Ex-Kansas City Royals Pitching Prospects May Break Out Soon

The two huge trade acquisitions for the Kansas City Royals at the mid-season point of last year look absolutely necessary, in hindsight, to the Royals achieving a World Series victory. Ben Zobrist finished his 59-game tenure with the Royals with a .284 average, .816 OPS and numerous clutch postseason moments. Zobrist quickly made himself a fan-favorite in KC and tossed the name “Royal” right into the middle of his newborn girl’s name for good measure. While he certainly made Royals fans forget for a while about what KC gave up to bring him here, I can’t help but wonder what will become of pitching prospects Aaron Brooks and Sean Manaea.

Brooks, now 25, may face some real adversity before finding his stride in the big leagues this season. After joining the Oakland Athletics last year, he threw 51 innings and recorded a 6.71 ERA. He really needs to take some big steps in the right direction if he hopes to earn a spot in Oakland’s rotation next spring. The media in Oakland thinks he’ll still get a chance then, but Brooks doesn’t quite look ready to be a part of a legit big-league rotation.

While Manaea is younger and less experienced, he represents the higher ceiling among the two ex-Royals. The 23-year-old Manaea just dominated Double-A competition through 42 2-3 innings with the Oakland-owned Midland Rockhounds, recording a 1.90 ERA and striking out 51 batters. The super-talented former Royal definitely has a chance to earn big-league playing time sooner rather than later.

Ultimately, the Royals made the right call no matter what the outcome, as Zobrist was crucial to winning the title.

Doug LaCerte is www.RantSports.com’s Kansas City Royals beat writer. Follow him on Twitter @DLaC67, “like” him on Facebook and add him to your network on Google.