The Royals acquired Derlin Figueroa from the Los Angeles Dodgers at the 2023 trade deadline. The trade sent Figueroa and Devin Mann to Kansas City in return for Ryan Yarbrough. After swapping organizations, he went on a dominant tear in the Arizona Complex League. It was a small sample, but Figueroa showed off outstanding power potential and a great approach at the plate. Positionally, it’s been a bit of a mish-mash thus far. Throughout his minor league career thus far, Figueroa has spent time at third base, first base, second base, shortstop, and both corner outfield positions.
Season Stats:
2021 (DSL – Bautista): .164/.305/.216, 16.2% BB%, 24.0% K%, 63 wRC+
2022 (DSL – Mega): .323/.429/.556, 14.3% BB%, 21.8% K%, 150 wRC+
2022 (DSL – Bautista): .233/.306/.488, 8.0% BB%, 18.0% K%, 105 wRC+
2023 (CPX – LAD): .237/.372/.376, 16.8% BB%, 22.1% K%, 96 wRC+
2023 (CPX – KCR): .571/.659/.1.029, 20.5% BB%, 9.1% K%, 296 wRC+
There hasn’t been a large sample at any level thus far for Figueroa. However, there have been glimpses of strong power potential throughout his minor league career thus far. The contact ability has been inconsistent, but that’s to be expected from a still pretty young international prospect. He will almost certainly get a chance to test the Low-A waters sometime in 2024, giving fans a clearer look at what his overall potential is.
Figueroa’s swing has a minor hitch that allows him to generate great power despite his average frame. There’s some swing-and-miss in the swing, but that hasn’t translated to strikeouts thus far. Although the power ceiling seems rather high for Figueroa, he struggles to make consistent hard contact. This causes him to struggle to hit for average at times. This was shown best by a mere 11.8% line drive rate in 2023 with the Dodgers organization resulting in a .237 average. Figueroa has the ability to hit the ball hard to center field, but he often settles for pull power, further limiting the hit tool over larger samples.
Scouting Grades:
Hit: 30/45
Game Power: 35/55
Raw Power: 45/60
Speed: 45/45
Glove: 40/45
Arm: 45/50
Best Case Scenario
There’s a path forward that sees Figueroa become a Nick Swisher or Nomar Mazara-type outfielder. The bat won’t carry him enough to stick at first base, and defensively Figueroa doesn’t look strong enough to settle in on the left side of the infield. To become a bat-first corner outfielder like those two mentioned above, he will need to continue refining the approach. If Figueroa can learn to use all fields at the plate then he will have a much better chance at becoming an impact major leaguer.
Worst Case Scenario
Figueroa dominated with the Surprise Royals in 2023, but there have been alarming signs prior to that in his minor league career. There are times that he struggles to make hard contact consistently. That has led to a lot of weak flyouts and groundouts. If the approach never materializes and allows him to make more consistent hard contact, then Figueroa profiles like a limited, depth bat that relies too heavily on home runs without enough home runs to make that valuable.
