After the 2012 season, when Royals reliever Brandon Maurer was a Class AA pitcher in the Mariners organization, Baseball America named him Seattle’s sixth-best prospect.
Evaluators wrote that Maurer, a 23rd-round pick in 2008, had begun to come into his own. At 22 years old, he wielded a mid-90s fastball and a swing-and-miss slider. He could also throw a curveball for strikes.
“Maurer’s emergence,” said the Baseball America report, “gives Seattle yet another pitching prospect with frontline potential.”
The Royals have not seen the promise of that scouting report in the year since they acquired Maurer from the Padres in exchange for left-handed pitcher Matt Strahm, teenage infielder Esteury Ruiz, veteran pitcher Travis Wood and cash considerations.