After the playoff loss to the Yankees, every spot in the outfield was up for grabs for any free agent the Royals would have grabbed. As each free agent went off the board, it became apparent that even with some offers to top free agents, the Royals weren’t pushing for outfield bats. Entering Spring, the Royals now have an open tryout for all bats in their system for the left field position. The centerfield and right field positions look far more established with bats with clear roles in the lineup. The front office intends to let anyone who rises to the occasion grab a roster spot. 

Right Field

Locks: Hunter Renfroe

Competition: Drew Waters, Tyler Gentry

Hunter Renfroe battled through injury in 2024 to rectify a very slow start that saw him slashing .178/.256/.309 through May. He showed months of significant improvement following that before ending the season on a poor July, September, and postseason. Regardless of output, the 30-plus home run potential, strong arm, and salary are enough to assume he will soak up a majority of innings in right field. Looking back at his June and July, Renfroe was the best outfielder on the team by a long shot. Respectively, he put up an OPS of 1.079 and .870 in those months, showing power, average, and on-base ability. 

These highlights aren’t enough to save Renfroe’s job entirely. Drew Waters will be trying to utilize some of his last chances to become an everyday ball player for this organization. Perhaps a AAAA guy is just that, but it’s worth mentioning that Waters quietly slashed .290/.379/.492 in Omaha last season. With 13 home runs and 33 doubles, there’s enough there to warrant a look. He’s been lackluster in the MLB but his debut season numbers are enough to float a career OPS+ of 92 with 13 home runs over 414 career at-bats. The closest thing to competition in right field is here with Waters. (He will be listed under every position due to his versatility and MLB experience. He won’t be mentioned again, however.)

Centerfield

Locks: Kyle Isbel

Competition: Joey Wiemer, Drew Waters

This feels like the least competitive position out of camp. Defensively, Kyle Isbel is easily the best player in the outfield. His arm isn’t great, but he ranked in the 94th percentile in outs above average with nine in 2024. It is well-documented that his jump and reaction on batted balls are amongst the best in the MLB. Isbel’s defense is his true strength and continues to solidify his place with the big-league squad even after another centerfield talent emerges. Entering 2025, his offensive ceiling is pretty established with his only strengths being his 80th percentile whiff-rate and 69th percentile squared-up percentage. Paired with solid baserunning, Isbel is an eighth or ninth hitter for this squad. A fun number found while researching, Isbel’s 2024 93.5% Z-Contact rate was solidly better than Bobby Witt Jr.’s 88%. He’ll make contact when you need it.

Another option if he can figure it out is Joey Wiemer. He was seemingly a sweetener in the Brady Singer trade for Jonathan India. Wiemer, once a top 100 prospect, struggled mightily in the majors in 2023 and hasn’t seemed to find his swagger again. He was traded from Milwaukee to Cincinnati last season, which correlated to another hit in his minor league numbers. He’s still a great defensive player and at 26 has a couple of years to become a late bloomer. The addition of him in the Singer trade felt a little more intentional than your typical sweetener. Look at his spring training and minor league numbers if outfield depth becomes a problem for the Royals again. 

Left Field

Locks: Jonathan India/Michael Massey, MJ Melendez

Competition: Nelson Velazquez, Nick Pratto, Drew Waters, Tyler Gentry

This will be the most important position to watch in Spring Training. It’s the biggest question mark entering 2025 and has a plethora of guys looking to snag the majority of innings. We know a couple of things for certain regardless of production in spring. 

Jonathan India and/or Michael Massey will play some innings here in the upcoming season. It’s important to note that neither will play a majority of innings there unless performances become increasingly bad. Of the two, it seems like India will get more time in left than Massey. His length plays a lot better here and India has better sprint speed numbers than Massey. Jack Johnson noticed at the start of camp that India was spending time with outfielders while Massey took reps at second.

Jonathan India will play plenty of second and DH while Massey will inevitably DH regularly throughout the season. This means someone else has to go out and soak up a fair amount of innings, if not the majority of them. Enter MJ Melendez and his revamped swing. It isn’t the first time he’s made changes since debuting but these are perhaps the most major of them. Notably, he has focused on keeping his hands back, limiting movement, and keeping his momentum forward throughout the swing. A lot of writers think there’s a chance for a breakout with these changes. The jury is out and judgment will come swiftly. 

Nelson Velazquez started the 2024 season with the big league squad but quickly got demoted due to low average and on-base numbers. The 2023 breakout wasn’t able to replicate his short stint with the Royals in that season. What followed in AAA wasn’t much to instill hope that he figured it out again. His power potential is legit but he brings little defense or average to this lineup. Alongside him is Nick Pratto. 

Pratto also feels like a longshot to make the roster but this will be his last chance to be a mainstay for the Royals. He shined in spring last year but still failed to crack the roster. What followed was a very disappointing season. That could be attributed to a mindset that struggled after his spring demotion. Regardless, if he impresses again this spring and others can’t establish themselves, the front office may have their hands tied. At the very least, it’s time to see if he can be a guy or move on. 

Non-Roster Invitees

This group feels important solely because the organization seems eager to find answers. If someone earns a spot, they may not be hesitant to utilize an option or cut a player for space. John Rave and Javier Vaz are both AAA bats that can play great defense in left field. Rave is the guy with power potential while Vaz gets on base and can scoot around the paths.

While it’s unlikely these guys get a shot on opening day, they’re worth noting because they each bring a very valuable skill to the team. Both can hit and run into doubles and both remained consistent throughout the 2024 season. Rave is closer and put together a .816 OPS in AAA last season. Vaz has been the poster child of consistency during his rise through the minors. His on-base skills are the best from floor to ceiling of the organization and his defensive versatility is great. 

Others of note are Cavan Biggio, Harold Castro, and Gavin Cross. Biggio looks to get far more innings at third and second if he makes this squad but has that versatility. Castro has outfield innings but it’s extremely surprising if he makes this squad out of camp. Cross won’t make it to the bigs for opening day, but a good spring could get him to AAA. His positioning concerning the majors is the big question here. Can he threaten promotion by the middle of the season? Will this be another full season in the minors as he grinds his way up? All of these guys are long shots but look to increase competition for wide-open spots.