Kansas City Royals: Minor leaguers who could make impact in 2019

5 of 9

Kansas City Royals Nicky Lopez (John Sleezer/Kansas City Star/TNS via Getty Images) /

MINOR LEAGUERS WHO COULD MAKE IMPACT – NICKY LOPEZ

The minor leaguer I’m most looking forward to get a glimpse at this season is Nicky Lopez, who has made quick work of the minors. Lopez was a fifth round pick just three years ago out of Creighton and should be helping out the Royals by this summer.

The only reason the Royals might not call Lopez up early on is due to the whole service time thing. The sooner Lopez comes to Kansas City, the sooner he’ll hit free agency. That’s obviously not something the Royals want to mess with, as Lopez is hopefully going to play a pivotal role in this rebuild.

Another reason Lopez might not get called up is because the Royals are set at both second base and at shortstop. Whit Merrifield was recently given an extension that is fair to both sides and Adalberto Mondesi could be a superstar in the making at shortstop.

Could Lopez wind up playing third base at some point? Could Merrifield spend more time in the outfield than usual so that Lopez can man second?

Lopez is batting .462 with six hits and two RBI in 13 at bats. He hasn’t homered yet, but the Royals aren’t a power team so that’s not concerning. Plus it’s still early on in Spring Training.

There are a lot of questions regarding what Lopez’s role will be when he does get to the big leagues, but the 23-year old should make his MLB debut in 2019.

Home/Kansas City Royals