Kansas City Royals news: The next one counts

Baseball America tosses in Kansas City Royals pitching prospect Kendry Chourio as a candidate for the next overall top pitching prospect. Under the sweltering heat in Goodyear, Chourio proved to be every bit as advertised. And so far in the backfields and in spring training this year, it’s been more

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Baseball America tosses in Kansas City Royals pitching prospect Kendry Chourio as a candidate for the next overall top pitching prospect.

Under the sweltering heat in Goodyear, Chourio proved to be every bit as advertised. And so far in the backfields and in spring training this year, it’s been more of the same, suggesting a ceiling for the 18-year-old righthander, even if his timeline is a little longer than more experienced prospects.

Still, there is a lot of development that needs to happen. Chourio’s

fastball sat 96-98 in Spring Breakout, and he used his curveball as his secondary pitch. What stood out is that, despite the speed of the curve and its usage (57%), he got no whiffs on the pitch. In addition, he didn’t throw his changeup once in Friday’s game, so he needs to hone in on a lockdown third pitch to really be considered as a top pitching prospect.

MLB.com’s Anne Rogers predicts the Opening Day lineup in a preview of the Royals-Braves tilt this Friday.

The top four or five is what we’ll see the majority of this season, but facing Sale is a tough first assignment. Pasquantino will play regardless, but we might see other lefties swapped out for matchup reasons. Between Carter Jensen, Jac Caglianone and Kyle Isbel, there will likely have to be one lefty in the lineup, so we opted to keep Jensen in there at DH, while putting righties Starling Marte in right field and Lane Thomas in center field. It’s not that right fielder Caglianone won’t play against left-handers … it’s just that Sale is an especially tough lefty to face. The Royals still could put Caglianone in right field, though, while having Marte DH and Jensen on the bench for Opening Day.

Maikel Garcia, 3B
Bobby Witt Jr., SS
Vinnie Pasquantino, 1B
Salvador Perez, C
Isaac Collins, LF
Jonathan India, 2B
Carter Jensen, DH
Starling Marte, RF
Lane Thomas, CF

MLB.com writers also took their preseason ballots and voted Bobby Witt Jr. as the 2026 AL MVP.

An all-around star, Witt missed out on the 2024 AL MVP Award because of an incredible year at the plate from Aaron Judge. The Kansas City shortstop finished fourth in MVP balloting in 2025, behind only Judge, Cal Raleigh and José Ramírez. This year, our voters project it will be Witt’s turn to take home the hardware — but they think it will be close.

Witt, who had a .295/.351/.501 slash line with 23 homers and 38 steals in 2025, was picked to beat out Judge — by only one vote! — to win AL MVP. MLB’s best defender by Outs Above Average last season, Witt certainly has the talent to do it, but he’ll have to put up a campaign comparable to his outstanding ’24 and hope Judge doesn’t eclipse him once again.

Others receiving votes: Judge, Julio Rodríguez, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Roman Anthony, Nick Kurtz, Ramírez, Gunnar Henderson

Get a closer look at catcher Salvador Perez’s newest ink after the World Baseball Classic.

The 9-9-9 Challenge is coming to Kauffman Stadium (at least a branded one now).

Kansas City Sports Network’s Joel Penfield chatted with Royals general manager J.J. Picollo ahead of Opening Day. You can watch the full interview here.

FanGraphs’ Dan Szymborski predicts bust seasons for not just one, but two Royals pitchers.

Royals Keep’s Kevin O’Brien has his bold Royals predictions in for 2026.

How are the Royals changing the 50/50 raffle this season?

Bleacher Report pitches Kansas City trading Kris Bubic and prospects to the New York Yankees for Jasson Domínguez.

Yardbarker has their Royals predictions for the 2026 season.

FanSided ranks the Royals as the 15th-most watchable team in 2026.

A check in on the sports card market and Salvador Perez.

The Chicago Cubs extended Pete Crow-Armstrong on a six-year, $115 million deal.

Detroit Tigers top prospect Kevin McGonigle broke camp with the big-league squad and will start on Opening Day.

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sánchez is guaranteed $104 million in his new deal, announced over the weekend.

The ABS challenge system will still not silence MLB managers this coming season.

Golf legend Tiger Woods will make his first appearance in the TGL final.