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KC Royals: Five under the radar prospects to follow in 2020

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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Royals mascot Slugger waves the flag (Photo by Nick Tre. Smith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Royals mascot Slugger waves the flag (Photo by Nick Tre. Smith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Jimmy Govern Second Base/Third Base (23-years-old)

  • 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 (Rookie Idaho Falls) – .083/.083/.167 with 1 2B in 12 ABs
  • 2019 (AAA Omaha) – .333/.333/.667 with 1 2B, 2 HR in 21 ABs

Jimmy Govern was unexpectedly called up to the AAA Omaha lineup late in the 2019 season 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 six games for Omaha.

Govern 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.

Watching the video on Govern, he has a patient approach at the plate with a smooth, short, and compact swing suggesting his contact and power are real. He does have some noise with his pre-swing movements with a small leg kick and bat movement.

The pre-swing noise appears to be part of what he has always done he whole life and I don’t think the Royals will need to change anything unless he gets into a prolonged slump. He has shown ability to play all over the infield and brings at least average baserunning ability into the mix.

Expectation: Govern will likely start out the 2020 season at A Lexington or A+ Wilmington with a chance to rapidly move up to AA Northwest Arkansas if he continues to perform at the plate. It was a lot of fun to watching Govern make the most of his opportunities in 2019.

Moving into 2020, it will be interesting to see if he continues to progress and make himself into a fantastic late round find. Govern is a bat first prospect and his bat might be special enough to move him up to the major leagues by 2022.

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