As players begin to leave major league camp, the picture of the minor league rosters begins to develop. The Royals’ AA affiliate in Springdale looks to have some turnover from 2024. Their biggest producers from last season have since moved up. A few big names enter the fray, looking to make their mark on the system. The arrival of Royals’ top prospect Jac Caglianone in Springdale becomes the biggest story there since Bobby Witt Jr. stopped by. He’ll headline a roster with solid bat talent and a very experimental pitching rotation.
The storyline of the 2024 NWA was one of up-and-down hitting and a pitching staff that could dominate. They graduated everyone from their rotation by season’s end (or traded in Mason Barnett’s case.) They’ll return a 2024 breakout but promote multiple pitchers to fill out their starting five. The Naturals’ 2025 roster looks to be the inverse, with a more consistent offense and pitching that may be a bit off-and-on. The offense gains a few top-30 prospects from the organization in Jac Caglianone, Asbel Gonazales, and Carson Roccaforte. These three look to have an immediate impact at the plate
Pitchers
Starting PItchers
Steven Zobac / Ben Kudrna / Frank Mozzicato / Hunter Owen / Ryan Ramsey
As mentioned, this year’s starting rotation has a bit more to prove than 2024’s. Steven Zobac returns to the rotation after a huge breakout year after promotion to AA. His command is fantastic, which he pairs with a legit three-pitch mix. 2025 will be his chance to prove he meant to do it. Alongside him is Hunter Owen of the 2023 draft class. He features a four-pitch mix with a plus slider and curveball. What will hold him back most will be the development of his fastball. If he can grow into his command, there’s plenty of value to his arm.
The most intriguing storyline to watch will be the 2021 prep-arm duo Frank Mozzicato and Ben Kudrna. They’ve grown through the system together since the draft and will share the rotation again this season. Kudrna looked solid in A+ last season before promotion but struggled mightily in Springdale. The second half saw him look more hittable with his walk and strikeout numbers looking similar to Quad Cities. Pitching to poor contact will be the skill to develop in 2025.
Mozzicato on the other hand has been on the downturn in prospect rankings since his drafting. The curveball is awesome but no other pitch seemed to present itself. That is until he showed up to camp with a juiced-up fastball that showed promise. There’s a lot of excitement now that the arm that almost fell out of the top 30 prospects could have a breakout season.
At the end is Ryan Ramsey, an extremely undervalued arm from Quad Cities last season. He posted a 2.43 ERA over 89 innings and 11 starts. The other half of his appearances were out of the pen but his 1.00 WHIP and 97 strikeouts are worth noting. He doesn’t give up much hard contact in the air with a 4.7% homerun/flyball ratio. The 13th-round pick looks to use 2025 as a chance to show he’s much more than that.
Relief Pitchers
Jacob Wallace / Ryan Brady / William Fleming / Asa Lacy / Brandon Johnson / Cruz Noriega / Anderson Paulino
The bullpen will look very similar to its 2024 iteration. A lot of the bigger arms have moved, such as Beck Way who was the go-to closer for the squad. Jacob Wallace looks to be the guy when it comes to avoiding bats. He tossed 63.2 innings of relief last season and tallied up 86 strikeouts on a 1.16 WHIP. The main problem is how hittable pitches in the zone seem. His first man out of the pen role will rely on the ability to hone is approach on the mound.
Ryan Brady, William Fleming, and Cruz Noriega all have solid potential, but they haven’t quite shown what exactly will do it. Fangraphs shows Fleming with a 60-grade slider and 55-grade command, which has been plenty of great relievers’ bread and butter. Ryan Brady was acquired in the Taylor Clark trade to the Brewers in 2023. His stuff hasn’t flashed for the Royals yet, but his FIP was 3.17 opposing his 4.28 ERA.
The obvious name you all want me to address is Asa Lacy. He hasn’t had a full healthy season in his career, last pitched a game in 2022, and looks to top 100 career innings this season. The ship has sailed on his prospects as a starter. The next step is to limit his innings and appearances and test the waters as a reliever. His 2023 prospect grades are almost laughable. A lefty arm with a 60-grade fastball, 70-grade slider, and 50-grade changeup. Wasting those numbers on a reliever feels off, but it’s the best chance he has at the bigs at this point in his career. At just 25 a good, healthy season may change that. But for 2025 this is the role he will have to become accustomed to.
Hitters
Catchers:
Carter Jensen / Luca Tresh / Kale Emshoff
Carter Jensen looked to be on the brink of something great after a promotion to AA. Highlighted in my AA standouts, he was slugging more than he has as a professional and continuing to get on base consistently. With Blake Mitchell hot on his tail and working back from injury, this could be a season where he puts some space in between them and establishes a top-100 prospect status.
Behind him are Luca Tresh and Kale Emshoff, both returning to the roster with some consistent bat ability. Luca Tresh feels a bit like the next Cam Gallagher/Drew Butera type. Solid bat skills that won’t play every day at the next level. This season may see him jump up to AAA if he hits like he did in 2024. Emshoff will play a fair amount of 1B this season but is looking to build on a big 2024 in A+. He dropped off a bit as he was promoted but the power ability is prevalent..
Infielders:
Jac Caglianone / Peyton Wilson / Brett Squires / Jack Pineda / Chris Brito / Stone Russell / Justin Johnson
The big addition here is MLB Pipeline Top 100 prospect Jac Caglianone. He flashed the power in the Arizona Fall League in 2024, with five home runs and 4 doubles in 100 at-bats. After receiving an invite to Spring Training this year, Caglianone took another, bigger step forward. Over the small sample size of 22 plate appearances, he walked five times against three strikeouts, homered three times, doubled three times, and drove in seven runs. It’s essentially a week’s worth of at-bats but the slash of .529/.636/1.235 was more than enough to get the hype train moving. What started as a tryout for the AA roster very quickly became a showcase for an MLB promotion this year. At AA we can expect to see some fireworks, but it’s important to note he’ll be seeing a lot of other top prospects off the bump there. He’ll have to earn it, but he probably won’t be with the Naturals for long in 2025.
Peyton Wilson highlights the rest of the infield as a second baseman with legit pop. He struggled a lot in 2024, failing to consistently make contact. The power was still there but he struck out far too often without having the hits to pair. The plus side is still there, just a season removed from 33 doubles and a .286 average where he saw the home runs dip. If he can combine last season’s power with 2023’s average, this season could be special.
With Caglianone potentially experimenting in the outfield, Brett Squires and Chris Britto look to fill in at first. Squires will look to get everyday at-bats as a DH when not fielding. His minor-league numbers have looked fantastic through two seasons as a college bat. He was injured in 2024, essentially halving his season and ending it early. His early look slash of .309/.390/.481 through 62 games opened a lot of eyes. Squires is extremely pull-centric and his 66.2% contact rate is less than stellar which could limit his output moving forward. He still walks over 10% of the time and his numbers speak for themselves. Big breakout candidate for the Naturals in 2025.
Everyone else is more of a defense-first option with some plate potential. Stone Russell may be the only true third baseman on the roster which will lead to plenty of at-bats for him. He played most of his games in rookie ball last season. Jack Pineda and Justin Johnson will fortify the middle infield and vie for the starting shortstop spot.
Outfielders:
Asbel Gonzalez / Spencer Nivens / Connor Scott / Diego Hernandez
This is the closest you’ll get to a prediction in the outfield. Nivens and Gonzalez are essentially locks in this starting line-up but the rest will be up in the air. We can expect to see a look at Jac Caglianone in the outfield, especially if he’s on fire at the plate. Brett Squires, Chris Brito, and Peyton Wilson all have played the corners before. The production at the plate will help determine who goes where on any given day.
Asbel Gonzalez is a favorite amongst writers here at Farm to Fountains. He made his way through the Dominican Summer League in 2023 at 17 and jumped from the rookie complex to AA at the end of last season for just a few games. He has a lot of growth ahead of him but the grades are legit. Touting a projected 55-hit tool, 45-raw power, and 60-speed, Gonzalez could be the future in center field for the Royals organization. I expect he’ll struggle a bit in 2025 as he adjusts to the elite talent but his talent is undeniable.
Spencer Nivens was drafted in the 5th round of the 2023 draft out of Missouri State. In his first half-season, he didn’t flash much with his on-base percentage floating his value as a hitter. The beginning of 2024 wasn’t much better for him with a slash of .184/.287/.296 entering August. He then proceeded to hit 13 home runs in August with a slash of .352/.427/.806, more bombs than anyone at any level of baseball in that month His power was mostly limited to August but it’s hard to ignore a performance of that magnitude. It wasn’t enough to jump him into the top 30 prospects and this season could be his revenge tour.
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