Sr. Advisor to the GM-Scouting & Player Development
Mike Arbuckle is in his 16th season with the Royals as Senior Advisor to the General Manager. He previously served the Philadelphia Phillies as Assistant General Manager/Scouting and Player Development from October 2001 until he joined the Royals in November 2008. Prior to that, he served as the Phillies Director of Scouting, beginning in 1992.
Arbuckle was named the Major League Baseball Midwest Scout of the Year in 2015. He also received a Legends of Scouting Award from the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation in 2013. In his role with the Phillies, Arbuckle was responsible for overseeing the scouting staff, amateur draft, international scouting program and professional scouting program. He also oversaw the player development staff and minor league instructional program along with assisting the General Manager with Major League player personnel decisions such as trades and free agent acquisitions.
Arbuckle began his scouting career as a Part-Time Scout with the Phillies in 1977 before joining the Atlanta Braves in 1980 for a 12-year stint in which he served as an Area Scout, Regional Scouting Supervisor and National Cross-Check Scout. He has scouted at all levels during his career.
A graduate of Trenton (Mo.) High School and North Central Missouri College, Arbuckle received a bachelor’s degree in education from Northwest Missouri State University and a master’s in secondary education from the University of South Alabama. He was a 1969 draft selection by the St. Louis Cardinals.
Arbuckle and his wife, Martha, reside in Liberty, Mo. They have two daughters, Shelly and Kellie, four grandchildren: Bethni, Austin, Katey and Emma, and four great-grandchildren: Addison, Aiden, Dawson and Myer.