10 Royals Prospects To Know Beyond The Top 30 in 2025
Baseball America’s Top 30 Kansas City Royals Prospects entering 2025 are here exclusively for subscribers. The list includes updated scouting reports, BA grades and tool grade projections every player.
Inevitably, there are players every year who barely miss the cut when we narrow down the list. These players are all worth monitoring for various reasons and it’s likely some will either reach the big leagues in 2025 or enjoy breakout seasons lower in the minors.
Here are next 10 players to know in the Royals system beyond their Top 30. You can find the complete index of players who just missed their teams’ respective lists here.
31. Tyson Guerrero, LHP. A 12th-round pick in 2021, Guerrero spent most of his fourth pro season at Double-A Northwest Arkansas. He heads to the mound with four average-or-better pitches. His 91-94 mph fastball has natural sinking action. Both of his breaking balls are swing-and-miss offerings, especially his slider. Guerrero throws an average changeup but doesn’t throw enough strikes to be more than a swingman or reliever.
32. Eric Cerantola, RHP. Cerantola pitched sparingly during three years at Mississippi State because of poor control, but he showed enough arm strength to be drafted in the fifth round in 2021. He is a two-pitch reliever all the way, with a 92-97 mph fastball that touches 99 with natural sinking action. His power downer curveball is a swing-and-miss pitch that he uses more than his fastball. With a good run at Triple-A, Cerantola will make his MLB debut in 2025.
33. Henry Williams, RHP. Williams barely pitched during his three seasons at Duke before his draft year was wiped out by Tommy John surgery. The Padres liked him enough to draft him in the third round in 2022 before trading him to the Royals a year later for Scott Barlow. Williams’ 91-94 mph fastball touched 96 in 2024, about two ticks higher than the previous year. He has good feel for an above-average curveball he throws in any count. He throws a slider and changeup and projects best-case as a back-end starter.
34. Hyungchan Um, C. Um signed with the Royals in 2022 after a heralded amateur career in his native South Korea. His father is Jong-soo Um, who played one season with the Braves’ High-A affiliate in 2001, making the Ums the first South Korean father-son duo to sign with MLB organizations. Um showed a power-over-hit profile at Low-A Columbia in 2024 but needs to continue adding strength to tap into his power at higher levels. He has a chance to develop into an average defensive catcher.
35. Spencer Nivens, OF. The Royals’ 2023 fifth-round pick from Missouri State started slowly in his first full season, until exploding in August with a batting line of 1.233 OPS with 13 home runs.
36. Tyler Gentry, OF. Gentry consistently starts each season very slowly until pulling it together in the second half, and 2024 was no exception. He made it to Kansas City for his first taste of the big leagues, with three games in late August. He’ll be 26 next season and likely has a ceiling of an up/down extra outfielder.
37. Hunter Patteson, LHP. The Royals’ 2022 fifth-round pick from Central Florida finally was able to put in a full season after Tommy John surgery during his last college season, splitting the year between Low-A Columbia and High-A Quad Cities. An effective-strike thrower, Patteson recorded a measly 1.9 walks per nine innings in 2024 and has good pitchability.
38. Logan Martin, RHP. Drafted from Kentucky in the 12th round in 2023, Martin showed continual improvement in 25 games with Low-A Columbia. Finishing with a 3.62 ERA, Martin comes at hitters with a four-pitch mix highlighted by his mid-90s fastball touching 97 mph.
39. Yunior Marte, RHP. The second pitcher by this name to come out of the Royals organization, Marte was listed as a sleeper on this same list a year ago, but a knee injury delayed his season until June and affected the landing on his delivery. He’s a tall, strong righthander with a fastball up to 96 mph who throws strikes and flashes an above-average curveball.
40. Beck Way, RHP. Way’s stuff ticked up after he moved to the bullpen for good in 2024. His two-seam fastball sits 94-98 mph and touches 101, also flashing a plus sweeper and plus cutter, but he struggled with control and command in his Double-A season. He’s already 25 so he’ll need to show more consistency to be considered for a big league bullpen job.
