This story was excerpted from Anne Rogers’ Royals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

KANSAS CITY -- Minor League Baseball is back this weekend. The Triple-A season is off and running already, while Opening Day for Single-A and Double-A is tonight. High-A will kick things off Friday.

The Royals have announced all four rosters, so here is a breakdown of each level with insight from director of player development Mitch Maier.

TRIPLE-A OMAHA

Pitchers: Max Castillo, Austin Cox, Jonathan Heasley, Jackson Kowar, Brooks Kriski, Marcelo Martinez, Mike Mayers, Andrés Núnez, Drew Parrish, Evan Sisk, Collin Snider, Josh Staumont, Josh Taylor, Ryan Weiss, Nick Wittgren

Catchers: Freddy Fermin, Logan Porter, Jakson Reetz

Infielders: CJ Alexander, Angelo Castellano, Maikel Garcia (Royals’ No. 3 prospect, per MLB Pipeline), Nick Loftin (No. 4), Nick Pratto, Samad Taylor (No. 21)

Outfielders: Dairon Blanco, Tucker Bradley (No. 28), Tyler Gentry (No. 8)

After Pratto was called up Wednesday, when Kyle Isbel went on the paternity list, nine players remain in Omaha that are on the 40-man roster. We’ll see plenty of movement this season on Interstate 29. The Storm Chasers are 3-2 this season and seeing stellar offense already.

Garcia is 9-for-20 with 10 RBIs over his first five games, while Taylor is 9-for-22 with six RBIs and three steals. Gentry hit his first Triple-A homer Wednesday -- a rocket that went 417 feet.

DOUBLE-A NORTHWEST ARKANSAS

Pitchers: Dante Biasi, Jonathan Bowlan (No. 11), Christian Chamberlain, Steven Cruz (No. 29), Yefri Del Rosario, Jonah Dipoto, Andrew Hoffmann (No. 14), Will Klein (No. 24), Alec Marsh (No. 16), Noah Murdock, Walter Pennington, T.J. Sikkema (No. 23), Anthony Veneziano, Jacob Wallace, Beck Way (No. 12)

Catchers: José Briceno, Luca Tresh (No. 13)

Infielders: Robbie Glendinning, Jimmy Govern, Jeison Guzman, Morgan McCullough, Jake Means, Dillan Shrum, Peyton Wilson (No. 20)

Outfielders: Parker Bates, Jorge Bonifacio, John Rave, Tyler Tolbert

This is a group full of returners after the pitching staff struggled mightily last season (5.95 ERA). Big names in the Royals’ system -- Bowlan, Marsh, Veneziano and Klein -- are all trying to put 2022 behind them. Bowlan and Marsh are on the 40-man roster, so they could serve as depth this season if they work out the kinks that slowed them down last year.

The pitching staff is a group full of upside, with seven Top 30 prospects, and the Royals are hoping to capitalize on that.

“Development is not linear,” Maier said. “It’s up and downs. That group there, we want them to keep getting better. Keep executing, following their plans, trust the process. They’ve had great springs, really productive offseasons. We’ve seen the strides they’ve made and commitments. It’s good. Now it’s time to go to work.”

No. 15 prospect Asa Lacy, the No. 4 pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, will likely join this group when he is ready for game action. The injured lefty is still in Arizona throwing bullpen sessions after experiencing a minor setback this spring. The Royals are hoping for Lacy to join a team by mid-to-late April.

HIGH-A QUAD CITIES

Pitchers: Wander Arias, Luinder Avila (No. 30), Mason Barnett (No. 18), Luis Barroso, Noah Cameron (No. 22), Eric Cerantola, Chandler Champlain (No. 26), William Fleming, Tyson Guerrero, Parker Harm, Brandon Johnson, Emilio Marquez, Caden Monke, Anderson Paulino, Anthony Simonelli, Marlin Willis

Catchers: Jack Alexander, Kale Emshoff, Kyle Hayes, Carter Jensen (No. 10)

Infielders: Herard Gonzalez, Shervyn Newton, Jack Pineda, Enrique Valdez, Javier Vaz, Cayden Wallace (No. 5), Paxton Wallace

Outfielders: Darryl Collins, Gavin Cross (No. 1), Juan Carlos Negret, River Town

The 2022 Draft class will be well represented in Quad Cities, highlighted by Cross, the No. 7 overall pick last year and No. 61 overall prospect on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects list. Wallace, the Royals’ second-round pick that year, will join him, as well as Barnett, the third-round pick. All three were college players who got a taste of Single-A late last summer.

“We had a pretty good feel for where they’re at,” Maier said, “and we felt really comfortable making that move. We saw their talent on display all spring.”

Joining them will be Jensen, who doesn’t turn 20 until July 3. The catcher slashed .226/.363/.382 in Single-A last year, with an eye-popping 17.1% walk rate.

“Carter, what he did last season at a young age -- controlling the strike zone, the hard-hit [rate], all that -- was incredible,” Maier said. “We felt comfortable bumping him up to Quad Cities based on those things. And he’s done a great job behind the plate. He’s maturing into a great catcher and player, the way he’s going about his business from an offensive and defensive standpoint. We couldn’t be happier with where he’s at.”

SINGLE-A COLUMBIA

Pitchers: Eduardo Herrera, Ben Kudrna (No. 2), Chazz Martinez, Cooper McKeehan, John McMillon, Frank Mozzicato (No. 7), Marcus Olivarez, Shane Panzini, Ryan Ramsey, Oscar Rayo, David Sandlin, Wesley Scott, Ben Sears, Samuel Valerio, Mauricio Veliz, Steven Zobac

Catchers: Omar Hernandez, Dionmy Salon

Infielders: Junior Calderon, Omar Florentino, Brennon McNair, Lizandro Rodriguez (No. 25), Brett Squires, Daniel Vazquez (No. 27)

Outfielders: David Hollie, Roger Leyton, Erick Pena, Jean Ramirez, Levi Usher

This is a young group, with 20-year-olds McNair, Pena and Rodriguez and 19-year-old Vazquez leading the offense. The Royals decided to send their top pitching prospects, Kudrna and Mozzicato, along with Panzini, a fellow 2021 MLB Draft pick, back to Columbia after pitching the majority of the ’22 season there.

The Royals prefer not to rush them, especially because they’re not quite two years removed from high school.

“They all understand it,” Maier said. “It’s their second full season, and there’s nothing wrong with going slow and making sure we’re doing what’s right for the players, getting them in a good spot with their success. There’s no rush to push those guys to levels until we feel confident that they’re ready. Them going back and going slow early is the preference, and they’ll let us know when they’re ready to move up.”