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2026 ZiPS Projections: Kansas City Royals

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2026 ZiPS Projections: Kansas City Royals


For the 22nd consecutive season, the ZiPS projection system is unleashing a full set of prognostications. For more information on the ZiPS projections, please consult this year’s introduction, as well as MLB’s glossary entry. The team order is selected by lot, and the next team up is the Kansas City Royals.

Batters

For the Royals, 2025 was about the season that was expected. Bobby Witt Jr. was amazing and the starting rotation was very good, but the team was held back as a result of getting pretty much no production out of the second base, outfield, and designated hitter positions. ZiPS projected the Royals for 83 wins, and they won 82. Normally, that would make a team a real contender in the AL Central, but the Tigers played like an elite team in the first half and the Guardians did the same in the second half, leaving the division always too far out of reach for the Royals.

While Kansas City had some serious problems, especially in those trouble spots mentioned above, it was generally encouraging how the team dealt with it. I stand by every word I said about the outfield back in February. The idea to just roll with Hunter Renfroe and MJ Melendez after their terrible 2024 seasons was a massive missed opportunity. But the good thing is that the Royals were quick to jettison both and get looks at other players who showed a lot of promise (Jac Caglianone) or at least had some upside (Drew Waters). Now, these moves didn’t actually pan out in the short term, but it’s always better to try something that might work over something that almost definitely won’t.

ZiPS doesn’t really like the outfield this time around either, but it does think that there are enough defense and platoon advantages in the various players slated to man the grass that the Royals could eke out respectable production from the group, certainly quite a lot more than they got last year. And this is important, because every win for a team with a projected total in the low-to-mid-80s, especially a team in a Central division, has tremendous value. Even better would be a much bigger acquisition to boost at least one of the positions, but failing that, ZiPS doesn’t see either left or right field as unmitigated disasters this time around (though Steamer is less optimistic).

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Witt Jr. is the straw that stirs the drink, of course, but beyond that, this was the season I think Maikel Garcia clearly established himself as an All-Star level third baseman. He finally turned that good plate discipline and hard-hit numbers into real production, and he’s Gold Glove-worthy at the hot corner. Expect both players on the left side of the infield to keep things up in 2026. Another positive: The Royals could see some improvement at second base. ZiPS thinks that Michael Massey is better than his 2025 performance indicates. My inclination might be to use Massey as a super-sub type, and just stick Jonathan India at second and leave him there; there’s no reason to pretend India’s a corner outfielder, as the team did at times this past season.

I was a big advocate for the Royals’ being aggressive with Caglianone’s promotion, and I still think it was the right thing to do. It remains to be seen if he can contribute defensively anywhere, but he ought to hit better than he did in his debut campaign; it’s hard to imagine he could do worse than his horrifying 46 wRC+. The problem is the Royals can’t afford to just stick Cags at DH every day. They need to leave that open for Salvador Perez to get spot starts when he’s not wearing a glove in some sort of timeshare with Carter Jensen behind the plate and Vinnie Pasquantino at first. You shouldn’t be alarmed by the top comp for Caglianone. Costen Shockley didn’t hit for the Angels initially, and after a dispute about whether or not they told him they weren’t going to demote him, they sent him to the minors; in response, after having just moved his family out to California, he peaced out from baseball at age 23.

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And you better not be upset about the Witt top comp. Dickie Thon was absolutely terrific until a Mike Torrez fastball shattered his face; he was never the same after that. Don’t worry, ZiPS isn’t forecasting Witt to suffer the same fate!

Pitchers

In the projection table, the rotation tops out at 2.2 WAR, from Cole Ragans. However, this understates the quality of this group of starters, as ZiPS is understandably squeamish about projecting big innings totals from Ragans and Kris Bubic. A full season for Ragans would put his WAR safely over three. The same is true for Bubic, though rotator cuff injuries always make me a bit worried.

The rest of the rotation, Seth Lugo, Noah Cameron, and Michael Wacha projects out as comfortably average-plus, and I don’t think it’s a stretch to put Kansas City’s starting staff at the back of the top 10 in baseball. Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek won’t scare anyone, but they’re perfectly reasonable emergency replacements, and both Bailey Falter and Daniel Lynch IV are at least plausible options if injuries plague the starting five.

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The bullpen projects as a middle-of-the-pack unit at the moment. ZiPS remains a fan of Hunter Harvey, but injuries ruined his 2025 season, and he’s currently a free agent. Otherwise, ZiPS pegs the Royals as having a quintet of B+ relievers in Carlos Estévez, Lucas Erceg, John Schreiber, Angel Zerpa, and Alex Lange, but doesn’t think they have a true lights-out closer. Overall, this pen comes out aggressively mid, and a depth addition or two would be welcome.

Right now, ZiPS projects the Royals to finish with somewhere between 82-86 wins or so, depending on the assumptions. That makes them relevant in the AL Central and a second-tier wild card contender. There’s still time for them to do more to get over the hump.

Ballpark graphic courtesy Eephus League. Depth charts constructed by way of those listed here. Size of player names is very roughly proportional to Depth Chart playing time. The final team projections may differ considerably from our Depth Chart playing time.

Batters – Standard

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Player B Age PO PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS
Bobby Witt Jr. R 26 SS 658 598 98 169 34 9 27 93 46 117 32 9
Maikel Garcia R 26 3B 635 571 82 150 30 5 11 67 54 98 25 7
Carter Jensen L 22 C 585 521 68 126 22 5 17 69 57 159 7 1
Vinnie Pasquantino L 28 1B 613 549 63 139 29 1 26 90 51 90 1 0
Kameron Misner L 28 CF 451 396 54 83 19 3 11 46 49 144 16 3
Salvador Perez R 36 C 575 532 52 131 24 1 24 80 28 124 0 0
Jonathan India R 29 2B 555 478 67 114 25 2 11 50 57 106 4 3
Jac Caglianone L 23 1B 524 473 64 120 20 1 23 71 40 114 3 1
Carson Roccaforte L 24 CF 531 475 60 98 21 6 12 55 50 182 19 9
Drew Waters B 27 CF 448 406 55 91 19 8 9 45 35 136 12 4
Kyle Isbel L 29 CF 394 355 49 84 15 5 6 37 24 76 7 4
Bobby Dalbec R 31 3B 462 416 53 92 17 3 15 52 39 176 6 1
John Rave L 28 CF 487 431 61 99 19 5 11 51 45 130 15 4
Tyler Tolbert R 28 2B 443 394 59 88 14 5 5 41 26 120 35 5
Harold Castro L 32 3B 372 345 37 89 15 1 11 45 17 83 3 1
Michael Massey L 28 2B 427 395 42 96 19 1 11 46 21 83 3 2
Nick Loftin R 27 LF 428 374 50 89 18 1 8 44 43 67 8 3
Diego Castillo R 28 3B 412 368 45 86 17 1 6 38 39 83 3 3
Isan Díaz L 30 SS 241 212 28 45 6 1 9 29 24 64 2 1
Jordan Groshans R 26 3B 401 364 38 86 13 1 4 33 33 74 0 1
Sam Kulasingam B 24 2B 527 468 62 110 20 6 2 41 41 104 10 6
Connor Kaiser R 29 SS 334 292 32 54 12 2 5 27 33 116 4 1
Dairon Blanco R 33 DH 318 282 47 68 12 3 5 35 21 82 31 6
Luke Maile R 35 C 161 139 14 31 6 0 3 13 17 45 2 0
Rudy Martin L 30 CF 320 281 37 65 8 3 5 30 26 84 21 5
Tyler Gentry R 27 RF 441 394 46 85 18 2 10 49 36 133 5 2
Blake Mitchell L 21 C 371 318 36 58 10 2 7 34 47 144 8 4
Peyton Wilson B 26 2B 471 421 49 93 17 4 7 45 40 125 12 4
Randal Grichuk R 34 DH 347 320 42 76 17 2 11 36 22 75 1 1
Javi Vaz L 25 2B 492 427 56 98 15 3 4 42 43 59 12 2
Mark Canha R 37 LF 352 303 35 71 14 0 6 32 33 71 3 1
Canyon Brown R 22 C 268 237 29 48 9 0 2 21 17 77 4 2
Julio E. Rodriguez R 29 C 214 195 17 40 7 0 5 21 15 57 1 0
Luca Tresh R 26 C 348 316 31 70 13 2 9 37 24 91 2 0
Brian O’Keefe R 32 C 279 254 28 50 12 1 8 29 22 78 1 1
Justin Johnson R 26 2B 346 311 31 62 13 0 4 30 25 90 5 2
Adam Frazier L 34 2B 406 368 41 85 16 2 5 36 27 72 6 4
Dustin Dickerson R 25 SS 438 382 41 74 8 1 3 30 45 119 9 5
Kyle Hayes R 28 C 150 126 10 20 5 0 1 13 14 59 1 0
Austin Charles R 22 3B 365 330 36 67 11 2 5 32 22 117 10 5
Chris Brito R 26 1B 251 217 20 47 8 0 3 20 27 65 2 1
Gavin Cross L 25 RF 477 440 54 92 18 3 12 50 30 148 14 3
Hunter Renfroe R 34 RF 381 347 35 76 18 1 11 40 30 82 1 0
Jack Pineda L 26 SS 272 245 27 51 11 0 1 21 16 73 4 1
MJ Melendez L 27 LF 526 479 61 105 24 4 18 60 41 154 9 5
Sam Ruta L 24 3B 306 274 24 52 13 2 5 27 26 135 0 1
Colton Becker R 25 SS 369 314 36 68 11 1 1 24 32 78 25 6
Nick Pratto L 27 1B 455 403 47 83 17 3 10 45 42 158 6 1
Brett Squires L 26 1B 469 427 42 91 18 3 8 46 34 156 11 3
Diego Hernandez L 25 CF 330 306 32 69 8 4 4 30 12 97 7 5
Nick Gordon L 30 2B 287 266 31 62 13 3 5 29 13 74 4 4
Daniel Vazquez R 22 SS 496 449 50 97 18 3 2 36 37 128 12 6
Carter Frederick R 23 RF 402 367 45 73 21 3 2 31 30 159 8 2
Diego Guzman R 22 3B 200 179 16 31 7 1 1 13 9 83 4 2
Omar Hernandez R 24 C 318 292 27 57 10 1 1 22 13 76 7 3
Spencer Nivens L 24 LF 483 432 45 89 16 2 9 44 45 130 7 3
Bryan Gonzalez R 24 DH 371 345 38 74 13 4 7 35 20 139 8 5
Derlin Figueroa L 22 3B 508 462 49 92 14 2 8 40 35 135 10 3
Erick Torres R 21 LF 490 443 44 92 13 1 3 37 28 93 8 7
Trevor Werner R 25 RF 406 368 41 67 14 4 8 37 29 164 9 4

Batters – Advanced

Player PA BA OBP SLG OPS+ ISO BABIP Def WAR wOBA 3YOPS+ RC
Bobby Witt Jr. 658 .283 .337 .505 132 .222 .313 7 6.7 .356 130 112
Maikel Garcia 635 .263 .324 .391 100 .128 .301 9 3.7 .313 99 80
Carter Jensen 585 .242 .317 .401 100 .159 .316 1 3.0 .313 104 68
Vinnie Pasquantino 613 .253 .320 .452 113 .199 .261 -4 1.8 .330 112 80
Kameron Misner 451 .210 .300 .356 84 .146 .299 5 1.8 .291 84 47
Salvador Perez 575 .246 .296 .430 100 .184 .279 -8 1.7 .310 93 68
Jonathan India 555 .238 .336 .368 98 .130 .285 -7 1.6 .314 97 61
Jac Caglianone 524 .254 .321 .446 112 .192 .289 -3 1.6 .331 118 69
Carson Roccaforte 531 .206 .285 .352 78 .146 .306 7 1.5 .281 84 55
Drew Waters 448 .224 .291 .377 86 .153 .314 3 1.5 .292 88 49
Kyle Isbel 394 .237 .290 .358 81 .121 .286 8 1.5 .284 81 40
Bobby Dalbec 462 .221 .294 .385 89 .164 .342 1 1.4 .297 86 49
John Rave 487 .230 .304 .374 89 .144 .303 -2 1.3 .298 88 54
Tyler Tolbert 443 .223 .281 .322 69 .099 .309 6 1.3 .268 71 45
Harold Castro 372 .258 .295 .403 94 .145 .311 0 1.2 .302 88 42
Michael Massey 427 .243 .286 .380 85 .137 .282 2 1.2 .289 84 44
Nick Loftin 428 .238 .323 .356 91 .118 .271 4 1.1 .302 91 46
Diego Castillo 412 .234 .308 .334 81 .100 .287 0 0.7 .287 82 40
Isan Díaz 241 .212 .297 .377 88 .165 .259 -1 0.7 .297 85 25
Jordan Groshans 401 .236 .302 .310 73 .074 .287 3 0.6 .274 73 34
Sam Kulasingam 527 .235 .298 .316 73 .081 .298 2 0.6 .273 74 49
Connor Kaiser 334 .185 .274 .291 59 .106 .287 5 0.6 .256 56 24
Dairon Blanco 318 .241 .305 .358 86 .117 .323 0 0.5 .293 83 40
Luke Maile 161 .223 .319 .331 83 .108 .308 -1 0.5 .293 76 15
Rudy Martin 320 .231 .300 .335 78 .104 .313 -3 0.4 .283 76 35
Tyler Gentry 441 .216 .289 .348 78 .132 .299 5 0.4 .282 79 41
Blake Mitchell 371 .182 .295 .292 66 .110 .305 -2 0.3 .268 76 31
Peyton Wilson 471 .221 .296 .330 76 .109 .298 -5 0.3 .280 79 45
Randal Grichuk 347 .238 .291 .406 93 .168 .278 0 0.3 .301 88 38
Javi Vaz 492 .230 .308 .307 74 .077 .258 -5 0.2 .277 75 44
Mark Canha 352 .234 .330 .340 89 .106 .288 -3 0.2 .301 83 35
Canyon Brown 268 .203 .267 .266 51 .063 .291 3 0.1 .242 56 18
Julio E. Rodriguez 214 .205 .271 .318 65 .113 .263 -1 0.1 .263 63 17
Luca Tresh 348 .222 .278 .361 78 .139 .282 -8 0.1 .279 79 32
Brian O’Keefe 279 .197 .263 .346 69 .149 .250 -3 0.0 .268 65 24
Justin Johnson 346 .199 .267 .280 54 .081 .267 5 0.0 .247 57 25
Adam Frazier 406 .231 .292 .326 74 .095 .275 -4 -0.1 .274 70 38
Dustin Dickerson 438 .194 .286 .243 51 .049 .273 2 -0.1 .247 53 30
Kyle Hayes 150 .159 .277 .222 43 .063 .288 1 -0.1 .239 42 8
Austin Charles 365 .203 .260 .294 55 .091 .298 4 -0.2 .246 60 29
Chris Brito 251 .217 .306 .295 71 .078 .295 2 -0.2 .272 74 20
Gavin Cross 477 .209 .263 .345 69 .136 .286 3 -0.2 .265 73 44
Hunter Renfroe 381 .219 .283 .372 82 .153 .256 -3 -0.2 .287 78 37
Jack Pineda 272 .208 .270 .265 52 .057 .292 0 -0.2 .243 52 19
MJ Melendez 526 .219 .283 .399 89 .180 .283 -6 -0.2 .295 91 58
Sam Ruta 306 .190 .265 .307 60 .117 .351 2 -0.2 .255 62 23
Colton Becker 369 .217 .293 .268 60 .051 .285 -6 -0.3 .257 60 32
Nick Pratto 455 .206 .287 .337 75 .131 .311 1 -0.3 .278 76 41
Brett Squires 469 .213 .279 .326 69 .113 .316 3 -0.4 .269 72 42
Diego Hernandez 330 .225 .258 .317 60 .092 .317 -1 -0.5 .251 64 29
Nick Gordon 287 .233 .276 .361 77 .128 .305 -8 -0.6 .277 77 29
Daniel Vazquez 496 .216 .276 .283 58 .067 .298 -4 -0.7 .250 62 40
Carter Frederick 402 .199 .266 .289 56 .090 .345 3 -0.8 .249 61 31
Diego Guzman 200 .173 .216 .240 28 .067 .316 1 -0.9 .204 38 11
Omar Hernandez 318 .195 .235 .247 36 .052 .260 0 -0.9 .216 40 20
Spencer Nivens 483 .206 .280 .315 67 .109 .273 -1 -0.9 .264 73 41
Bryan Gonzalez 371 .214 .263 .336 67 .122 .337 0 -0.9 .262 69 34
Derlin Figueroa 508 .199 .258 .290 54 .091 .263 -3 -1.2 .244 60 38
Erick Torres 490 .208 .264 .262 49 .054 .256 7 -1.4 .238 55 35
Trevor Werner 406 .182 .245 .307 54 .125 .301 0 -1.4 .244 56 31

Batters – Top Near-Age Offensive Comps

Batters – 80th/20th Percentiles

Player 80th BA 80th OBP 80th SLG 80th OPS+ 80th WAR 20th BA 20th OBP 20th SLG 20th OPS+ 20th WAR
Bobby Witt Jr. .307 .365 .573 157 8.8 .258 .312 .450 111 5.0
Maikel Garcia .288 .354 .436 119 5.3 .237 .299 .351 82 2.3
Carter Jensen .268 .344 .454 121 4.6 .214 .289 .346 79 1.6
Vinnie Pasquantino .277 .345 .507 133 3.3 .230 .297 .402 93 0.3
Kameron Misner .232 .325 .402 100 2.8 .183 .272 .312 65 0.7
Salvador Perez .269 .317 .480 117 3.0 .219 .271 .374 77 0.1
Jonathan India .263 .362 .418 116 3.0 .213 .310 .326 81 0.4
Jac Caglianone .280 .346 .505 134 3.0 .226 .292 .383 89 0.0
Carson Roccaforte .233 .312 .405 99 2.9 .178 .260 .306 59 0.3
Drew Waters .251 .318 .421 104 2.4 .194 .258 .322 64 0.2
Kyle Isbel .264 .316 .408 101 2.5 .210 .265 .310 62 0.5
Bobby Dalbec .249 .323 .445 111 2.7 .194 .270 .341 69 0.3
John Rave .254 .329 .420 107 2.4 .201 .272 .323 65 -0.1
Tyler Tolbert .258 .310 .374 92 2.7 .196 .253 .277 50 0.3
Harold Castro .289 .326 .456 114 2.2 .232 .269 .359 74 0.3
Michael Massey .270 .310 .429 106 2.3 .215 .258 .328 65 0.1
Nick Loftin .262 .347 .404 110 2.1 .213 .295 .316 73 0.1
Diego Castillo .255 .337 .374 98 1.6 .206 .283 .296 64 -0.2
Isan Díaz .238 .323 .434 108 1.3 .188 .269 .326 67 0.1
Jordan Groshans .263 .330 .351 90 1.5 .205 .273 .272 55 -0.4
Sam Kulasingam .261 .322 .355 90 1.7 .211 .273 .276 56 -0.6
Connor Kaiser .213 .303 .350 82 1.6 .154 .243 .246 40 -0.2
Dairon Blanco .273 .334 .405 106 1.4 .212 .276 .310 67 -0.4
Luke Maile .255 .349 .379 104 1.0 .192 .290 .290 65 0.2
Rudy Martin .263 .330 .380 98 1.3 .205 .272 .291 59 -0.4
Tyler Gentry .246 .318 .396 98 1.6 .190 .265 .305 61 -0.5
Blake Mitchell .218 .327 .353 90 1.5 .149 .263 .237 44 -0.8
Peyton Wilson .249 .325 .380 97 1.5 .194 .271 .293 60 -0.7
Randal Grichuk .267 .321 .464 117 1.3 .211 .265 .357 74 -0.6
Javi Vaz .255 .332 .344 91 1.2 .201 .280 .270 57 -1.0
Mark Canha .263 .354 .377 104 0.9 .207 .302 .301 71 -0.7
Canyon Brown .230 .300 .306 68 0.7 .172 .240 .227 33 -0.6
Julio E. Rodriguez .237 .303 .377 91 0.8 .178 .239 .279 46 -0.4
Luca Tresh .253 .309 .416 101 1.1 .193 .247 .313 58 -0.8
Brian O’Keefe .226 .292 .405 90 0.8 .174 .235 .289 48 -0.7
Justin Johnson .230 .299 .334 76 1.0 .174 .243 .242 36 -0.8
Adam Frazier .258 .321 .377 93 1.0 .202 .265 .279 54 -1.1
Dustin Dickerson .220 .313 .276 66 0.7 .167 .262 .210 36 -1.0
Kyle Hayes .189 .309 .273 66 0.4 .128 .243 .181 24 -0.5
Austin Charles .228 .289 .340 73 0.6 .173 .234 .256 35 -1.1
Chris Brito .247 .336 .336 88 0.4 .191 .276 .259 53 -0.8
Gavin Cross .237 .288 .401 90 1.1 .183 .237 .305 52 -1.3
Hunter Renfroe .244 .311 .422 102 0.8 .192 .259 .329 65 -1.0
Jack Pineda .236 .297 .304 70 0.4 .182 .243 .231 35 -0.8
MJ Melendez .248 .309 .457 109 1.2 .194 .252 .341 66 -1.7
Sam Ruta .222 .297 .364 83 0.7 .163 .240 .260 42 -0.9
Colton Becker .241 .320 .301 76 0.5 .190 .269 .239 45 -1.0
Nick Pratto .235 .314 .386 95 0.9 .182 .262 .296 58 -1.3
Brett Squires .243 .307 .383 91 1.0 .185 .254 .288 53 -1.4
Diego Hernandez .259 .290 .365 83 0.4 .200 .233 .274 43 -1.2
Nick Gordon .265 .309 .424 102 0.3 .204 .250 .316 59 -1.3
Daniel Vazquez .244 .306 .326 77 0.6 .189 .252 .246 40 -1.8
Carter Frederick .228 .296 .327 74 0.1 .175 .240 .247 38 -1.8
Diego Guzman .207 .250 .290 49 -0.4 .146 .189 .195 9 -1.5
Omar Hernandez .226 .269 .292 58 0.0 .166 .208 .210 19 -1.6
Spencer Nivens .232 .306 .360 85 0.2 .180 .255 .274 49 -2.1
Bryan Gonzalez .246 .292 .388 88 0.1 .189 .235 .287 47 -1.9
Derlin Figueroa .226 .289 .337 73 0.2 .174 .234 .253 38 -2.2
Erick Torres .231 .288 .293 62 -0.5 .183 .237 .232 33 -2.4
Trevor Werner .211 .273 .358 73 -0.3 .153 .219 .255 33 -2.4

Batters – Platoon Splits

Player BA vs. L OBP vs. L SLG vs. L BA vs. R OBP vs. R SLG vs. R
Bobby Witt Jr. .287 .346 .515 .281 .334 .501
Maikel Garcia .276 .342 .425 .256 .316 .374
Carter Jensen .235 .307 .342 .245 .321 .425
Vinnie Pasquantino .243 .309 .414 .258 .325 .468
Kameron Misner .194 .276 .326 .217 .311 .371
Salvador Perez .247 .302 .432 .246 .293 .430
Jonathan India .242 .344 .379 .237 .333 .364
Jac Caglianone .246 .311 .418 .257 .324 .457
Carson Roccaforte .198 .271 .341 .209 .290 .355
Drew Waters .221 .278 .359 .226 .298 .387
Kyle Isbel .224 .280 .316 .241 .294 .374
Bobby Dalbec .228 .303 .402 .218 .291 .377
John Rave .223 .297 .346 .233 .307 .385
Tyler Tolbert .234 .299 .347 .219 .273 .311
Harold Castro .244 .280 .359 .262 .299 .416
Michael Massey .231 .278 .350 .248 .290 .392
Nick Loftin .243 .338 .360 .235 .315 .353
Diego Castillo .241 .318 .358 .229 .302 .320
Isan Díaz .212 .297 .333 .212 .297 .397
Jordan Groshans .242 .315 .305 .233 .295 .314
Sam Kulasingam .231 .294 .315 .237 .300 .317
Connor Kaiser .189 .287 .316 .183 .267 .279
Dairon Blanco .250 .315 .366 .235 .299 .353
Luke Maile .222 .327 .333 .223 .315 .330
Rudy Martin .227 .292 .309 .234 .304 .348
Tyler Gentry .216 .298 .366 .215 .285 .338
Blake Mitchell .175 .283 .238 .185 .299 .311
Peyton Wilson .223 .296 .331 .220 .296 .330
Randal Grichuk .250 .305 .435 .231 .284 .392
Javi Vaz .226 .297 .304 .231 .311 .308
Mark Canha .238 .333 .347 .233 .328 .337
Canyon Brown .203 .268 .284 .202 .267 .258
Julio E. Rodriguez .206 .280 .324 .205 .266 .315
Luca Tresh .232 .294 .394 .217 .271 .346
Brian O’Keefe .208 .276 .354 .190 .254 .342
Justin Johnson .204 .279 .280 .197 .263 .280
Adam Frazier .221 .277 .291 .234 .297 .337
Dustin Dickerson .197 .291 .248 .192 .283 .242
Kyle Hayes .171 .292 .220 .153 .270 .224
Austin Charles .191 .255 .281 .207 .261 .299
Chris Brito .215 .307 .308 .217 .306 .289
Gavin Cross .208 .254 .336 .210 .266 .349
Hunter Renfroe .226 .303 .396 .216 .275 .361
Jack Pineda .194 .260 .239 .213 .273 .275
MJ Melendez .221 .276 .364 .218 .286 .413
Sam Ruta .182 .247 .286 .193 .271 .315
Colton Becker .224 .306 .265 .213 .288 .269
Nick Pratto .202 .283 .326 .208 .289 .343
Brett Squires .200 .262 .304 .218 .286 .333
Diego Hernandez .223 .253 .298 .226 .260 .325
Nick Gordon .215 .257 .338 .239 .282 .368
Daniel Vazquez .213 .279 .291 .217 .274 .280
Carter Frederick .205 .276 .313 .196 .262 .278
Diego Guzman .186 .226 .220 .167 .211 .250
Omar Hernandez .196 .242 .228 .195 .232 .255
Spencer Nivens .198 .263 .281 .209 .286 .328
Bryan Gonzalez .220 .271 .340 .212 .260 .335
Derlin Figueroa .192 .246 .267 .202 .262 .298
Erick Torres .210 .269 .266 .207 .262 .260
Trevor Werner .179 .248 .292 .183 .244 .313

Pitchers – Standard

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Player T Age W L ERA G GS IP H ER HR BB SO
Cole Ragans L 28 8 5 3.51 24 22 118.0 95 46 12 41 148
Kris Bubic L 28 8 5 3.57 23 19 106.0 98 42 10 35 105
Noah Cameron L 26 8 8 4.08 27 27 141.3 135 64 19 44 122
Michael Wacha R 34 9 10 4.10 27 27 147.0 143 67 18 43 112
Stephen Kolek R 29 7 7 4.23 29 24 129.7 130 61 12 42 89
Seth Lugo R 36 7 8 4.29 25 23 134.3 132 64 20 45 111
Hunter Harvey R 31 4 2 3.04 46 1 47.3 40 16 4 12 50
Michael Lorenzen R 34 7 8 4.57 25 24 130.0 126 66 20 47 103
Bailey Falter L 29 6 7 4.00 26 24 118.3 117 59 16 40 83
Ryan Bergert R 26 3 4 4.46 26 23 103.0 100 51 13 43 86
Luinder Avila R 24 4 5 4.46 25 15 80.7 77 40 9 35 69
Kyle Wright R 30 5 5 4.52 15 15 77.7 75 39 9 29 63
Daniel Lynch IV L 29 4 5 4.35 40 13 97.3 100 47 13 33 75
Angel Zerpa L 26 3 4 3.92 56 5 66.7 64 29 7 22 56
Jonathan Bowlan R 29 4 5 4.24 42 8 80.7 78 38 10 29 74
Lucas Erceg R 31 5 5 3.76 55 0 55.0 49 23 4 22 52
Ben Kudrna R 23 4 7 4.84 23 21 100.3 101 54 12 45 77
Carlos Estévez R 33 4 4 3.95 59 0 57.0 49 25 6 20 49
Hunter Owen L 24 4 6 4.86 21 19 90.7 91 49 12 36 71
John Schreiber R 32 3 3 3.97 63 0 56.7 51 25 6 20 53
Alex Lange R 30 3 3 3.83 43 1 40.0 32 17 3 23 44
Alec Marsh R 28 5 8 4.88 20 17 94.0 92 51 13 39 84
James McArthur R 29 3 3 4.27 30 4 46.3 45 22 5 17 42
Mason Black R 26 5 7 5.00 27 23 108.0 109 60 15 47 87
Steven Zobac R 25 4 5 4.89 18 17 73.7 78 40 11 21 55
Hunter Patteson L 26 4 5 5.04 22 18 94.7 102 53 14 31 64
Tyson Guerrero L 27 4 5 5.00 18 17 81.0 81 45 12 35 67
Steven Cruz R 27 2 3 4.13 52 1 52.3 46 24 5 23 48
Chandler Champlain R 26 5 8 5.00 25 22 113.3 122 63 15 40 76
Spencer Turnbull R 33 3 5 5.04 17 13 64.3 68 36 8 27 46
Jonathan Heasley R 29 3 4 4.95 24 12 76.3 80 42 11 27 52
Dallas Keuchel L 38 3 3 5.07 12 12 55.0 65 31 7 23 34
John Gant R 33 3 5 5.13 16 16 66.7 73 38 10 29 45
Henry Williams R 24 4 7 5.23 20 19 96.3 101 56 14 39 67
Ryan Ramsey L 25 5 8 5.15 22 16 92.7 95 53 13 42 71
Shane Panzini R 24 4 5 5.13 22 16 86.0 90 49 13 42 67
Taylor Clarke R 33 2 2 4.64 45 3 54.3 56 28 8 16 42
Stephen Nogosek R 31 2 3 4.75 34 4 47.3 46 25 6 23 40
Eric Cerantola R 26 2 3 4.64 34 3 54.3 49 28 7 28 55
Oscar Rayo L 24 2 4 4.89 29 4 73.7 78 40 10 25 47
Ryan Brady R 27 2 4 4.79 27 1 47.0 50 25 6 16 34
Cruz Noriega R 28 2 4 5.07 24 4 49.7 53 28 7 20 35
Anthony Simonelli R 27 2 3 4.79 29 2 47.0 47 25 7 22 41
A.J. Causey R 23 7 8 4.48 46 0 64.3 62 32 8 24 52
Justin Dunn R 30 3 7 5.51 16 12 50.7 51 31 8 27 39
Nate Ackenhausen L 24 1 2 4.99 29 2 39.7 38 22 5 21 34
Rich Hill L 46 4 8 5.40 18 17 80.0 84 48 14 36 66
Nick Robertson R 27 1 2 4.72 41 0 47.7 47 25 6 24 43
Sam Long L 30 3 4 4.82 47 1 52.3 52 28 7 26 43
Joey Krehbiel R 33 3 3 4.93 40 0 49.3 53 27 7 19 32
Chazz Martinez L 26 2 3 4.79 45 0 62.0 62 33 8 29 51
Frank Mozzicato L 23 3 7 5.57 24 20 85.7 89 53 12 55 61
Christian Chamberlain L 26 2 4 5.02 41 0 43.0 38 24 5 29 42
Caden Monke L 26 4 5 4.89 40 0 53.3 52 29 6 31 44
Ben Sears R 26 2 3 5.14 38 0 56.0 60 32 8 20 36
Brandon Johnson R 27 3 4 5.13 46 1 59.7 60 34 9 27 51
Nicholas Regalado R 24 2 4 5.56 30 2 45.3 47 28 6 26 33
Beck Way R 26 3 7 5.54 37 5 66.7 68 41 8 38 45
Ethan Bosacker R 25 4 7 5.72 23 14 89.7 101 57 15 32 46
Natanael Garabitos R 25 1 4 6.03 32 0 34.3 36 23 5 25 24
Marlin Willis L 28 1 3 6.46 23 0 30.7 30 22 5 26 27

Pitchers – Advanced

Player IP K/9 BB/9 HR/9 BB% K% BABIP ERA+ 3ERA+ FIP ERA- WAR
Cole Ragans 118.0 11.3 3.1 0.9 8.4% 30.2% .294 119 116 3.10 84 2.2
Kris Bubic 106.0 8.9 3.0 0.8 7.8% 23.5% .299 117 116 3.48 85 1.9
Noah Cameron 141.3 7.8 2.8 1.2 7.4% 20.4% .284 102 104 4.22 98 1.7
Michael Wacha 147.0 6.9 2.6 1.1 6.9% 18.1% .282 102 96 4.19 98 1.7
Stephen Kolek 129.7 6.2 2.9 0.8 7.6% 16.1% .289 98 98 4.20 102 1.3
Seth Lugo 134.3 7.4 3.0 1.3 7.9% 19.4% .284 97 90 4.56 103 1.3
Hunter Harvey 47.3 9.5 2.3 0.8 6.2% 25.9% .288 137 132 3.04 73 1.0
Michael Lorenzen 130.0 7.1 3.3 1.4 8.4% 18.4% .277 91 87 4.78 110 0.9
Bailey Falter 118.3 6.3 3.0 1.2 7.9% 16.4% .277 93 93 4.58 108 0.9
Ryan Bergert 103.0 7.5 3.8 1.1 9.6% 19.2% .288 93 96 4.47 108 0.8
Luinder Avila 80.7 7.7 3.9 1.0 9.9% 19.5% .289 93 98 4.43 108 0.6
Kyle Wright 77.7 7.3 3.4 1.0 8.7% 18.8% .287 92 92 4.40 109 0.6
Daniel Lynch IV 97.3 6.9 3.1 1.2 7.8% 17.8% .293 96 95 4.50 104 0.6
Angel Zerpa 66.7 7.6 3.0 0.9 7.8% 19.8% .291 106 109 3.97 94 0.6
Jonathan Bowlan 80.7 8.3 3.2 1.1 8.4% 21.3% .296 98 99 4.13 102 0.6
Lucas Erceg 55.0 8.5 3.6 0.7 9.3% 22.0% .292 111 109 3.69 90 0.5
Ben Kudrna 100.3 6.9 4.0 1.1 10.1% 17.2% .292 86 92 4.68 116 0.4
Carlos Estévez 57.0 7.7 3.2 0.9 8.3% 20.4% .267 106 101 3.97 95 0.4
Hunter Owen 90.7 7.0 3.6 1.2 9.1% 17.9% .289 86 90 4.74 116 0.3
John Schreiber 56.7 8.4 3.2 1.0 8.4% 22.2% .285 105 102 3.89 95 0.3
Alex Lange 40.0 9.9 5.2 0.7 13.0% 24.9% .284 109 105 3.89 92 0.3
Alec Marsh 94.0 8.0 3.7 1.2 9.5% 20.5% .293 85 86 4.64 117 0.3
James McArthur 46.3 8.2 3.3 1.0 8.5% 21.0% .299 97 97 4.05 103 0.3
Mason Black 108.0 7.3 3.9 1.3 9.9% 18.4% .291 83 87 4.89 120 0.2
Steven Zobac 73.7 6.7 2.6 1.3 6.6% 17.4% .295 85 90 4.63 117 0.2
Hunter Patteson 94.7 6.1 2.9 1.3 7.5% 15.5% .292 83 87 4.81 120 0.2
Tyson Guerrero 81.0 7.4 3.9 1.3 9.9% 18.9% .289 83 85 4.99 120 0.2
Steven Cruz 52.3 8.3 4.0 0.9 10.2% 21.2% .281 101 104 4.06 99 0.2
Chandler Champlain 113.3 6.0 3.2 1.2 8.0% 15.3% .296 83 87 4.76 120 0.2
Spencer Turnbull 64.3 6.4 3.8 1.1 9.4% 16.1% .297 83 80 4.89 121 0.1
Jonathan Heasley 76.3 6.1 3.2 1.3 8.1% 15.5% .288 84 85 4.85 119 0.1
Dallas Keuchel 55.0 5.6 3.8 1.1 9.1% 13.5% .314 82 75 4.89 122 0.1
John Gant 66.7 6.1 3.9 1.4 9.6% 14.9% .296 81 77 5.16 123 0.0
Henry Williams 96.3 6.3 3.6 1.3 9.1% 15.6% .289 80 85 5.09 125 0.0
Ryan Ramsey 92.7 6.9 4.1 1.3 10.1% 17.1% .291 81 85 5.11 123 0.0
Shane Panzini 86.0 7.0 4.4 1.4 10.8% 17.3% .294 81 86 5.18 123 0.0
Taylor Clarke 54.3 7.0 2.7 1.3 6.8% 17.9% .291 90 86 4.53 111 0.0
Stephen Nogosek 47.3 7.6 4.4 1.1 11.0% 19.1% .290 88 87 4.77 114 0.0
Eric Cerantola 54.3 9.1 4.6 1.2 11.5% 22.6% .288 90 95 4.64 111 0.0
Oscar Rayo 73.7 5.7 3.1 1.2 7.8% 14.7% .288 85 90 4.87 118 -0.1
Ryan Brady 47.0 6.5 3.1 1.1 7.7% 16.4% .299 87 91 4.59 115 -0.1
Cruz Noriega 49.7 6.3 3.6 1.3 9.0% 15.8% .295 82 84 4.92 122 -0.1
Anthony Simonelli 47.0 7.9 4.2 1.3 10.5% 19.5% .292 87 89 4.95 115 -0.1
A.J. Causey 64.3 7.3 3.4 1.1 8.6% 18.7% .284 93 99 4.47 107 -0.1
Justin Dunn 50.7 6.9 4.8 1.4 11.7% 17.0% .283 76 76 5.69 132 -0.2
Nate Ackenhausen 39.7 7.7 4.8 1.1 11.9% 19.2% .287 83 89 4.83 120 -0.2
Rich Hill 80.0 7.4 4.1 1.6 10.1% 18.6% .294 77 73 5.29 130 -0.2
Nick Robertson 47.7 8.1 4.5 1.1 11.2% 20.1% .297 88 92 4.63 114 -0.2
Sam Long 52.3 7.4 4.5 1.2 11.1% 18.3% .290 87 85 4.86 115 -0.3
Joey Krehbiel 49.3 5.8 3.5 1.3 8.7% 14.7% .291 85 82 4.93 118 -0.3
Chazz Martinez 62.0 7.4 4.2 1.2 10.4% 18.3% .293 87 91 4.89 115 -0.3
Frank Mozzicato 85.7 6.4 5.8 1.3 13.6% 15.1% .289 75 81 5.59 134 -0.4
Christian Chamberlain 43.0 8.8 6.1 1.0 14.6% 21.2% .282 83 86 5.16 121 -0.4
Caden Monke 53.3 7.4 5.2 1.0 12.7% 18.0% .291 85 88 4.94 117 -0.4
Ben Sears 56.0 5.8 3.2 1.3 8.2% 14.7% .289 81 85 5.02 123 -0.5
Brandon Johnson 59.7 7.7 4.1 1.4 10.2% 19.2% .291 81 84 4.92 123 -0.5
Nicholas Regalado 45.3 6.6 5.2 1.2 12.3% 15.6% .293 75 79 5.48 133 -0.6
Beck Way 66.7 6.1 5.1 1.1 12.3% 14.6% .286 75 78 5.53 133 -0.6
Ethan Bosacker 89.7 4.6 3.2 1.5 8.1% 11.6% .286 73 77 5.55 137 -0.6
Natanael Garabitos 34.3 6.3 6.6 1.3 14.9% 14.3% .290 69 74 6.19 145 -0.7
Marlin Willis 30.7 7.9 7.6 1.5 17.0% 17.6% .284 65 67 6.55 155 -0.8

Pitchers – Top Near-Age Comps

Pitchers – Splits and Percentiles

Player BA vs. L OBP vs. L SLG vs. L BA vs. R OBP vs. R SLG vs. R 80th WAR 20th WAR 80th ERA 20th ERA
Cole Ragans .241 .301 .384 .204 .276 .333 3.2 1.1 2.85 4.29
Kris Bubic .250 .309 .370 .234 .297 .365 2.7 1.1 2.98 4.19
Noah Cameron .218 .282 .387 .257 .316 .421 2.6 0.7 3.62 4.67
Michael Wacha .235 .295 .377 .265 .315 .434 2.5 0.8 3.66 4.68
Stephen Kolek .254 .325 .390 .255 .318 .387 2.1 0.6 3.76 4.74
Seth Lugo .255 .328 .448 .251 .304 .414 2.1 0.3 3.75 5.02
Hunter Harvey .226 .293 .369 .226 .270 .333 1.5 0.4 2.34 4.38
Michael Lorenzen .246 .324 .431 .257 .315 .439 1.6 -0.1 4.09 5.26
Bailey Falter .264 .309 .419 .250 .315 .419 1.6 0.1 4.04 5.11
Ryan Bergert .254 .333 .418 .245 .316 .396 1.5 0.1 3.92 4.99
Luinder Avila .246 .338 .381 .244 .325 .406 1.1 0.0 3.93 5.01
Kyle Wright .260 .339 .473 .236 .309 .331 1.2 0.1 3.95 5.16
Daniel Lynch IV .247 .315 .381 .263 .324 .436 1.2 -0.1 3.88 5.11
Angel Zerpa .239 .299 .352 .251 .317 .404 1.1 0.1 3.34 4.56
Jonathan Bowlan .248 .318 .418 .246 .311 .394 1.0 -0.1 3.75 5.11
Lucas Erceg .235 .333 .367 .232 .304 .330 1.1 -0.2 3.09 4.65
Ben Kudrna .250 .330 .383 .256 .337 .425 0.9 -0.2 4.45 5.40
Carlos Estévez .238 .316 .376 .227 .289 .373 1.0 -0.3 3.18 5.00
Hunter Owen .230 .304 .320 .264 .342 .457 0.9 -0.3 4.36 5.46
John Schreiber .258 .330 .423 .220 .290 .339 0.9 -0.4 3.17 5.17
Alex Lange .209 .329 .328 .222 .333 .333 0.7 -0.2 3.07 4.85
Alec Marsh .273 .351 .460 .225 .309 .374 0.9 -0.4 4.30 5.52
James McArthur .250 .330 .393 .242 .309 .384 0.6 -0.2 3.68 5.09
Mason Black .233 .333 .402 .273 .342 .441 1.0 -0.5 4.48 5.62
Steven Zobac .281 .342 .489 .250 .301 .406 0.8 -0.3 4.24 5.57
Hunter Patteson .235 .281 .361 .280 .342 .477 0.7 -0.4 4.56 5.63
Tyson Guerrero .253 .333 .391 .255 .341 .450 0.8 -0.5 4.38 5.63
Steven Cruz .216 .303 .330 .245 .333 .391 0.5 -0.3 3.64 4.88
Chandler Champlain .266 .336 .442 .270 .330 .430 1.1 -0.5 4.42 5.55
Spencer Turnbull .266 .349 .430 .262 .340 .408 0.5 -0.3 4.47 5.76
Jonathan Heasley .262 .331 .440 .267 .328 .447 0.5 -0.4 4.50 5.59
Dallas Keuchel .255 .309 .353 .291 .358 .469 0.4 -0.3 4.48 5.88
John Gant .270 .353 .467 .268 .333 .436 0.4 -0.5 4.63 5.84
Henry Williams .252 .339 .380 .270 .339 .477 0.5 -0.6 4.80 5.76
Ryan Ramsey .252 .347 .430 .262 .347 .431 0.5 -0.7 4.67 5.79
Shane Panzini .267 .366 .453 .259 .332 .435 0.5 -0.6 4.67 5.72
Taylor Clarke .263 .327 .434 .261 .306 .435 0.4 -0.5 3.94 5.52
Stephen Nogosek .250 .351 .429 .248 .330 .386 0.4 -0.5 4.13 5.75
Eric Cerantola .211 .314 .344 .252 .353 .429 0.5 -0.4 3.93 5.33
Oscar Rayo .261 .327 .409 .267 .333 .447 0.3 -0.7 4.38 5.58
Ryan Brady .259 .326 .400 .267 .328 .438 0.2 -0.6 4.25 5.65
Cruz Noriega .256 .340 .411 .275 .333 .459 0.2 -0.6 4.54 5.98
Anthony Simonelli .256 .356 .410 .252 .331 .449 0.2 -0.6 4.18 5.55
A.J. Causey .284 .354 .474 .215 .291 .341 0.4 -0.6 3.90 5.15
Justin Dunn .266 .391 .468 .250 .336 .423 0.2 -0.6 4.88 6.17
Nate Ackenhausen .213 .327 .298 .259 .347 .454 0.1 -0.5 4.38 5.70
Rich Hill .253 .352 .400 .266 .339 .480 0.4 -0.9 4.72 6.24
Nick Robertson .253 .340 .410 .245 .336 .406 0.2 -0.7 4.07 5.55
Sam Long .242 .329 .379 .259 .346 .439 0.1 -0.8 4.24 5.80
Joey Krehbiel .262 .330 .393 .274 .336 .478 0.0 -0.7 4.32 5.67
Chazz Martinez .257 .349 .351 .251 .342 .439 0.2 -0.8 4.13 5.51
Frank Mozzicato .274 .386 .411 .255 .356 .441 0.2 -1.0 5.06 6.20
Christian Chamberlain .218 .358 .309 .241 .371 .426 0.0 -0.7 4.26 5.76
Caden Monke .230 .351 .361 .255 .353 .409 0.0 -0.8 4.30 5.63
Ben Sears .250 .315 .400 .278 .348 .460 -0.2 -0.9 4.58 5.78
Brandon Johnson .255 .342 .422 .254 .331 .433 -0.1 -1.0 4.59 5.90
Nicholas Regalado .288 .400 .475 .238 .339 .386 -0.3 -0.9 5.02 6.13
Beck Way .287 .399 .443 .236 .349 .399 -0.2 -1.2 4.98 6.38
Ethan Bosacker .273 .344 .429 .282 .341 .505 -0.1 -1.2 5.23 6.29
Natanael Garabitos .276 .408 .448 .256 .379 .449 -0.4 -1.0 5.45 7.00
Marlin Willis .250 .400 .361 .250 .402 .476 -0.4 -1.1 5.56 7.69

Players are listed with their most recent teams wherever possible. This includes players who are unsigned or have retired, players who will miss 2026 due to injury, and players who were released in 2025. So yes, if you see Joe Schmoe, who quit baseball back in August to form a Ambient Math-Rock Trip-Hop Yacht Metal band that only performs in abandoned malls, he’s still listed here intentionally. ZiPS is assuming a league with an ERA of 4.16.

Hitters are ranked by zWAR, which is to say, WAR values as calculated by me, Dan Szymborski, whose surname is spelled with a z. WAR values might differ slightly from those that appear in the full release of ZiPS. Finally, I will advise anyone against — and might karate chop anyone guilty of — merely adding up WAR totals on a depth chart to produce projected team WAR. It is important to remember that ZiPS is agnostic about playing time, and has no information about, for example, how quickly a team will call up a prospect or what veteran has fallen into disfavor.

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As always, incorrect projections are either caused by misinformation, a non-pragmatic reality, or by the skillful sabotage of our friend and former editor. You can, however, still get mad at me on Twitter or on Bluesky. This last is, however, not an actual requirement.





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Kansas

New downtown stadium will mean less parking for Royals fans

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8 hours ago

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April 23, 2026

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New downtown stadium will mean less parking for Royals fans


KANSAS CITY, Mo. — From 25,000 parking spots to 19,000 within a 10-minute walk to the stadium, that’s how many Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas says will be available near the new Royals ballpark in Crown Center, with 9,000 of those spots on the actual campus.

While there will be less parking, Royals fan Roger Nickell says he believes this move is good for Kansas City.

“I think anything that makes Kansas City an exciting place to come to, and a good destination, the parking itself is not going to be the issue,” Nickell said “We’d rather have good things in our city, and if you go to other cities, Kansas City is actually really, really easy right now.”

While it might not be ideal for some, downtown stadiums and parking is the normal for a number of teams and cities throughout Major League Baseball. Upwards of 20 teams have a stadium in the downtown area, including the Twins, Cardinals and Tigers.

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“I think every new stadium in the MLB is being built downtown, so I kind of expected it,” Royals fan Jackson Fort said. “I think parking will be kind of, they’ll have to figure out something because there’s going to be a big building and not a lot of space to put it. I think you’ll see a lot more Ubers and less of that tailgating scene that the chiefs and the royals are so known for.”

While tailgating as we know it will look different, walking to the stadium won’t actually look that bad if you use the streetcar. From the stop at the World War I Museum, you’re looking at a nine-minute walk to Crown Center, and four-minute walk if you get off at Union Station.

“I think it would be a good thing for the city, for the baseball park and for everybody,” avid streetcar user Gary Henderson said. “Especially for the people who use the trolley would get a chance to see how comfortable it is and maybe it’ll increase their business too.”

With hopes of the new stadium to be ready for opening day in 2030, the Royals, Kansas City, and fans have time to figure out any potential obstacles.

“I think we’ll get to figure it out,” Royals fan Caden Tucker said. “I think that they have plenty of time to be able to figure everything out and make sure everything’s not going to be packed in here and just kind of slowed down in the process.”

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While a lot of parking will be taken away in the near future, if one thing is for certain, the Royals will not. The current lease for Kauffman stadium is set to expire in 2031.



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PBS Kansas remembers employee killed in Wichita shooting; estranged husband charged

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April 22, 2026

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PBS Kansas remembers employee killed in Wichita shooting; estranged husband charged

























PBS Kansas remembers employee killed in Wichita shooting; estranged husband charged | Trusted News Source for Wichita & Kansas | kake.com

We recognize you are attempting to access this website from a country belonging to the European Economic Area (EEA) including the EU which
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For any issues, contact news@kake.com or call 316-943-4221.

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Final 7-Round Kansas City Chiefs 2026 NFL Mock Draft: Putting my skills to the test against an AI trained to think like Brett Veach

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2 days ago

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April 21, 2026

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Final 7-Round Kansas City Chiefs 2026 NFL Mock Draft: Putting my skills to the test against an AI trained to think like Brett Veach


I trained my AI to think and draft like Kansas City Chiefs GM Brett Veach. Then I challenged it to a duel for my final 2026 NFL Mock Draft.

Chiefs GM Brett Veach speaks to the media during his pre-draft introductory press conference.
YouTube/Chiefs

You’re going to see a lot of final mock drafts for the Kansas City Chiefs this week, but I decided to make mine a little bit differently this year.

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I wanted to give Chiefs fans an idea of what I would do while also adding a predictive element. What I settled on was a dueling mock draft against an AI trained to think like Chiefs GM Brett Veach.

How did I train my AI? First, I uploaded Veach’s draft history since he took over as general manager following the 2017 NFL Draft. Then, I fed it pre-draft and post-draft press conference transcripts to give the AI context on how Veach views the NFL Draft. I weighted the more recent press conferences more heavily. From there, I uploaded historical data on key thresholds at specific position groups. It had access to confirmed combine formals and pre-draft meetings with 2026 NFL Draft prospects, along with historical context on their importance.

I also uploaded the Chiefs’ stats from last season so the AI could quantify areas that needed improvement relative to NFL averages. The final piece of the puzzle was to upload the Chiefs’ 90-man offseason roster and team needs.

To execute the mock draft, I used the A to Z Sports NFL Mock Draft Simulator. I provided the AI with the list of the 10 best available players at a given pick. I made my picks before the AI, but I didn’t tell it who I had chosen. The AI was prompted to use all available data to make a decision for each draft pick. With all that in mind, here’s a look at how the mock draft competition turned out.

Final Kansas City 2026 NFL Mock Draft

Pick No. 9

Top available: Mansoor Delane, Caleb Downs, Jordyn Tyson, Spencer Fano, Makai Lemon, Monroe Freeling, Jermod McCoy, Kenyon Sadiq, Ola Ioane, and Keldric Faulk.

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My pick: Arizona State WR Jordyn Tyson

Solving for the Chiefs’ need for “the guy” on offense in the future just feels like the right move for this draft class. Travis Kelce can’t play forever. Add Tyson and get back to scoring 30+ per game.

What AI Brett Veach did: Auburn DE Keldric Faulk

Edge rusher was the No. 1 need that I provided to the AI. At 6-foot-6 and 275 pounds with 34-inch arms, Faulk meets virtually every Chiefs threshold from a physical standpoint. It’s not an exciting pick for fans, but even a robot can see the upside here.

Pick No. 29

Top available: Kadyn Proctor, Akheem Mesidor, Caleb Banks, Cash Howell, T.J. Parker, CJ Allen, Denzel Boston, Chris Johnson, R Mason Thomas, and Colton Hood.

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My pick: Tennessee CB Colton Hood

I’m becoming increasingly comfortable with the idea of taking a cornerback early. The old NFL adage goes that you can never have too many cornerbacks, and the Chiefs need bodies there. Not just for 2026, but also for the long term. Hood gives you a physical man coverage corner who can play outside, but probably crosstrains inside, too.

What AI Brett Veach did: Alabama OT Kadyn Proctor

Offensive tackle wasn’t rated as highly on the AI’s needs list. However, the Chiefs did have a top-30 visit with Proctor. I think it probably took note of Brett Veach’s comments about offensive tackle drying up by pick No. 35. He also hits some athleticism thresholds, despite missing on one key measurable (arm length).

Pick No. 40

Top available: Caleb Banks, Chris Johnson, R Mason Thomas, Denzel Boston, Chris Bell, Zion Young, Christen Miller, Chris Brazzell, D’Angelo Ponds, and Gabe Jacas.

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My pick: Florida DT Caleb Banks

There are obviously some questions regarding the nagging foot injury. Plus, there’s still some development and pad-level issues to work out. I just think the 6-foot-6, 310-pound defender would really thrive by learning from Chris Jones.

What AI Brett Veach did: Florida DT Caleb Banks

What a copycat. Based on the information I gave the AI, this doesn’t surprise me. Banks had the medical top-30 visit with Kansas City. Veach, of course, mentioned needing two more defensive linemen in this class during his pre-draft presser. This just makes me feel even more strongly that this is a no-brainer pick if he’s available at pick No. 40.

Pick No. 74

Top available: Ted Hurst, Davison Igbinosun, Dom Orange, Antonio Williams, Jonah Coleman, Genesis Smith, Caleb Tiernan, Dani Dennis-Sutton, Will Lee III, and Keionte Scott.

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My pick: Penn State DE Dani Dennis-Sutton

A member of the 2026 All-Juice Team, Dennis-Sutton feels like he was built in a lab solely for Steve Spagnuolo. He hits all of the physical thresholds, but also is quietly one of the more productive players at the position.

What AI Brett Veach did: Georgia State WR Ted Hurst

I think this might have been a “best player available” pick for the AI. Hurst took a pre-draft visit with the Chiefs, and wide receiver is pretty high on the needs list. It makes sense why the AI Brett Veach would value him here.

Pick No. 109

Top available: Brian Parker, Nick Singleton, Isaiah World, Oscar Delp, Dontay Corleone, Bud Clark, Kaleb Proctor, Harold Perkins, Emmett Johnson, and Charles Demmings.

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My pick: TCU S Bud Clark

A versatile safety prospect for the Chiefs. Clark has ball skills for days, with four consecutive college football seasons with 3 or more interceptions. At 6-foot-1 and 188 pounds, he’s also a physical presence in run support. He fits the Spags mold.

What AI Brett Veach did: Stephen F. Austin CB Charles Demmings

Cornerback also ranked highly on the needs list, so I can see how the AI prioritized this position group at this pick. Veach also has a history of drafting FCS talent, including Fayetteville State CB Joshua Williams and Western Illinois DT Khalen Saunders. Demmings fits the mold for what K.C. likes at the cornerback spot in terms of physicality and athleticism.

Pick No. 148

Top available: Sam Roush, Kevin Coleman, Jalon Kilgore, Billy Schrauth, Kaleb Elarms-Orr, Ephesians Prysock, Justin Jefferson, Zane Durant, Logan Taylor, and Jeff Caldwell.

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My pick: Stanford TE Sam Roush

I’m a big Roush fan. He’s already one of the better blocking tight ends in the class, but I also think there’s big upside as a pass-catcher. He has a 6-foot-6 and 267-pound frame. Plus, he’s a legacy player in Kansas City.

What AI Brett Veach did: South Carolina DB Jalon Kilgore

Nickel/safety versatility probably appealed to the AI here. There’s also really good ball production with eight career interceptions and 21 passes broken up. I think he’s rather role-limited in the NFL, but the AI could’ve done a whole lot worse at pick No. 148.

Pick No. 169

Top available: Landon Robinson, Josh Cameron, Caden Curry, Taureen York, Demon Claiborne, Domani Jackson, Eli Raridon, Cade Klubnik, J.C. Davis, and Keagen Trost.

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My pick: Illinois OT J.C. Davis

I hadn’t taken an offensive tackle yet, so this felt right. This one is a bit of a homer pick as Davis played for my UNM Lobos before transferring to play for my Fighting Illini. If the Chiefs wait on offensive tackle, he’s the one I’d want them to target.

What AI Brett Veach did: Navy DT Landon Robinson

Doubling up on the pass-rushing interior defensive linemen. I see you, Brett Veach AI. Robinson is undersized, but his athleticism and production are absolutely worth taking a chance on. Being the top-ranked player on the list I gave to the AI probably played a part in this decision.

Pick No. 176

Top available: Jeremiah Wright, Ar’Maj Reed-Adams, Mikail Kamara, Marlin Klein, Adam Randall, Trey Moore, Jakobe Thomas, Nick Barrett, Kaelon Black, and Febechi Nwaiwu.

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My pick: Michigan LB Jimmy Rolder

Call it a reach on my part, as Rolder is 201 on the A to Z Sports big board. Only a one-year starter. Instinctive with impressive closing speed at 6-foot-2 and 238 pounds. He’s someone who could slot in as a SAM linebacker in 2026, but potentially develop into the green-dot-wearer down the line.

What AI Brett Veach did: Indiana RB Kaelon Black

I noted three things the Chiefs still needed at running back in team needs for the AI: Pass protection, short-yardage, and return specialists. Black (5-foot-10, 210 pounds) can handle the first two, at the very least. The one thing I found interesting here is that running back was very low on my AI’s needs list.

Pick No. 210

Top available: Tyren Montgomery, John Michael Gyllenborg, Robert Spears-Jennings, Skyler Gill-Howard, Diego Pounds, Carver Willis, Caleb Douglas, Eli Heidenreich, Red Murdock, and George Gumbs Jr.

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My pick: Florida EDGE George Gumbs Jr.

Gumbs felt like that developmental speed-rusher prototype that the Chiefs want, but haven’t really hit on. He’s long (6-foot-6 with 34-inch arms), springy, super-athletic, and the flash plays look really good. It’s just all about further development and consistency.

What AI Brett Veach did: Buffalo LB Khalil “Red” Murdock

The AI got a little sassy with me and spat out Red’s government name. I feel like Brett Veach’s recent comments about the linebacker position stuck with the AI here. I also feel like it valued Murdock’s production (364 tackles and 17 forced fumbles in his career).

Final verdict

Charles Goldman’s Final 2026 NFL Mock Draft:

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  • 9: Arizona State WR Jordyn Tyson
  • 29: Tennessee CB Colton Hood
  • 40: Florida DT Caleb Banks
  • 74: Penn State EDGE Dani Dennis-Sutton
  • 109: TCU S Bud Clark
  • 148: Stanford TE Sam Roush
  • 169: Illinois OT J.C. Davis
  • 176: Michigan LB Jimmy Rolder
  • 210: Florida EDGE George Gumbs Jr.

AI Brett Veach’s Final 2026 NFL Mock Draft:

  • 9: Auburn DE Keldric Faulk
  • 29: Alabama OT Kadyn Proctor
  • 40: Florida DT Caleb Banks
  • 74: Georgia State WR George Hurst
  • 109: SFA CB Charles Demmings
  • 148: South Carolina DB Jalon Kilgore
  • 169: Navy DT Landon Robinson
  • 176: Indiana RB Kaelon Black
  • 210: Buffalo LB Red Murdock

Overall, I was surprised by how well the AI drafted. My draft feels a bit more top-heavy with the instant-impact contributors, but I think the AI might’ve actually done a better job on Day 3. That felt especially Brett Veach-like, given his history and penchant for finding late-round steals.

If I do this again next year, I think I’ll feed the AI some of our draft rankings at A to Z Sports to give it better context. It had access to prospect data, but not any specific set of rankings. That’s probably the one area this experiment failed. The only context it had for “best” was the order of the 10 players I gave it to choose from at each pick. If I had the ability to “reach” as I did at 176, the AI should be able to.



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