for Kansas City to start looking like a real threat; it just needs enough health, enough development, and maybe a couple of smart additions to get the lineup into a workable place.
That’s the path David Lesky laid out, and it’s a pretty practical one. A healthier Vinnie Pasquantino, specifically one who gets back to where he was in 2025, would matter.
Add in one or two acquisitions, plus forward steps from Carter Jensen and Jac Caglianone, and the Royals could be talking about an offense that’s legitimately good by 2027. That comes with a pile of ifs, sure, but they don’t feel quite as overwhelming as they once did.
The bigger problem, Lesky pointed out, is turning all those hard hits and batting average into actual runs. That’s still the missing ingredient. Kansas City can do enough damage in pieces, but the production has to show up on the scoreboard more often.
Elsewhere in the system, Josh Hammond took a hit in MLB Pipeline’s latest rankings, falling to No. 82 on the updated top 100 prospect list. Hammond opened his first full season at Single-A Columbia with a strong showing, and there was real buzz around his improving odds of staying at shortstop.
But the bat cooled off late, and over his final 40 games he slugged just .312. By season’s end, he settled in as a league-average hitter in the Carolina League.
The rest of the baseball world is already turning toward October. Shohei Ohtani won’t be at 100 percent for the playoffs, and there are a few different World Series matchups that could appeal to different kinds of fans. There are also some especially specific divisional-series swings that could end up deciding those rounds.
Around the league, Sonny Gray was frustrated by a lack of trust from his manager, Aaron Judge underwent an experimental blood treatment in hopes of getting back on the field, and reports say the Phillies may move on from Don Mattingly. The Cubs don’t appear likely to win a bidding war for Seiya Suzuki, while the Diamondbacks are expected to reduce payroll in 2027.
There’s also a free-agent designated hitter class to sort through this offseason, and ABS changed the game quite a bit this year by overturning 54 percent of umpire calls. On the business and media side, the Trail Blazers fired announcer Braiden Bell one day after hiring him after old controversial tweets from when he was 15 surfaced, CBS parted ways with Tony Romo after his drunk driving arrest, and the combined Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery will be called Skydance.
In Other News...
Royals Are Pushing Angeibel Gomez Faster Than Anyone Expected
The Royals have made a clear statement with Angeibel Gomez, sending their No. 2 prospect to the Arizona Fall League as part of an unusually aggressive push to speed up his development. Gomez arrived with the Surprise Saguaros and immediately jumped into one of baseballs most demanding finishing schools for young hitters, a setting designed to challenge him without the daily grind of a full-season assignment.
Gomez wasted little time showing why Kansas City is eager to see what comes next. In his AFL debut, he became the second youngest player in league history and picked up his first hit, a walk, a stolen base and two runs. The early results only add to the intrigue around how fast the Royals believe he can climb, and how much theyre willing to ask of him along the way. [Read more 🡒]
Royals Suddenly Have A Real Center Field Decision To Make
Kyle Isbel has been the Royals center fielder since 2021, but the past season made the position look a lot less settled than it has for years. A plantar fascia injury played a part in a frustrating campaign that saw his offensive production fade after a strong start, and his defensive numbers backed up the eye test enough to make this a real conversation rather than a temporary dip.
Kansas City now has to weigh what comes next in center, especially with younger options pushing for playing time and the possibility of outside help later on. Isbel is still under team control through 2028, which gives the Royals some flexibility, but the way things stand now, a move to a fourth outfielder role in 2027 looks increasingly likely as the club sorts out a position it once thought was settled. [Read more 🡒]
Royals Offseason Flexibility May Hinge On A Few Tough Roster Calls
The Royals are heading into an offseason where the margins could matter as much as the big-ticket additions. With seven players already under contract and roughly $30 million in payroll space to work with, the front office has some room to maneuver, but it also has a full slate of arbitration decisions to sort through before any larger plans can take shape. Eleven players are arbitration-eligible, and those calls will help determine just how much flexibility Kansas City really has as winter begins.
MLB Trade Rumors has already released salary projections that should give the Royals a clearer sense of where each case stands, and not every decision figures to be straightforward. Some players look like obvious tender candidates based on recent production, while others present more difficult questions because of injuries or uneven performance. Those choices may not draw as much attention as free-agent speculation, but for Kansas City they could end up shaping the rest of the offseason. [Read more 🡒]