The Kansas City Royals’ organization placed five players in USA Today Sports Weekly’s annual listing of the "100 Names You Need to Know This Season."
↵This is the 13th season for this top-100 list, which is not a ranking of the best minor-league prospects but rather the players believed to be the "closest" to making it into the big leagues.
↵The Royals had four players in the top 50 on the list: 2B Johnny Giavotella (12), C Salvador Perez(14), CF Lorenzo Cain (32) and RHP Kelvin Herrera (48). Wil Meyers, an outfielder, is No. 85 on the Sports Weekly list of new players to watch for this season.
↵A year ago, the Royals placed six players on this list to lead all major-league teams. Only the Oakland A’s, with five players in the top 50, have more players in that classification than Kansas City.