Kansas City Royals: Peter O’Brien has Become Intriguing Prospect

The Kansas City Royals are underway with spring training! That means fans will be watching prospects get a potential shot at the big leagues. One of the guys with the most intrigue so far is Peter O’Brien.

One of the earliest moves that the KC Royals made this offseason was trading for some guy named Peter O’Brien. O’Brien had spent time with the Diamondbacks and even got to see limited time at the major league level.

He didn’t amount to much during his time with the Diamondbacks, so they had designated him for assignment and later ended up trading him to Kansas City for a minor league pitcher.

While the chances of Peter O’Brien actually making it onto the 25-man roster aren’t high, the kid has shown big time power in just a few appearances as a member of the Royals.

He’s hit several home runs and his teammates appear to be in awe of the power he possesses at the plate. Rustin Dodd of The Kansas City Star wrote,

"It is, of course, the power that attracted the Royals to O’Brien in the offseason. But it was also the long-term potential in his bat and the roster flexibility he offered. O’Brien still has two option years remaining, which means he could log an additional 1,000 at-bats at Class AAA Omaha over the next two seasons."

With several options for the Kansas City Royals to slot in at the designated hitter spot, don’t expect to see Peter O’Brien make an impact in the majors any time soon. He still has time to adjust to major league pitchers and the Royals could definitely use a guy like him down the stretch.

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Eventually, though, Peter O’Brien could be a nice guy to have on the roster. He’s played various different positions and would likely fit best as a designated hitter. The Royals just signed Brandon Moss to a two-year deal, so perhaps O’Brien could fill that role after that contract is up?

No matter what happens, it’s hard to ignore what O’Brien has been doing early on in spring training. I know it’s just spring training and getting excited about a player is silly, but the guy had hit three home runs in four games. That’s not something that Royals fans are used to seeing.

After the Kansas City Royals had inked Brandon Moss to a contract, Michael Clair of MLB.com wrote that the Royals were becoming “Dinger City”. He included O’Brien as being a big part of that, stating,

"The Minor League catcher turned-first baseman-slash-outfielder isn’t in the Royals’ current plans for a starting job, but given his home run totals over the last three years — 34, 27, 29 — he just might overpower anyone standing in his way."

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Okay, so maybe this is just another “Spring Training story” that’s surrounding a player who probably won’t amount to anything, but hey. We can dream, right?

I’m hoping Peter O’Brien overpowers the minor league pitchers he faces and can make it to the majors within the next year or two.