Royals protect top prospects Kudrna, Zobac from Rule 5 Draft

KANSAS CITY -- The Royals added two pitching prospects to the 40-man roster on Tuesday, ahead of the deadline to protect eligible players from the Rule 5 Draft next month.

Ben Kudrna, the Royals’ No. 7 prospect on MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 list, and Steven Zobac, the club’s No. 11 prospect, were selected to the roster, which is now at 39 players.

If Rule 5-eligible players -- those who signed at age 18 or younger five seasons ago or who signed at age 19 or older four seasons ago -- were not added to teams’ 40-man rosters by Tuesday at 5 p.m. CT, they are exposed to be taken in the Rule 5 Draft next month.

For this year, that means an international or high school Draft pick signed in 2021 had to be protected. A college player taken in the 2022 Draft was in the same position. Not every player left exposed will be taken, as there are roster rules throughout the season for every Rule 5-selected player. For example, if that player doesn't stay on the 26-man roster for the full season, he must be offered back to his former team for $50,000. That’s what happened when the A’s took pitcher Noah Murdock from the Royals last year -- he made his debut on March 29 but was designated for assignment on May 9 and headed back to Kansas City's Triple-A team.

The Royals had several decisions to make with eligible players this year, but they didn’t want to risk losing Kudrna and Zobac to another organization, especially because both are close to the Majors and should show up to Spring Training as pitching depth in 2026.

Kudrna, 22, was the Royals’ second-round pick in the 2021 Draft out of Blue Valley Southwest High School in Overland Park, Kan. Much like ‘21 third-rounder Carter Jensen, who made his Major League debut on Sept. 2, Kudrna grew up an avid Royals fan. He spent the majority of 2025 in Double-A Northwest Arkansas, where he posted a 4.21 ERA across 20 appearances (19 starts). In his last six starts in Double-A, from July 4-Aug. 13, he recorded a 1.71 ERA. Kudrna got roughed up a bit in four Triple-A appearances at the end of the year, and he’ll need more time there before the Royals call on him in Kansas City.

Kudrna represented the Royals at the Futures Game in 2024 and was the organization’s Paul Splittorff Pitcher of the Year in ‘22. He doesn’t possess the flashy stuff of a top prospect, but he is seen as a durable back-end starter projection, although the stuff could tick up in the bullpen.

Zobac looked like he was on track for a potential Major League debut after his excellent 2024 season in which he posted a 3.64 ERA between High-A Quad Cities and Double-A, and he was named the Paul Splittorff Pitcher of the Year. But he dealt with injuries in ‘25, including a knee injury that saw him miss significant time. And when he was on the mound, he struggled to a tune of 7.25 ERA across 14 starts -- 11 with Double-A and three rehab starts in the Arizona Complex League.

Despite that inflated ERA and the injuries, the Royals still think highly of Zobac, whom they selected in the fourth round of the 2022 Draft out of the University of California. He also doesn’t blow his stuff by hitters, but it plays up because of his plus command. The Royals see him as a mid-rotation starter, but now that he’s on the 40-man, there’s always a chance they use him in the bullpen first.

Among the notable players not selected to the roster on Tuesday are Daniel Vazquez (No. 16), Frank Mozzicato (No. 22), Gavin Cross (No. 24) and Javi Vaz (No. 25).

Vazquez, a shortstop, had a great Arizona Fall League performance again this fall, but he’s still just 21 years old and in High-A, with offensive pop that he’s just beginning to tap into and needs to maintain at a consistent level. The left-handed Mozzicato was the Royals’ first-round pick in 2021, and he has a Major League-ready curveball. But his command is shaky at best and his fastball is below-average. Cross, the Royals’ first-rounder in ‘22, has had a very up-and-down Minor League journey so far, and the 24-year-old outfielder has not yet reached the offensive profile he held in college at Virginia Tech.

Vaz is an intriguing prospect when looking at the Rule 5 Draft; he’s 25 years old and hasn’t played above Double-A, and a Spring Training injury slowed him out of the gate in 2025. But he’s a plus runner with elite contact and on-base skills, traits that teams love to have at the bottom of their roster.