Kansas City Royals
KANSAS CITY, Mo.—The Kansas City Royals announced today they have selected right-handed pitchers Ben Kudrna and Steven Zobac. Kansas City’s Major League Reserve List is now at 39.
Kudrna, 22, made a career-high 24 appearances (22 starts) between Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha in 2025. He made 20 appearances (19 starts) with Northwest Arkansas and recorded a 4.21 ERA (44 ER in 94.0 IP) with 96 strikeouts (9.2 K/9). In his last 6 starts at Double-A, from July 4-Aug. 13, he recorded a 1.71 ERA (6 ER in 31.2 IP), including a career-high 11 strikeouts in 6.0 innings on July 22 at Arkansas. That stretch earned him Northwest Arkansas Pitcher of the Month honors for July and Texas League Pitcher of the Week honors for the period of July 21-27.
Kudrna was a SiriusXM Futures Game selection in 2024 and was named the organization’s Paul Splittorff Pitcher of the Year in 2022. He was selected by Kansas City in the 2nd round of the 2021 Draft out of Blue Valley Southwest High School in Overland Park, Kan.
Zobac, 25, was limited to 14 starts in 2025 due to injuries, including 11 starts with Double-A Northwest Arkansas. He recorded 37 strikeouts (9.2 K/9) and issued only 14 walks (3.5 BB/9) in 36.1 innings with the Naturals. Zobac also made 3 rehab starts in the Arizona Complex League.
In 2024, Zobac was named the Royals Paul Splittorff Pitcher of the Year, after going 11-8 with a 3.64 ERA (51 ER in 126.0 IP) in 25 appearances (23 starts) between High-A Quad Cities and Double-A Northwest Arkansas. He was selected by Kansas City in the 4th round of the 2022 Draft out of the University of California.