Kansas City Royals: Top 12 prospects heading into 2020
By Cody Rickman
7) Khalil Lee – Outfielder (ETA: 2020)
Khalil Lee is still only 21-years-old and has played four professional seasons in the Royals minor league system. Lee has consistently been one of the youngest players at each level he has played and hit .264/.363/.372 with 32 extra base hits and 53 stolen bases in 2019 at AA Northwest Arkansas.
Lee projects to have plus power and plus defense with nobody grading his baserunning ability to be at the level his 53 stolen bases in 2019 portray. He still has a lot of swing and miss to his plate approach which is something new hitting coordinator Drew Saylor will help him iron out.
Lee may need to increase his aggressiveness early in counts to reach his power potential moving forward. Once he starts to even out the age disparity between himself and his opponents, he should see his abilities come to fruition.
Lee is capable of producing 20 home run and 30 stolen base seasons while providing plus defense from a corner outfield position. He is a non-roster invitee to spring training and should start out the 2020 season at AAA Omaha with a chance to make an MLB debut at some point.
Lee compares favorably to former Royal Brian McRae.
8) Kyle Isbel – Outfielder (ETA: 2021)
Kyle Isbel struggled at the plate in 2019 after recovering from injury, but surprised talent evaluators during the Arizona Fall League with a fantastic performance. Isbel hit .315/.429/.438 with six extra base hits for the Surprise Saguaros, who found themselves in the Fall showcase’s championship game.
Isbel may not possess any exceptionally loud tools, but he has shown above average tools across the board. He has plus speed and the baserunning capability to steal 20+ bags a year.
His defense is above average for corner outfield position and he has enough range to handle center field duties. His plate discipline and ability to make consistent contact carry his offensive output and project him to hit above .270 with an on-base around .340.
Isbel has experienced minor league postseason success, contributing on two minor league championship teams (A Lexington 2018 and A+ Wilmington 2019). He is a non-roster invitee to Spring Training and should start out the 2020 season at AA Northwest Arkansas with a chance for promotion to AAA.
Isbel reminds me a lot of Brett Gardner who drives up pitch counts and has produced a very fine career for the New York Yankees.
9) Austin Cox – LHP Starting Pitcher (ETA: 2022)
Austin Cox is an under the radar choice of some talent evaluators to break into the top 100 prospect list in 2021. Cox had an excellent 2019 season splitting time between A Lexington and A+ Wilmington and pitching 130.2 innings of 2.76 ERA, 1.148 WHIP, 129 Ks.
Cox generates good deception with his over-the-top arm slot and spin axis on his four-pitch mix (fastball, curveball, slider, and change-up). His fastball is capable of hitting 95 mph, but generally sits between 91 – 93 mph.
His curveball, slider, and change-up each project to be slightly above-average. The control and command of his arsenal allows him to pinpoint pitches on his arm side and makes him a difficult match-up with his funky arm slot.
Cox should start out the 2020 season at A+ Wilmington with a promotion to AA Northwest Arkansas by mid-season. Cox projects to have a reasonable comparison to Jose Quintana.