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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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Team manager George Brett #5 of the Kansas City Royals  (Photo by Ron Vesely/MLB via Getty Images)
Team manager George Brett #5 of the Kansas City Royals  (Photo by Ron Vesely/MLB via Getty Images) /

Clay Dungan Shortstop/Second Base (24-years-old in June)

  • Drafted in 9th round of 2019 amateur draft out of Indiana State
  • 2019 (Indiana State) – .305/.406/.481 with 10 2Bs, 3 3Bs, 9 HRs and 8/8 SBs in 243 ABs
  • 2019 (Rookie Idaho Falls) – .357/.427/.494 with 19 2Bs, 5 3Bs, 2 HRs and 9/10 SBs in 255 ABs

Clay Dungan is an interesting prospect who has the ability to make plus contact to all fields (gap power) and shows plus speed on the base-paths.

Watching the video on Dungan, he gets the bat head to the ball quickly with a smooth swing that doesn’t require a great deal of effort. I like his eye at the plate, it appears he quickly picks up the ball out of the pitcher’s hand and gets his lower half set in position to attack the pitch. He does a good job handling high velocity and gets out of the box quickly down the line.

Expectation: Dungan should start out the 2020 season at A Lexington and could finish the season at A+ Wilmington. The Royals move hitting prospects more slowly through the system and Dungan could see an entire season of at-bats in Lexington. He is more of a finished product at the rookie level and will need to reproduce his numbers as he climbs in the system.

He looks be an average defender at shortstop/second base or might see a move to the outfield to expand his versatility. His approach at the plate allows him to make consistent good contact and he could be a candidate to be a .270 hitter with 40 extra base hits and 15 stolen bases for the Royals. Dungan reminds me a lot of Whit Merrifield, but at this point Dungan may have the better eye at the plate.

Logan Porter First Base/Catcher/Designated Hitter (25-years-old in July)

  • Undrafted – Signed out of Dixie State College of Utah in 2018
  • 2018 (Rookie Arizona League and AA Northwest Arkansas) – .314/.444/.471 with 11 2Bs, 1 3B, 1 HR in 102 ABs
  • 2019 (Rookie Burlington) – .352/.481/.648 with 14 2Bs, 1 3B, 9 HRs in 145 ABs

Undrafted coming out of Dixie State College of Utah, Logan Porter put together two seasons of .300/480/.510 and has continued to hit in the Royals system. In both of his seasons in the Royals farm system, Porter has put together a .336/.466/.575 slash line.

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Porter is older than most of his peers, limited both defensively and on the base-paths, so the bat will have to do all of the heavy lifting if he wants to continue to climb in the system. His bat will be interesting to monitor as he faces more advanced pitching. If he continues his success, he can make himself into a high on-base power hitting prospect.

Expectation: Porter should start out the 2020 season in either A Lexington or A+ Wilmington. I think the Royals should place Porter in a level that will challenge him as he is already entering his age 25 season. His production at the plate in 2018 and 2019 shows he is advanced for his level.

The Royals could get aggressive with his promotions in 2020 if he continues to excel at the plate. If Porter is able to meet the challenge, then I wouldn’t be surprised if he starts in A Lexington and ends the season in AA Northwest Arkansas. His bat and plate discipline could carry him all the way to the major leagues.

Final Word

The Kansas City Royals have had success finding and developing players in their system. Each of the players listed has a chance to be a major league contributor. Each player has a set of qualities that could be continue to progress and make them a very valuable piece on the next Royals contending roster.

dark. Next. Projecting positional player stats for 2020 season

These guys are experiencing personal success in addition to team success as they move through the Royals minor league system. Learning how to win championships in the minor leagues is an important lesson on the path to major league championships.

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