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Draft  | Story | 1/21/2022

KC Area Prospects Flourishing with Royals

Travis Ice
Photo: Ben Kudrna (left), Carter Jensen (right)
The Kansas City area had two prep prospects who were head and shoulders above the pack going into the 2021 draft. The hometown Royals walked away with both.

Right-handed pitcher Ben Kudrna was selected in the second round (43rd overall) and catcher Carter Jensen was selected in the third round (78th overall). COVID-19 limited looks on all high school prospects in 2020, but fortunately for the Royals, they had plenty of history watching and getting to know both prospects throughout their prep careers as they both played on the Royals Scout Team during the summer throughout their high school careers.



In a recent discussion with a Royals front office executive, Perfect Game got an update on both players’ development since making the leap to the professional ranks.
 
Kudrna, who in his senior year at Blue Valley Southwest High School had one of the most projectable frames in the country - 6-foot-3, 195 pounds - was also sitting 91-93 mph with his fastball and would occasionally touch 96 mph. Most scouts who saw him projected future plus velocity on his heater (you can read Kudrna's report from the 2020 PG National Showcase on his PG profile here), and according to the Royals official we spoke with, Kudrna has already put on 20-30 pounds of “good weight” and he’s regularly touching 99 mph with his fastball these days.



On an even more positive note for both Kudrna and the Royals, the secondary pitch drawing the highest future grades is his changeup, a pitch he didn’t have to utilize very often against prep hitters last spring. Part of the reason the changeup has blossomed so quickly is because the Royals regularly have him throw sessions just using his fastball-changeup combination. His slider, which tends to sit in the mid-80s, has always shown tightness and late break. In PG looks during his prep career, Kudrna tended to rely on chases out of the zone with the pitch, but the Royals have been very encouraged by how far along the command for his secondary arsenal has come in just a short time in their system.

Jensen was more of a known commodity in the Perfect Game universe heading into the draft. The Park Hill High School product played in 24 PG events in his prep career, announcing himself with a walkoff home run in Jupiter during the 2019 WWBA World Championship, and later capping his prep career with a trip to Oklahoma City for the 2020 Perfect Game All-American Classic.



Jensen has always been carried by his big left-handed power and advanced approach at the plate. Many evaluators, including this one, saw some risk of him moving off the catcher position once he entered the professional ranks. That doesn't seem to be the case, however, in speaking with the Royals. Since getting Jensen in the door, they have been more than pleased with how he’s taken to professional development and how committed he’s been to staying behind the plate.

The huge hurdle for a lot of catcher’s development-wise is how much time and energy they must dedicate to the defensive side of the ball and working with the pitching staff. It often bleeds into their development time for their bat. That hasn’t happened with Jensen, though, as his approach continues to get rave reviews from Major League evaluators, and it helped him post a .281/.388/.404 slash line in the Arizona Complex League where he was almost three years younger than average player in the league.

There’s not a single Major League team that wouldn’t want a power-hitting backstop on their roster, and if Jensen’s catching abilities can continue to evolve, that’s exactly the ceiling a player like him has.



The Royals have always done their due diligence with scouting their own backyard, and the 2021 MLB Draft was no exception. Perfect Game got looks at Kudrna and Jensen at least a half dozen times during the high school season and there wasn't a single game where there wasn’t at least one Royals evaluator in attendance. Considering both played on the Royals Scout Team as amateurs, there likely wasn’t a team with more background or in-person looks on these two.

In an age where data is so prevalent on players, being able to have an accurate gauge on player attributes that can’t be quantified, such as makeup, will sometimes prove to be a separator in finding future Major League players.

2022 summer homes for Kudrna and Jensen haven't been set just yet. The Royals find it best to let that situation stay fluid and organic based on their development and Spring Training performance. With the consolidated Minor League alignment leaving organizations with fewer low-level affiliates, it's more difficult to make the jump from Complex League to Low-A.

However, the Royals won’t hesitate to hand either of the local products an aggressive assignment if the club feels that’s most appropriate for their long-term development. Both players are already proving to live up to their high ceilings many evaluators saw in their futures as amateurs, and if the two end up making it to the Major League level, their friends and family won’t have to travel far to watch their home games.
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Draft | Story | 1/1/2026

2026 MLB Draft Preview & Superlatives
Tyler Kotila
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As we look ahead to the 2026 calendar year, we take a step closer to the 2026 MLB Draft. While we recently dropped our Top 300 College Prospects for the 2026 group, there is still a lot to sort out throughout this year. High school ball is right around the corner and the college season is on the horizon. Many players are going to see their stock improve as games start to get played and players pitch/hit their way up or down the board. We’ll see some breakout candidates, collegiate performers, and high school arms that pop throughout the 2026 spring and summer. In this article, we are going to talk through some of the narratives/storylines shaping up for this 2026 draft class. We’ll also talk through a couple of players who fit the build of some pre-season superlatives. Battle for 1:1 It’s still really early in the race for things, but with the Draft Lottery done with,...
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Press Release | Press Release | 1/7/2026

PG Announces Naming Rights in Chesterfield

Perfect Game Staff
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    667 Progress Way | Sanford, FL 32771 | 319-298-2923  www.perfectgame.org | facebook.com/perfectgameusa | @PerfectGameUSA      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    PERFECT GAME AND FIRST COMMUNITY CREDIT UNION ANNOUNCE CHESTERFIELD ATHLETIC COMPLEX    Landmark Partnership to Center on Community, Inclusion and Youth Sports    Chesterfield, Missouri (Wednesday, January 7, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, along with the City of Chesterfield, today announced  an exclusive naming rights partnership with First Community Credit Union (FCCU) for the Chesterfield Valley Athletic Complex. Effective immediately, the venue will be known as the “Chesterfield First Community Athletic...
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College | Story | 1/7/2026

Preseason Collegiate All-Americans

Vincent Cervino
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The transfer portal, JUCO gems, 6th year waivers and impact freshman; following the college game and figuring out rosters is basically a fulltime job nowadays. This is the new norm, and while the baseball purist may not like it, the college game has never been more exciting. It looks like 2026 is shaping up to be an incredible season with the balance of power seemingly spread out evenly from coast to coast. Like we seem to say every year, the depth and quality of talent has never been better, and the 2026 Perfect Game Pre-Season All-American teams will attest to that fact.With the 2026 College Baseball season is just around the corner, the Perfect Game college staff will have you loaded with coverage heading into the new year. On the heels of our Pre-Season Top 25 poll, the All-American list will be headlined by a banner sophomore class on the 1st team. The sweet lefthanded swings of...
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College | Recruiting | 1/6/2026

Recruiting Notebook: January 6

Michael Albee
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Griffin Boesen (‘27, IA) shoots this one backside down the line. Adds his second hit of the day. Picked up a base knock. Physical LH bat w/ an ability to drive the baseball here. @IowaPG @PG_Uncommitted @CanesMidwest #WWBAWorlds https://t.co/pmpIzaAbLz pic.twitter.com/Qz0CHiS3P1 — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) October 13, 2025 Griffin Boesen, Class of 2027 Commitment: Duke Another top 100 prospect is off the board as the Corey Muscara led Duke Blue Devils picked up a physical two-way prospect in Boesen out of Florida recently. At 6-foot-5, 205 pounds, Boesen looks the part of a middle of the order type slugger and he's just that, showing lots of looseness and bat speed in his left-handed stroke and is coming off a Jupiter where he hit .700 (!!) as an underclassman while driving in 10 runs. The bat-to-ball skills are obvious as he simply hit at all the big stops in 2025,...
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Tournaments | Story | 1/7/2026

PG Leaderboard: Class of 2028

Jheremy Brown
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Complete PG Leaderboard Database PG Leaderboard: Class of 2026 | Class of 2027 Well, the fastball department is dominated by two arms in particular with Striker Pence and Dexter McCleon Jr. combining for almost 200 mph of velo between them on their peak heaters in 2025. That's just absolutely insane. The freakiness of the class continues down the boards with a 6.26 60-yard from Colton Fitzgibbon to the 88 mph hand cannon of Grant Arnold behind the plate to Christian Lux's 106 (!!!) mph exit velocity, this class has out of this world chart toppers. Even scarier? They don't graduate for another three years... Top Fastball Velocity Rk Player FB Event Commitment School Hometown 1 Striker Pence 101 2025 PG WWBA World Championship Uncommitted Santiago Corona, CA 2 Striker Pence 99 2025 PG 17U World Series - National Uncommitted Santiago Corona, CA 2 Striker Pence 99 2025 PG 16U WWBA...
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Showcase | Story | 1/6/2026

PG Leaderboard: Class of 2027

Jheremy Brown
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Complete PG Leaderboard Database PG Leaderboard: Class of 2026 To think this group still has another two years of high school is a scary thought given what some of the category leaders already are. Samir Mohammed up to 97 mph on the mound, Bryce Fontenot with a max exit velocity of 103 mph and a 6.22 60-yard out of Dylan Seward are all otherworldly numbers that you'd expect to find on a college campus, much less a junior in high school.  Below we check in on several categories for the Class of 2027 and will continue to do so through the week, taking in the top 10 for each, from both Perfect Game showcases and tournaments.  Top Fastball Velocity Rk Player FB Event Commitment School Hometown 1 Samir Mohammed 97 2025 PG WWBA World Championship Louisiana State Tampa Jesuit Trinity, FL 2 Connor Salerno 96 2025 PG WWBA World Championship Mississippi State Sun Valley Indian Trail, NC...
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Tournaments | All-Tournament Team | 1/5/2026

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John McAdams
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The bar continues to rise each and every year, as the Perfect Game tournament platform adds new exciting locations, events and even refines existing ones. This year was no different, as players played in events hosted all over the country. Now, let’s get to the players as they also continue to up the ante every year with outstanding performances that leave many people in complete awe. Please note that due to age of these players, we have decided to focus primarily on the statistics amassed in Perfect Game tournaments. Let’s talk about the numbers, as not one single player on the first team (Hitters) was below a .464 average, while that group hit an astounding 515 homers as a whole. Offensive Player of The Year Aaron Kim led the way with 31 All-Tournament selections with William Goodrich Jr. a close second with 30. In totality, a total of nine selections made the...
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Tournaments | Story | 1/2/2026

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Jheremy Brown
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Complete PG Leaderboard Database With the Main Event Showcase in the rearview mirror, let's take a peak back at some of the standout performances from across the country, both at PG showcases and tournaments. Want to make the list for top fastball? You better have hit at least 97 mph. How about speed? The "slowest" 60-yard to make the table is a 6.30. A 101 mph throws from across the infield courtesy of Matt Ponataski, a few 100s in the outfield from Brady Harris, Matthew Kelley and Juriel Collazo and a top heater of 100 mph from Savion Sims all lead the way in their respective categories. Get ready for the future right now as you'll be hearing plenty about these names in the coming months, leading up to the 2026 MLB Draft.  Top Fastball Velocity Rk Player FB Event Commitment School Hometown 1 Savion Sims 100 2025 PG National Showcase Oklahoma Prestonwood Christian Academy...
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Tournaments | Story | 12/29/2025

PG Expands Presence in Pacific Rim

Perfect Game Staff
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    667 Progress Way | Sanford, FL 32771 | 319-298-2923  www.perfectgame.org | facebook.com/perfectgameusa | @PerfectGameUSA      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    PERFECT GAME EXPANDS PRESENCE IN PACIFIC RIM, STRENGTHENING YOUTH BASEBALL DEVELOPMENT    Sanford, Florida (Monday, December 29, 2025) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced a significant expansion of its presence across the Asia-Pacific Zone, with a strategic focus on the 10-15 year-old age group. The initiative will be led in partnership with longtime Japanese youth baseball executive and coach Takaharu Nasu, as Perfect Game continues to grow its global footprint and strengthen pathways for elite youth...
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Showcase | Story | 12/27/2025

Main Event Invades Fort Myers

Perfect Game Staff
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    667 Progress Way | Sanford, FL 32771 | 319-298-2923  www.perfectgame.org | facebook.com/perfectgameusa | @PerfectGameUSA      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    PERFECT GAME CLOSES OUT 2025 WITH MAIN EVENT SHOWCASE  AT JETBLUE PARK IN FT. MYERS, FLORIDA    Nearly 1,000 players expected at largest showcase of the year  that has produced over 1,000 MLB Draft picks    Ft. Myers, Florida (Saturday, December 27, 2025) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, will host its 2025 Main Event Showcase from December 28–31 at JetBlue Park, the spring training home of the Boston Red Sox, in the Fort Myers area.    The Main Event is the largest showcase Perfect Game holds annually,...
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