3 Breakout Candidates for the Kansas City Royals in 2022

Baseball season is officially upon us, and even though Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association are at a standoff, college baseball is underway. The minor leagues will be ramping up soon and anticipate an opening day on April 5th. If the Royals season started today, the roster would look similar to the previous year. There is hope that some of the top prospects such as Bobby Witt Jr., Nick Pratto, and MJ Melendez, make their way to Kansas City.

The youth movement is beginning to take place within the Royals organization. The fans witnessed players such as Brady Singer, Kris Bubic, Jon Heasley, Daniel Lynch, Jackson Kowar, and others make their debuts in the past few years. This was just the first wave of young talent in the pool, as many others are chomping at an opportunity to play inside Kauffman Stadium. With all the excitement around the hopes of baseball, I decided to pick three breakout candidates for the Kansas City Royals in 2022.

Kyle Isbel-OF

Kyle Isbel was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 3rd round of the 2018 MLB Draft from UNLV. At UNLV, Isbel played for three seasons and 170 games. He had 796 plate appearances and 701 at-bats. His stats speak for themselves as he had 226 hits, 40 doubles, 15 triples, 21 home runs, 110 RBIs, 18 stolen bases, 69 walks, and 139 runs. He broke spring training with the Royals in 2021 and played in 28 games. During those 28 games, Isbel had 83 plate appearances and 76 at-bats. He logged 21 hits, five doubles, two triples, one home run, seven RBIs, two stolen bases, and seven walks. He had a .276 batting average, a .337 OBP, a .434 slugging, and .772 OPS.

Isbel has the talent to play at the major league level, and with the Kansas City Royals using right-field as a carousel for players, Isbel should be able to win the job. He has the speed to play the outfield and has seen all three of those positions. Isbel played a majority of his major league games in right-field, logging 101.1 innings. Out of those innings, he was given 25 opportunities with 24 putouts. He did not make an error.

Kyle Isbel is the first player I believe will have a breakout year for the Kansas City Royals. Isbel proved he could play at the major league level and then went down to Omaha (AAA) and finished the season playing good baseball. With the Royals starting their youth movement, Isbel could lead the charge and start with the Royals out of spring training. He will be 25 years old heading into the 2022 season.

Dylan Coleman-RP

Dylan Coleman has a live arm, and Royals fans were able to see it late in 2021. Coleman was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 4th round of the 2018 MLB Draft from Missouri State University. He found his way to Kansas City via trade when the Royals traded another local star Trevor Rosenthal to the Padres. In return, Coleman and Olivares arrived in KC. Coleman can light up the radar gun but has filthy off-speed. His ability to pitch out of the bullpen is what the Royals need as veterans Greg Holland and Wade Davis leave the team.

He pitched in five games in relief, logging 6.1 innings, five hits, one earned run, one walk, seven strikeouts. In the 6.1 innings, he faced 25 batters. Since this is a small sample size, baseball-reference.com projected his 2022 season. They project him to pitch 28 innings, giving up 12 earned runs, four home runs, ten walks, 29 strikeouts, facing 120 batters. They also projected a 2-1 record with a 3.86 ERA.

I am an optimist and believe Dylan Coleman will have a spectacular year breaking out even more and posting even better numbers than those projected by baseball-reference.com. Coleman should earn a spot in the bullpen, and getting a full season with the major league ball club will help boost his confidence. He has electric stuff touching 100+ mph on his fastball, and with a heavy fastball, he could be relied upon in clutch situations later in the season. He is a talented pitcher who will have a breakout season.

Adalberto Mondesi-SS/3B

Adalberto Mondesi has star potential written all over him. His ability to flash the glove is incredible, his speed is uniquely fast, and he can hit from both sides of the plate. He has the tools, and as fans, we have seen those tools. There has just been one problem he can not remain healthy for a 162 game season. The most games he has played in a season are 102.

In six years, Mondesi has played in 343 games for the Royals. He has 1312 plate appearances and 1223 at-bats. Mondesi has 304 hits, 54 doubles, 20 triples, 38 home runs, 154 RBIs, and 128 stolen bases. His career batting average is .249, his career OBP is .283, and his career slugging is .419.

Baseball-reference.com projected Mondesi’s 2022 stats showing him logging 331 plate appearances and 305 at-bats. They see him getting 77 hits, 16 doubles, four triples, nine home runs, 40 RBIs, 25 stolen bases, and 19 walks. His batting average is projected to be .252. One of the most interesting stats is they give him 71% reliability.

This is the year for Mondesi, and with pressure coming from the minor leagues in Bobby Witt Jr., Mondesi will have to perform. Like I stated previously, he has the talent to become a superstar. He is my final breakout player for 2022, and if he does have a breakout season, I could see the Royals turning the corner, becoming a competitive threat.