Kansas City Royals: Lexington Legends roster loaded with MLB prospects
The Kansas City Royals are in rebuild mode and the biggest boost to the fan base should be the core in Class A Lexington, who won the South Atlantic League Championship this year.
The Lexington Legends are already replicating what the Kansas City Royals leaned on years ago. Back when the likes of Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Danny Duffy, Salvador Perez, and all of those guys we knew and loved were in the minors, the future looked bright for the organization.
Now, we turn to the Lexington Legends, who won a championship this past season. Looking at the roster of that championship team, there’s a lot of hope to be had for Royals fans regarding the future.
At a quick glance, there are six players on that team who could contribute at the big league level in the next few years. Let’s take a look at these players and what role they could serve for the Kansas City Royals down the road.
JACKSON KOWAR (PITCHER)
The Royals drafted Jackson Kowar out of Florida with their second pick in the 2018 MLB Draft. Kowar was taken shortly after the Royals spent their first pick on teammate Brady Singer. The two tore it up together in Gainesville, and Royals fans were fortunate to watch both Gators in the College World Series last year.
Kowar did well during his time in Lexington, twirling a 3.42 ERA in nine starts and 26.1 innings. He struck out 22 and walked just 12 batters while surrendering only two home runs during his time on the mound.
The future especially looks bright for the Royals rotation, as they have a lot of young talent both in the majors and in the minors. We’ve seen Brad Keller, Jakob Junis, and even Jorge Lopez perform well in the big leagues, but Kowar along with Singer and a few others on this list could help the rotation even more.
Kowar will be 22 in early October, but realistically he probably won’t be in Kansas City for at least another year or even two years. Perhaps at the end of the 2019 season he gets a call-up, but for now, the Royals should let him take his lumps in the minor leagues before pushing him to the bigs.