Kansas City Royals might benefit from not calling up young prospects

The Kansas City Royals aren’t having a good season and as a result, some fans think calling up the young talented prospects is a must. The Royals might benefit from NOT doing that.

It might sound strange, especially with the Kansas City Royals being nearly 50 games under .500 and heading toward arguably their worst season ever, but it’s true. If the Royals are looking to be a contending team again in the next few years, they’ll need their young prospects in order to help make that dream a reality.

The problem with calling up some of those guys now is that the moment they’re called up, their service time in the major leagues officially begins. That might seem weird to think about now, but part of why the Royals were so good during that 2013-2017 stretch was because those core guys came up through the system at the same time.

Those players were able to grow close as teammates and that helped their development on the field. They wanted to win for each other and that’s what being a team is all about.

More from KC Kingdom

The reason so many of the beloved players hit free agency last offseason was because they all got to the majors around the same time. If the Royals bring up someone like Nicky Lopez now (who is doing incredibly well in Triple-A so far), yes it’d give him an opportunity to grow and take his lumps in the majors now without any pressure, but it’d also start the clock on his Royals tenure.

If the Royals realistically think they can contend again in 2020 (I’d say 2021 is a more realistic goal), they need to make sure these guys are ready to compete together by that time. If that means waiting to call Lopez up until sometime next season, then so be it. That’d give him a chance to play in the Triple-A with some of his future MLB teammates and gel with them there.

It sucks that this is something the Kansas City Royals have to keep in mind, but it does make a lot of sense. It also sucks because Royals fans are looking forward to watching these players develop in the majors. It’ll get a lot more eyeballs on the games as well.

For now, however, it might not be all that feasible for the Royals to start the service time on players who are going to play a big role in getting this team back to relevance. Once they’re all meshing in the minors together, that’s when the organization can commence the string of Major League call-ups.

It’s not like the Royals haven’t given some guys a shot though. Ryan O’Hearn is getting an opportunity to prove himself this year and just recently, so has Jake Newberry. Both of these guys are players who could be a part of the next wave, but also have to show that they belong in that group first.

This season is a wash and next season will be equally as bad, but in 2020, the Kansas City Royals can probably start calling up their young exciting prospects. That will be when Royals fans start to check back in and get hyped for what the future could have in store.

Another World Series title perhaps? That’s the goal. The Royals have to make sure they time these call-ups just right.

Home/Kansas City Royals