Kansas City Royals minor league players
Below is a partial list of minor league baseball players in the Kansas City Royals system.
Players
A.J. Causey
Anthony Jordan Causey is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Kansas City Royals organization.Causey attended Sparkman High School in Harvest, Alabama, where he played on the school's baseball team as a pitcher and infielder. He earned All-State honors as a senior in 2021. He went unselected in the 2021 Major League Baseball draft and enrolled at Jacksonville State University to play college baseball.
Causey played the 2022 and 2023 seasons with Jacksonville State, posting a 2.61 ERA as a reliever in 2022 and a 5.07 ERA as a starter in 2023. In both the summers of 2022 and 2023, he played in the Cape Cod Baseball League with the Falmouth Commodores. After his sophomore season at Jacksonville State, he transferred to the University of Tennessee to play college baseball with the Tennessee Volunteers. Over 19 appearances for Tennessee in 2024, Causey went 13-3 with a 4.43 ERA and 125 strikeouts over innings, helping the Volunteers win the 2024 Men's College World Series. After the season, he was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the fifth round of the 2024 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with the team for $477,500.
Causey made his professional debut in 2025 with the Quad Cities River Bandits. In July, he was promoted to the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. Over 48 relief appearances between the two teams, Causey went 11-5 with a 1.72 ERA and 75 strikeouts over innings. He was assigned to play in the Arizona Fall League with the Surprise Saguaros after the season.
Eric Cerantola
Eric Cerantola is a Canadian professional baseball pitcher for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball.Cerantola was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 5th round, with the 139th overall selection, of the 2021 Major League Baseball draft. He made his professional debut with the rookie–level Arizona Complex League Royals, posting a 5.71 ERA with 24 strikeoutsover 10 appearances.
Cerantola split the 2022 campaign between the Single–A Columbia Fireflies and High–A Quad Cities River Bandits. In 10 starts split between the two affiliates, he posted a 1–3 record and 5.34 ERA with 36 strikeouts across innings pitched. Cerantola split 2023 between Quad Cities and the Double–A Northwest Arkansas Naturals, accumulating a 3–4 record and 3.66 ERA with 99 strikeouts and 2 saves across innings pitched.
Cerantola split the 2024 campaign between Double–A Northwest Arkansas and the Triple–A Omaha Storm Chasers. In 37 total appearances for the two affiliates, he compiled a 3–4 record and 2.97 ERA with 101 strikeouts across innings pitched. Following the season, the Royals added Cerantola to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.
Cerantola was optioned to Triple-A Omaha to begin the 2025 season.
Chandler Champlain
Chandler Jay Champlain is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Kansas City Royals.Champlain attended Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Margarita, California. The Los Angeles Angels selected Champlain in the 38th round of the 2019 MLB draft, but he did not sign a contract with the Angels. He enrolled at the University of Southern California and played college baseball for the USC Trojans.
The New York Yankees selected Champlain in the ninth round of the 2021 MLB draft. On July 27, 2022, the Yankees traded Champlain, T. J. Sikkema, and Beck Way to the Kansas City Royals for Andrew Benintendi.
Champlain's father, Jay, played for USC's football team as a wide receiver. His mother, Robyn, is a former competitive downhill skier.
Kendry Chourio
Kendry Manuel Chourio is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher in the Kansas City Royals organization.Chourio signed with the Kansas City Royals as an international free agent in January 2025. He made his professional debut that year with the Dominican Summer League Royals.
After five games he was promoted to the Arizona Complex League Royals. After three games he was promoted again, this time to the Columbia Fireflies.
Dennis Colleran
Dennis Patrick Colleran is an American baseball pitcher in the Kansas City Royals organization.Colleran attended North Attleborough High School in North Attleborough, Massachusetts. He played college baseball at Northeastern University for the Huskies.
As a freshman for the Huskies in 2022, Colleran appeared in 15 games and pitched to a 0-1 record and 4.50 ERA with 24 strikeouts over 22 innings before undergoing Tommy John surgery, forcing him to miss the entirety of the 2023 season. He returned to the mound during the summer of 2023, and played collegiate summer baseball with both the Hyannis Harbor Hawks of the Cape Cod Baseball League and the Worcester Bravehearts of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League. In 2024, he appeared in twenty games for the Huskies and went 1-2 with a 7.97 ERA and 46 strikeouts over innings. After the season, he participated in the MLB Draft Combine at Chase Field.
Colleran was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the seventh round of the 2024 Major League Baseball draft. He made his professional debut in 2025 with the Columbia Fireflies and was promoted to the Quad Cities River Bandits and Northwest Arkansas Naturals during the season. Over 44 relief appearances between the three teams, Colleran went 9-0 with a 2.85 ERA and 72 strikeouts over innings. He was assigned to play in the Arizona Fall League with the Surprise Saguaros after the season.
Ben Kudrna
Kudrna grew up in Overland Park, Kansas and attended Blue Valley Southwest High School. As a senior, Kudrna was named the Gatorade Kansas Baseball Player of the Year and the Class 5A Pitcher of the Year after he went 9–1 on the mound with a 0.99 ERA and 100 strikeouts and 11 walks in innings pitched. Kudrna committed to play college baseball at Louisiana State prior to signing with the Royals.
Kudrna was selected in the second round of the 2021 MLB draft by the Kansas City Royals. He signed with the team on July 19, 2021, and received a $3 million signing bonus. Kudrna began the 2022 season in extended spring training before being assigned to the Columbia Fireflies of the Single-A Carolina League.
In 2025, Kudrna made 24 appearances for the Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals and Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers, for whom he accumulated a 2-8 record and 5.30 ERA with 106 strikeouts across innings pitched. On November 18, 2025, the Royals added Kudrna to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.
Hunter Owen
Hunter Scot Owen is an American baseball pitcher in the Kansas City Royals organization.Owen attended South Portland High School in South Portland, Maine. In 2019, he was named the Maine Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year.
After graduating in 2020, Owen enrolled at Vanderbilt University to play college baseball for the Commodores. In 2021 and 2022, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Brewster Whitecaps of Cape Cod Baseball League. As a junior in 2023, he started 12 games and went 4-0 with a 3.52 ERA and 76 strikeouts over 64 innings while missing time due to fatigue and shoulder soreness. After the season, he participated in the 2023 MLB Draft combine. Owen was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the fourth round of the 2023 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with the team for $631,700.
Owen made his professional debut in 2024 with the Quad Cities River Bandits, starting 22 games and going 6-7 with a 4.24 ERA and eighty strikeouts over 102 innings. He was assigned to the Northwest Arkansas Naturals for the 2025 season. Over 22 games, Owen went 5-5 with a 3.80 ERA and 107 strikeouts over innings. He was assigned to play in the Arizona Fall League with the Surprise Saguaros after the season.
Shane Panzini
Panzini attended Red Bank Catholic High School in Red Bank, New Jersey. As a senior in 2021, he pitched to a 0.91 ERA and 115 strikeouts. Panzini was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the fourth round of the 2021 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with the team for $1 million, forgoing his commitment to play college baseball at the University of Virginia.
After signing, Panzini spent time at Kansas City's facility in Arizona training and participating in instructional league games. He made his professional debut in 2022 with the Columbia Fireflies, starting 17 games and going 0-4 with a 5.00 ERA across 63 innings pitched. In 2023, he returned to Columbia to open the season and also pitched in two games Quad Cities River Bandits. Over 22 starts between both clubs, Panzini went 3-11 with a 5.29 ERA and 105 strikeouts over 97 innings. Panzini returned to Quad Cities for the 2024 season and appeared in 16 games, going 3-3 with a 5.29 ERA across 51 innings. After the season, he played in the Arizona Fall League with the Surprise Saguaros. In 2025, Panzini made 26 appearances between Quad Cities, the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, and the Omaha Storm Chasers, pitching to an 8-3 record, a 3.39 ERA and 114 strikeouts over 109 innings.
David Shields
David Shields is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Kansas City Royals organization.Shields attended Mt. Lebanon High School in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, where he played on the school's baseball team as a pitcher and football team as a quarterback. Originally set to graduate in 2025, he reclassified to the class of 2024. In 2024, he went 5-1 with a 0.51 ERA and 63 strikeouts over 35 innings and was named the Gatorade Pennsylvania Baseball Player of the Year. For his high school career, he compiled an 11-3 record, a 1.26 ERA, and 211 strikeouts. Shields was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the second round with the 41st overall pick of the 2024 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with the team for $2.3 million, forgoing his commitment to play college baseball at the University of Miami.
Shields was assigned to Kansas City's Spring Breakout roster during 2025 spring training. He made his professional debut that year with the Arizona Complex League Royals. After one start, he was promoted to the Columbia Fireflies. Shields made 18 starts for the Firelies and went 3-1 with a 2.01 ERA and 81 strikeouts and was named the Carolina League Pitcher of the Year.