Few teams across Major League Baseball have the type of homegrown star power Kansas City has amassed in recent years, spearheaded by the $377 million man himself, Bobby Witt Jr.
Witt Jr., who signed an 11-year extension with the club earlier this month, highlights the roster full of players Kansas City GM J.J. Picollo and owner John Sherman have acquired recently, either through the MLB Draft or via the league’s international free agency system.
Regardless of how they landed in the system, the Royals have the fourth-most homegrown talent in the league, alongside the Los Angeles Angels, with 21 members of the team’s 40-man roster either being drafted or signed by the team.
With Spring Training getting under way and Kansas sports betting on MLB drawing closer, BetKansas.com utilized FanGraphs.com to find the number of players drafted or signed on each team’s projected 40-man roster for the upcoming season.
MLB Teams with Most Homegrown Talent
Kansas sports betting apps list the Los Angeles Dodgers as the World Series favorite at +360. Atlanta is second at +600.
How Royals’ Homegrown Talent Stacks Up
The Royals’ crown jewel is their 23-year-old shortstop, who is coming off a 4.4 WAR campaign as a second-year starter, with a .276 average, 30 home runs, 96 RBI and 49 stolen bases on 64 attempts. FanDuel Kansas has Witt’s season home run total over/under at 29.5.
Witt’s WAR total more than doubled the next closest KC starter, outfielder Kyle Isbel (2.1 WAR). Isbel was drafted by the Royals in 2018, with other homegrown talents, including franchise cornerstone catcher Salvador Perez, MJ Melendez, Brady Singer and Vinnie Pasquantino.
Perez is on the backside of his MLB career but has 33.0 WAR across 12 seasons. Melendez (-0.4 WAR), Singer (-1.1 WAR) and Pasquantino (0.1 WAR) all had lesser levels of success in 2024.
Nonetheless, Kansas City’s homegrown players provide the backbone for the Royals, with 21 of the team’s 40-man roster (52.5%) drafted or signed by the team, ranking fourth with the Angels. BetMGM Kansas has the Royals as +400 to make the playoffs this season.
