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Kansas City Royals: Five underrated prospects in 2019

By Cody Rickman

CLEVELAND, OH - AUGUST 24: A glove and baseballs sit on the field before a game between the Kansas City Royals and the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field on August 24, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. Teams are wearing special color schemed uniforms with players choosing nicknames to display for Players' Weekend. (Photo by Ron Schwane/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - AUGUST 24: A glove and baseballs sit on the field before a game between the Kansas City Royals and the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field on August 24, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. Teams are wearing special color schemed uniforms with players choosing nicknames to display for Players' Weekend. (Photo by Ron Schwane/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /

Tyler Zuber (24-years-old) – 5’11″ RHP Relief Pitcher

  • Drafted in sixth round of 2017 amateur draft out of Arkansas State.
  • 2018 (A Lexington/A+ Wilmington) – 3.88 ERA, 1.196 WHIP, 70 Ks in 51.0 Innings
  • 2019 (A+ Wilmington) – 1.23 ERA, 0.920 WHIP, 38 Ks in 29.1 Innings
  • 2019 (AA Northwest Arkansas) – 2.42 ERA, 0.885 WHIP, 30 Ks in 26.0 Innings

Tyler Zuber works regularly in the zone with his 94-mph fastball (can hit 96+ mph). His tenacity on the mound shows when he works his fastball inside and up in the zone on hitters. Zuber mixes in developing breaking balls (curveball and slider) typically located low and out of the zone.

Coming out of Arkansas State, Zuber had a more advanced change-up and he utilizes it effectively. Zuber still needs some work refining his mechanics specifically to repeat his arm speed on his different pitches. Zuber is knocking on the door to making an MLB debut in 2020 with the potential of being a high leverage late inning reliever for the Royals in the future.

Jimmy Govern (22-years-old) – Second/Third Base

  • Drafted in 30th round of 2019 amateur draft out of Eastern Illinois
  • 2019 (Eastern Illinois) – .326/.404/.609 with 16 2Bs, 1 3B, 16 HRs in 233 ABs
  • 2019 (Rookie Arizona League) – .365/492/.628 with 17 2Bs, 3 3Bs, 6 HRs in 156 ABs
  • 2019 (AAA Omaha) – .333/.333/.667 with 1 2B, 2 HR in 21 ABs

Jimmy Govern has gotten a lot of press lately as he was an unexpectedly called-up to the AAA Omaha line-up on Thursday to fill in for the injured Kelvin Gutierrez and temporarily inactivated Chase d’Arnaud. He got seven hits including one double and two home runs in that short time.

Govern has had quite the 2019 season statistically and may have taken advantage of his opportunity to make himself a serious prospect moving forward for the Royals organization. Govern has a patient approach at the plate with a smooth, short, and compact swing suggesting his contact and power are real. He has shown ability to play all over the infield and brings at least average baserunning ability into the mix.

It will be a lot of fun to continue to monitor Govern moving into 2020 to see if he continues to progress and make himself into a diamond in the rough late round draft pick.

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