Kansas City Royals catching prospect Blake Mitchell (wrist) restarted his rehab assignment on Monday with the team's Arizona Complex League affiliate. The Royals' second-ranked prospect suffered a broken hamate bone in the spring and began a rehab assignment in early May, however, the 6-foot-1 backstop experienced lingering soreness, so he was shut down after just four rehab games. The left-handed hitter went 0-for-1 with a pair of walks and was caught stealing on Monday. If all goes well, the 20-year-old should join High-A at the end of the assignment, but with only five games under his belt at High-A and a 30.7 percent strikeout rate in 2024, the former first-rounder may spend the remainder of the year at that level. Fellow catching prospect Carter Jensen (Royals No. 3 prospect) was recently promoted to Double-A Arkansas and appears to have a leg up on Mitchell for now, but it looks like Kansas City has some options behind aging Salvador Perez.

Kansas City Royals catching prospect Blake Mitchell (wrist) began a rehab assignment on Monday with the team's Arizona Complex League affiliate, going 1-for-2 with a walk and two stolen bases. The Royals' second-ranked prospect is recovering from a broken hamate bone and will likely be assigned to High-A once he's done rehabbing, which is where he finished last season. The former eighth-overall draft pick spent most of 2024 at Single-A, slashing .238/.376/.439 with 18 home runs and a 17.0 percent walk rate. Look for the 6-foot-1 backstop to make a push towards Double-A by season's end, but the left-handed hitter is still a couple of years away from the majors. Still, at just 20 years old and a first-round pedigree, he's a name to keep an eye on in dynasty leagues.