Farm to Fountains: Weekly Royals News Roundup

Here are the latest happenings in Royals news from last week!

KC: Chase the Pennant and Farm to Fountains is back at it yet again with another incredible Royals interview. Cristian and Kev sit down with Royals outfield prospect Javier Vaz this time! You can catch the full interview on YouTube and Spotify.

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Royals News

The Royals sign four of Baseball America’s top 100 international prospects: “The class is headlined by Cuban shortstop Yandel Ricardo. He’s the top prospect out of Cuba, and according to Baseball America, he blends “good size, athleticism, and hitting ability for both sides of the plate.” According to Joe Doyle of Future Stars Series, Ricardo is ranked the second-best international prospect among MLB scouting directors.”

The Royals sign catcher Sandy Leon to a minor league deal: “The Royals announced they have signed veteran catcher Sandy León to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. The 34-year-old León is a 12-year MLB veteran with the Nationals, Red Sox, Guardians, Marlins, Twins, and he spent last year with the Rangers. Known primarily for his defense, León is a career .208/.276/.311 hitter in 554 games.”

Anne Rogers sat down with Daniel Lynch IV to discuss his time in the Dominican Winter League: “Put a new perspective on it and looked at it as a really cool opportunity,” Lynch said. “And it turned out to be just that. A really neat experience. It was like baseball I’ve never played before.”

Royals Analysis

Kyle Jones discusses the best-case scenario for the 2024 Royals: “The 16th-best team in the league won 82 games in 2023, and I think that is probably about close to the ceiling for the 2024 Royals. The Twins won the division in 2023 with 87 wins, with the Tigers finishing second with just 78 wins. If the Royals hit their ceiling, they should be in the AL Central race well into September.”

Kevin O’Brien takes a look at the potential of Nelson Velazquez: “In my own post on X, Royals Weekly and I went back and forth on Velazquez’s outlook, with Royals Weekly arguing that his batted ball skills would facilitate a breakout. I didn’t disagree, but I also felt Velazquez’s contact issues could be a problem and it makes me cautious with him in 2024, especially since he has less than 400 PA under his belt.”

Farm System

Preston Farr looks at the prospects you’re likely too low on: “He’s a sure thing to stick in center long-term and great defense gives him a rather high floor. He’s still somewhat young for a college product, similar to Cayden Wallace who was drafted in 2022. Roccaforte is a sleeper prospect who could quickly rise up prospect rankings if he shows up as I expect.”

Preston Farr lays out his 2024 All-Prospect Team: “Another fun exercise I like to do before each season is settling on a personal “All-Prospect” Team. This time, I’m looking at my favorite prospect at each position. Last season I hit on some and missed on a few others.”

Kevin O’Brien takes a look at four under-the-radar Royals prospects: “Despite these concerns, in terms of pure upside and ceiling, Figueroa may be one of the Royals’ most intriguing prospects to watch in 2024 and he could jump into the Top 30 of most Royals prospect lists by midseason, much like Austin Charles a year ago.”