18-year-old Chourio's first start as Top 100 prospect? 14 up, 14 down
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With 20 members of MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects list starting the 2026 season in the big leagues, change was bound to come. As those graduations continue to take place, Minor Leaguers on the upswing are inserted in their spots.
Meet the newest addition to that list: Royals right-hander Kendry Chourio.
In his first start since joining the vaunted group, the 18-year-old went 14 batters up, 14 batters set down during Columbia’s 1-0 win over Myrtle Beach at Segra Park on Thursday night.
The native of Venezuela racked up six strikeouts, all of which came on his 60-grade fastball, which sat 94-96 mph throughout the outing. The pitch has some natural cut to it and Chourio is a proponent of throwing it at the top rail of the zone, essentially daring lower-level batters to square up the velocity.
Those batters have been virtually helpless in doing so. Through 59 pro innings, Chourio has yielded just two home runs. His 2.68 FIP last season was nearly a full run lower than his actual ERA (3.51) and his 2.67 xFIP ranked tied for 16th-best among 1,383 Minor League hurlers who threw 50 or more innings in 2025.
Just two balls even left the infield against Chourio, both coming as flyouts in the second. Despite throwing a first-pitch strike to just six batters, the Royals’ No. 3 prospect finished with a 64.4 percent strike rate (38 of 59). Righty Jhon Reyes and lefty Jordan Woods combined to finish off the shutout, allowing a lone single as a blemish on their marks.
It marks Chourio’s second career start in which he retired every batter he faced, coincidentally having done so against Myrtle Beach on Aug. 14, 2025. Only four members of the Pelicans’ lineup were the same this go-round, with a whole new batch finding out the hard way what Carolina League batters have learned in short order: Chourio's stuff is legit.
At the start of the 2025 international signing period, the Royals loved a pair of shortstops – Ramcell Medina (KC No. 19) and Warren Calcaño (No. 20) – and catcher Moises Marchán was also a member of MLB Pipeline’s Top 50 list. Flying somewhat under the radar among their class was Chourio, who received a $247,500 bonus, which while not an exorbitant amount overall, is an indicator of how advanced his skills were considering the international pitching market.
Chourio, who continues to excel in pro ball at the same age as high school seniors or college freshmen, isn't flying under the radar anymore.