Royals 2022 Draft Class: Two Years Later

The 2022 Amateur Draft was key for the Kansas City Royals, marking the first for Scouting Director Danny Ontiveros. Before the draft, the front office traded the 35th overall selection in the Comp Round for a trio of prospects. Drew Waters, CJ Alexander, and Andrew Hoffmann came from Atlanta in return as the Royals threw dart after dart toward turning around a floundering farm system. After all, the team was coming off of two drafts that hadn’t quite panned out in elite prospect capital.

The front office utilized a solid balance of floor and ceiling in what became a relatively well-rounded draft for the Royals. Now two years later, how does the class look as a whole? Where most drafts are characterized by the prospects that pan out into big leaguers, this class is different. Instead, it will be remembered more for the trades that it enabled, allowing Kansas City to break a near decade-long playoff drought.

The draft class looked fantastic in the short term. As the 2023 season came to a close, at least seven of the 20 selections had worked their way into the team’s Top 30 prospects. Others, such as Ryan Ramsey and Hunter Patteson looked like wild card options who could develop into something if they could get healthy. By mid-2024, much of the class’s heavy hitters were elsewhere. It started before the 2024 season when the Royals traded pitching prospect David Sandlin to the Boston Red Sox for reliever John Schreiber. Sandlin had struck out 87 batters in 66.2 innings of work in a phenomenal 2023 campaign.

The showing had positioned Sandlin as one of the best young starters. He touched triple-digits in the ensuing offseason before being shipped to Boston. In Schreiber, the Royals acquired a proven MLB reliever who was crucial to the team’s 2024 run. He started the season extremely strong before struggling midway through the year and putting it back together in the postseason. Schreiber appeared in five of the team’s postseason games and didn’t allow a run to score.

Midseason, the Royals again dipped into the 2022 class to acquire more relief help. This time, they acquired flamethrowing reliever, Hunter Harvey. Kansas City traded third baseman Cayden Wallace and the 39th overall selection to the Washington Nationals for Harvey. Then again, the team acquired a third reliever using their 2022 class. On July 30, Kansas City shipped Mason Barnett, Will Klein, and Jared Dickey to the Athletics for closer Lucas Erceg. Barnett was the only piece of the 2022 class in that trade but had won the organization’s Paul Splittorff Pitcher of the Year Award just the season prior.

In all, the Royals turned their 2022 second-round pick, third-round pick, and 11th-round pick into three key relievers that not only impacted 2024 but will impact 2025 as well.

Even after the dust has settled from the three trades outlined above, the 2022 class continues to contribute strongly to the team’s farm system. First-round pick, Gavin Cross, remains somewhat disappointing. However, health issues have limited his production for most of his professional career after a stellar 2022 debut. Cross remains a Top 30 prospect in the farm system and could make his big league debut in 2025.

Steven Zobac was a fifth-round selection in 2022 and could very well become the best pick in the entire class. Zobac has developed strongly since entering the system and now ranks as the team’s best pitching prospect. Outstanding command and a lively fastball highlight Zobac’s ability and could turn him into a mid-rotation starter by the time he’s big-league ready. Javier Vaz, Ryan Ramsey, and Austin Charles round out the strength of the 2022 class. Ramsey finished 2024 with the best zone-contact rate in the entire farm system and could rise through the rankings with a strong Double-A debut in 2025. Vaz and Charles are opposites when it comes to prospect profiles, but both have value.

Vaz is a high-floor option with a small frame but elite bat-to-ball skills. He plays great defensively at second base and in left field, but a lack of power ceiling limits his overall upside. Charles, on the other hand, offers a large frame with the power potential to dream on. He has struggled at times with contact in the minor leagues but started to figure some things out in 2024. Charles has played shortstop and third base in the system, but profiles best as a third baseman long term.

Behind the top names, depth remains. Hunter Patteson and Mack Anglin have shown good ability in more limited samples as professionals. Patteson posted his first full season in 2024, making 24 appearances with a 4.25 ERA. Anglin missed the entire 2024 season after suffering an unfortunate injury covering first base in 2023. He’s dealt with oblique issues that have limited his time on the mound.

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