Mitchell, Zobac and Roccaforte take home top Minor League awards

KANSAS CITY -- While the Royals are vying for a postseason spot at the Major League level, they celebrated their future on Friday night with Futures Night at Kauffman Stadium, honoring their top Minor League players from the 2024 season.

Catcher Blake Mitchell, the Royals’ No. 2 prospect per MLB Pipeline, was recognized as the George Brett Hitter of the Year, right-hander Steven Zobac (No. 17) as the Paul Splittorff Pitcher of the Year and outfielder Carson Roccaforte (No. 28) as the Frank White Defensive Player of the Year.

“I always love when this night of the year comes,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “You get to see these guys, you know they’ve been out grinding all year, putting in a lot of work, and we follow them really closely as the year progresses. Hopefully in the future, they’re a part of this and winning baseball [games] in September.”

Additionally, Tyler Tolbert won the Willie Wilson Baserunner of the Year after swiping 48 bases in 53 attempts between Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha this year.

Infielder Javier Vaz (No. 13) was the recipient of the Mike Sweeney Community Impact Award. Vaz and his teammates in Double-A participated in the League 42 clinic held in Wichita, Kan., this year. Infielder Austin Charles (No. 14) won the Alex Gordon Heart and Hustle Award, which recognizes a player who best exemplifies how Gordon played the game. Charles, 20, slashed .257/.353/.386 with 15 doubles and 10 homers in Single-A Columbia this year.

The Art Stewart Scout of the Year is Scott Melvin, an area supervisor who covers Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin and is in his 16th season with the organization. He played a role in signing Michael Massey, former Royals pitchers Jakob Junis and Will Klein, and prospects Blake Wolters and Spencer Nivens.

In his first professional season after being selected No. 8 overall in the 2023 Draft, Mitchell posted a .815 OPS in Columbia, with 16 doubles, 18 homers and 50 RBIs while walking 79 times and stealing 25 stolen bases. Mitchell said he widened his stance throughout the year, which allowed him to be “more athletic” at the plate and unlocked some power.

He did all this while playing 530 innings with Columbia across 62 games at catcher and another 44 games as the designated hitter.

“It's a great honor with the award named after George Brett,” Mitchell said of being named the organization’s top offensive player. “... I just tried to keep my body healthy the whole year. Learning what works for me, the amount of workload per day to get my body right and get me 100% ready.”

Mitchell didn’t turn 20 until Aug. 3 this year and was named a Single-A Carolina League All-Star in 2024. Scouts and officials also spoke highly of how Mitchell handled the pitching staff.

“It was really a foundational year for Blake,” director of player development Mitch Maier said. “Couldn’t be happier for the first season he had. First time playing that much baseball at the highest level he’s ever played, he did a great job.”

Zobac, 23, split his season between High-A Quad Cities and Double-A, combining to post a 3.64 ERA with 123 strikeouts and just 29 walks across 126 innings. Zobac, the Royals’ fourth-round pick in 2022, has taken off as a pitcher and is rising through the Royals’ system quickly.

Roccaforte is the organization’s top defensive player with all but two of his 122 games in High-A Quad Cities coming in center field. In his first full pro season after being selected in the Competitive Balance Round B of the 2023 Draft, Roccaforte covered 1,042 innings in center while committing just one error.

The first thing he noticed about Kauffman Stadium on Friday was how big the outfield is -- and imagined running around out there one day.

“The main thing is just trying to help my pitchers out when they fill the zone up, let them hit it,” Roccaforte said. “And just try to make every play possible. If I have to run through the wall, I’ll do it for my pitchers, who are busting their butts on the mound.”

There were only 11 MiLB players to play in over 1,000 defensive innings this year, and none recorded fewer than six errors -- except for Roccaforte. The 22-year-old is considered the Royals’ top center field prospect with his speed and reads.

“It’s rare for a player to know where the ball is going that early and get yourself into position, and he just reads it extremely well,” Maier said. “His instincts, the way he sees the ball coming off the bat, reads the spin and trajectory, he’s really gifted at understanding how that ball is moving and is able to judge it from a long distance. And then he’s got the obvious speed. It stood out right away when we selected him, and he continued that this year.”