John Rave #16

John resides in Bloomington, Ill...He was featured in an article in The Athletic, written by Zach Buchanan, that detailed Rave’s relationship with his late father, Mike, as well as his friendship with former Royals Minor Leaguer, Jake Means...Played from 2017-19 for Illinois State, where he earned All-Missouri Valley Conference Honorable Mention and All-Defensive Team accolades as a freshman, All-MVC Second Team, and All-Defensive Team accolades as a sophomore and All-MVC First Team and was named to the MVC All-Defensive Team for the third season in a row...He played for the Chatham Anglers in the Cape Cod League in 2018, where he was teammates with Blue Jays All-Star Alek Manoah as well as Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson...Graduated from Central Catholic High School (Ill.) in 2016, the same high school that Denny Matthews attended...Rave was a three-time unanimous First-Team All-Conference selection in high school and was selected by Boston in the 35th round of the 2016 Draft, but did not sign.

2025

Rave played 72 games (49 starts) over two stints with the Royals in his first Major League season...he had his contract selected May 26 and was optioned to Triple-A on Aug. 25, before being recalled on Sept. 18 and finishing the season with the big league club...Of his 30 hits, nine went for extra bases (30%), including five doubles and four home runs...of his four home runs, three came on the road, as his only home run at Kauffman Stadium was a solo shot on Aug. 16 vs. the White Sox, a game he entered in the second inning...Switched from jersey No. 26 to No. 16 following Kansas City’s acquisition of Adam Frazier on July 16...Made his Major League debut on May 26 vs. the Reds and started in right field...recorded his first career hit on May 28 with a double off Cincinnati’s Hunter Greene in the fifth inning...Hit his first career home run in the fourth inning on July 18 in Miami, a three-run shot off Sandy Alcantara, before adding his second homer of the night with a game-tying solo shot in the ninth...he became the fifth player in club history to hit his first two career home runs in the same game and the second of three Royals to do so in 2025 (also Jac Caglianone and Carter Jensen)...In 60 games with Triple-A Omaha, he slashed .285/.373/.515 (67-for-235) with 28 extra-base hits (11 home runs), 34 RBI and 57 runs scored...at the time his contract was selected on May 26, he ranked among Triple-A leaders with four triples (T-3rd), 17 stolen bases (fifth) and 95 total bases (sixth)...Was named Omaha’s Player of the Month for May, during which he slashed .353/.429/.682 (30-for-85) with seven homers, 13 RBI and 27 runs scored in 21 games.

2024

Played a career-high 131 games for Triple-A Omaha, slashing .259/.346/.470 (129-for-498, .816 OPS) while scoring 93 runs and collecting 32 doubles, five triples, 21 home runs, 60 RBI and 17 stolen bases...His 21 home runs matched Spencer Nivens for the most by a Royals Minor Leaguer in 2024...There were 18 Major Leaguers to register at least 30 doubles, 20 home runs and 15 stolen bases in 2024...Rave was one of four Minor Leaguers to reach those thresholds and was joined by Houston’s Jesús Bastidas (31 doubles, 25 home runs, 15 stolen bases), Boston’s Kristian Campbell (32, 20, 24) and The A’s Colby Thomas (44, 31, 15)...Won Omaha’s Player of the Month Award in June after batting .316 (31-for-98, 1.028 OPS) with nine doubles, one triple, seven home runs and 14 RBI in 25 games.

2023

Split the season between Double-A Northwest Arkansas (54 games) and Triple-A Omaha (70), combining to slash .253/.349/.400 (117-for-463, .749 OPS) with 24 doubles, four triples, 12 home runs, 62 RBI and 10 stolen bases... Batted .236 (62-for-263) for the Storm Chasers, collecting 22 extra-base hits and 38 RBI... Following a June 12 promotion to Omaha, he batted .409 (18-for-44) through the end of the month, including 3 homers and 12 RBI across 12 games.

2022

Played in 122 games in 2022, split between Double-A Northwest Arkansas (111 games) and Triple-A Omaha (11), recording a combined 79 RBI, which ranked third among Royals farmhands behind Tyler Gentry (86) and Brewer Hicklen (85)...While with the Naturals, he ranked second on the team in RBI (73), batting average (.262, min. 100 games) and walks (63), third in hits (102), on-base percentage (.364, min. 100 games), slugging percentage (.414, min. 100 games), total bases (161) and stolen bases (22), T-third in triples (two) and fourth in home runs (14).

2021

Spent the 2021 season with High-A Quad Cities, where he earned MiLB.com Organization All-Star honors after recording 25 extra-base hits and a .805 OPS…his OPS and 121 wRC+ both ranked 10th among High-A Central qualifiers...He went 2-for-4 with one walk and 1 RBI in the 2021 High-A Central clinching Game 5 vs. Cedar Rapids in the postseason.