Royals Top Prospect Could Be Salvador Perez's Heir After All-Star Season

It's always good to have a succession plan in place

Jul 30, 2021; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; A Kansas City Royals hat and glove in the dugout during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images / John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

For over a decade, Kansas City Royals fans have known nothing but the calming presence of Salvador Perez behind the plate. Soon enough, though, that will have to change.

Now 34 years old and in his 14th season with the Royals, Perez is still one of the best-hitting catchers in the game. He has 27 home runs and an .806 OPS this season and made his eighth All-Star team. But he's also begun playing a lot more first base than ever before, in an effort to preserve his aging knees.

Though Freddy Fermin has been a solid backup to Perez this season, Kansas City knows at some point, it will need a permanent new catcher. The answer may lie in a prospect finishing up a breakout year in the Royals system.

Blake Mitchell, the No. 2 Royals prospect according to MLB.com, has had a strong bounce back in his second professional season, after Kansas City drafted him eighth overall in the 2023 draft. He debuted and struggled in rookie ball last season, but he has excelled this season, mostly in Low-A.

According to Preston Farr of Royals Review, Mitchell was named a Carolina League All-Star on Wednesday. That comes on the heels of another award for Mitchell, the George Brett Hitter of the Year award given annually to the best minor-league bat in the system.

Between Low-A Columbia and High-A Quad Cities, Mitchell produced a .232/.368/.424 slash line, with 18 home runs and 51 RBI across 111 games. Those are excellent stats for any 20-year-old hitter, but especially so for a young catcher with a 70-grade arm.

Mitchell will have to continue proving he can handle the pitching at the higher levels of the minors in 2025. He has had a brief five-game stint in High-A to this point and is 2-for-18 thus far with seven strikeouts.

Though there's still a long way to go, the Royals' first-round investment in Mitchell looks wise at this point. If Perez can give K.C. two more solid seasons behind the plate, he may be able to gracefully hand over the starting duties to Mitchell when both are ready for that next step.

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