Consistency is the Name of the Game for Royals Prospect Sam Kulasingam

The 25-year-old utility man has consistently produced at all levels throughout his professional career.

Kulasingam Leads Nats Record Breaking Night in 24-4 Win | Northwest Arkansas Naturals

As the MLB season comes to a close for the Royals and the minor league season ends, it is a good time to look at potential future Royals. One of those players is Sam Kulasingam, who continues to produce in the Royals minor league system. The Royals drafted him in the 13th round of the 2024 draft out of Air Force.

In 2026, Kulasingham put together a solid season that saw him slash .249/.370/.396 for an OPS of .766 in his first season at the AA level. Before we head into his profile, he shares a lot of similarities with Luke Pelzer, who was covered earlier this week. Now, let's dive into Kulasingham's profile and potential timeline to getting to the Majors.

Contact Rates and Advanced Approach at the Plate

The name of Kulasingam's game is contact, and the ability to draw walks. It has always been his calling card since his sophomore season at the Air Force Academy and is what drew the Royals to draft him. While the start to his professional baseball career wasn't ideal, in 24 games in 2024, he slashed .241/.305/.301 for an OPS of .606.

Despite the slow start to his pro ball career, in his first full season he turned it around quickly in the Quad Cities, slashing .291/.375/.393 for an OPS of .768. That was good enough for him to earn the call-up to AA, where he stayed for the 2026 season. During his 2026 season, he continued to show on-base prowess, slashing .249/.370/.396 for an OPS of .766.

In those slash lines, you might notice two key numbers. One is that, in back-to-back seasons, Kulasingam had an OBP of .370 or better, and the other is that his slugging percentage was below .400 in both seasons. In both seasons, he had an walk rate above 10% and in 2026 he had a 15.1% walk rate, which was the ninth best rate in AA.

While he has an advanced approach at the plate, he is also touted as a good contact bat. His Z-contact% sat at 85.5% in 2026, and his overall contact rate sat at 80.8%. Those rates make sense given he had the 12th-lowest whiff rate in AA at 20.8%. Another thing he does well is hit to all fields and goes the opposite way a lot, as he had the 12th-best oppo% at 25.8%. All of this mixed with the fact he also hits line drives, 24.4% LD rate, and his profile bodes well for the future.

To round out the positives of his profile, he adds some speed to go with the walks and contact. He stole 30 bases this year and was caught seven times, both being improvements from last season. Now, let's dive into the negatives in his profile.

Lack of Power and Fielding Struggles

As noted earlier, Kulasingam's profile is similar to Luke Pelzer's profile: high contact and walk rates mixed with little to no pop. Kulasingam has a touch more pop than Pelzer, but it isn't much more. He ended the season with 12 HRs, 24 2Bs, 4 3Bs, and an ISO of .146. Those numbers might not jump out at people, but it is a good improvement from 2025 (.103 ISO that season) for Kulasingam.

The key number to keep an eye on going forward for his power is how many doubles he has, because he has a swing and skill set that is perfect for being a doubles hitter. The contact rates and walks will always be a strong backbone for him, but if the power develops, his ceiling rises a lot. He has also shown some pop-off days at the plate, including a six-hit, two HR day earlier this month.

The other issue for Kulasingam lies in his utility man role in the minor leagues. In 2026, he registered 27 games at 1B, 16 at 2B, 38 at 3B, 10 in LF, 36 in RF, and 7 at DH. The issue is that he isn't the best at any position and has shown struggles up the middle. In 2025, when he had a majority of his starts at 2B, he recorded eight errors. That might not sound like a lot, but the Royals decided to transition him to a utility role in 2026 after 2025.

That is why his defense is a question mark; he is new to his role and has, at best, shown to be average in the corner infield and outfield. With that in mind, it might take him a little longer to reach the Majors as he is still developing defensively.

Conclusion

Kulasingam is the player the Royals love to have: high contact and an advanced approach with room to grow. As it stands right now, Kulasingam is not a top-30 prospect, but he is one of the more interesting prospects in the Royals system, alongside Pelzer. He probably doesn't get the call next season, but could in 2028 once the defense develops and he continues to produce like he has so far in the minors.

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