The Kansas City Royals farm system consists of seven Minor League Baseball affiliates across the United States and in the Dominican Republic. Four teams are independently owned, while threeâÂÂthe Arizona Complex League Royals and two Dominican Summer League Royals teamsâÂÂare owned by the major league club.
The Royals have been affiliated with the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers of the Pacific Coast League since 1969, making it the longest-running affiliation in the organization. Their newest affiliates are the High-A Quad Cities River Bandits of the Midwest League and the Single-A Columbia Fireflies of the Carolina League, which became Royals affiliates in 2021.
Geographically, Kansas City's closest domestic affiliate is the Omaha Storm Chasers, which are approximately away. Kansas City's furthest domestic affiliate is the Rookie Arizona Complex League Royals some away.
The Kansas City Royals farm system consists of seven minor league affiliates.
Prior to the 1963 season, Major League Baseball (MLB) initiated a reorganization of Minor League Baseball that resulted in a reduction from six classes to four (Triple-A, Double-A, Class A, and Rookie) in response to the general decline of the minors throughout the 1950s and early-1960s when leagues and teams folded due to shrinking attendance caused by baseball fans' preference for staying at home to watch MLB games on television. The only change made within the next 27 years was Class A being subdivided for the first time to form Class A Short Season in 1966.
Minor League Baseball operated with six classes from 1990 to 2020. In 1990, the Class A level was subdivided for a second time with the creation of Class A-Advanced. The Rookie level consisted of domestic and foreign circuits.
The current structure of Minor League Baseball is the result of an overall contraction of the system beginning with the 2021 season. Class A was reduced to two levels: High-A and Low-A. Low-A was reclassified as Single-A in 2022.