Heading into the 2022 season, the Royals’ farm system ranked fifth in baseball. It was led by superstar-in-waiting Bobby Witt Jr. and also included future big leaguers Vinnie Pasquantino, Michael Massey and Alec Marsh.
Now, Witt is one of the best players in the sport, while Pasquantino, Massey, Marsh and others, including MJ Melendez, Kyle Isbel, Angel Zerpa and Maikel Garcia, have contributed to a big league team that finished the first half in the thick of the American League wild card race.
Once that group graduated from prospect consideration, however, things began to go south. Kansas City’s system ranked 29th in 2023 and entered this season dead last in BA’s organization talent rankings.
There was nowhere for the Royals to go but up, and a system-wide overhaul has helped expedite that process. And although the results are only now starting to shine through, the first hints of change came in 2021, when the Royals overhauled their minor league hitting department.
One of those key additions was Drew Saylor. Hired away from an assistant hitting coordinator’s role with the Pirates, Saylor joined the Royals after the 2019 season and really set to work implementing his vision once the minor leagues resumed in 2021 following the lost 2020 season.
A major part of his plan involved what he tabbed “training to the truth.” “We wanted our guys to be able to hit velocity,” Saylor said. “We got them more comfortable with being uncomfortable, and we wanted them to be able to learn how to hit certain pitch shapes and movement profiles and kind of started there.
“Then we’re able to kind of start to bake in, ‘OK, well, this guy’s movement profile says this. This guy’s strength profile says that. Here’s how we’re going to build and put together all those pieces. Here’s how we’re going to forecast what this should look like. And then, (later), we’re going to reevaluate that.’ ”
To accomplish those goals, each Royals affiliate changed its pregame routine. Instead of hitting against a coach in batting practice, Royals prospects began facing machines designed to spit out pitches that closely mimicked the arsenal of that night’s opposing pitcher.
If he has a top-down curveball, the machine will serve up snapdragons. If sweepers are on the menu, the machine will sling those at hitters. And if a pitcher can bring the heat, the machine will ratchet up its velocity.
Results have been mixed from a team results perspective. All four of the Royals’ full-season affiliates are middle-of-the-pack in their leagues’ standings. But there have been some key rebounds.
Double-A Northwest Arkansas outfielder Gavin Cross had rediscovered the form that made him the ninth overall pick out of Virginia Tech in 2022. He had improved his OPS by more than 100 points compared to 2023, a season spent mostly spinning his wheels at High-A.
An illness suffered last season almost certainly contributed to Cross’ struggles, but he now appears rejuvenated and back to something resembling what Kansas City expected when it drafted him.
High-A Quad Cities catcher Carter Jensen had quietly produced an excellent season. A year after a rough introduction to the level, the 2021 third-rounder has shown an eye-opening mix of impact and patience.
In the first half, the 21-year-old Kansas City prep product ranked among the Midwest League’s top 10 with 84 hits and 135 total bases and led the league with 57 walks.
Low-A Columbia catcher Blake Mitchell had produced some of the better offensive numbers in the pitcher-friendly Carolina League.
The 19-year-old was drafted eighth overall last year out of Sinton (Texas) High and in his full-season debut showcased impressive power with 12 home runs and led the league with an .859 OPS.
Part of the Royals system’s offensive uptick can be attributed to a stronger investment in development, particularly when it comes to younger coaches fluent in analytics and adept at teaching. Every level of the Kansas City system features at least two pitching coaches and two hitting coaches, many of whom are new to the organization within the last few years.
“There’s a level of compatibility, character and the way they believe in coaching and teaching, along with the competency and domain knowledge and skill set they bring through their experiences and their learning to where we felt we can construct and put that puzzle together,” Royals farm director Mitch Maier said when asked about the kinds of traits the team has sought in its new hires.
“We’ve put a very diverse group together to help us reach all players, from a Spanishspeaking player, a high school player, a college player from a big school, a player from a small school, a high pick, a low pick, whatever. We have individuals in every role who have the experience and knowledge compatible with what we believe it means to be a coach within this organization.”
One of those coaches is Ari Adut, who has spent time in the Yankees and Phillies organizations and is now one of two hitting coaches with Low-A Columbia. He came to pro ball after a five-season run as an assistant coach at Los Angeles Valley JC. He also played two seasons in the independent Pecos League.
Now, he’s tasked with helping some of the Royals’ youngest prospects—like Mitchell, tool shed shortstop Austin Charles and powerful trade import Derlin Figueroa—become the best versions of themselves.
To do so, he and the rest of the coaches in the system have tried to accentuate each hitter’s strengths while also molding them into the kind of player the Royals prefer.
“They want them to be team players to the Nth degree,” said Adut, who also noted that the team has placed a strong emphasis on situational hitting and ...
Now, Witt is one of the best players in the sport, while Pasquantino, Massey, Marsh and others, including MJ Melendez, Kyle Isbel, Angel Zerpa and Maikel Garcia, have contributed to a big league team that finished the first half in the thick of the American League wild card race.
Once that group graduated from prospect consideration, however, things began to go south. Kansas City’s system ranked 29th in 2023 and entered this season dead last in BA’s organization talent rankings.
There was nowhere for the Royals to go but up, and a system-wide overhaul has helped expedite that process. And although the results are only now starting to shine through, the first hints of change came in 2021, when the Royals overhauled their minor league hitting department.
One of those key additions was Drew Saylor. Hired away from an assistant hitting coordinator’s role with the Pirates, Saylor joined the Royals after the 2019 season and really set to work implementing his vision once the minor leagues resumed in 2021 following the lost 2020 season.
A major part of his plan involved what he tabbed “training to the truth.” “We wanted our guys to be able to hit velocity,” Saylor said. “We got them more comfortable with being uncomfortable, and we wanted them to be able to learn how to hit certain pitch shapes and movement profiles and kind of started there.
“Then we’re able to kind of start to bake in, ‘OK, well, this guy’s movement profile says this. This guy’s strength profile says that. Here’s how we’re going to build and put together all those pieces. Here’s how we’re going to forecast what this should look like. And then, (later), we’re going to reevaluate that.’ ”
To accomplish those goals, each Royals affiliate changed its pregame routine. Instead of hitting against a coach in batting practice, Royals prospects began facing machines designed to spit out pitches that closely mimicked the arsenal of that night’s opposing pitcher.
If he has a top-down curveball, the machine will serve up snapdragons. If sweepers are on the menu, the machine will sling those at hitters. And if a pitcher can bring the heat, the machine will ratchet up its velocity.
Results have been mixed from a team results perspective. All four of the Royals’ full-season affiliates are middle-of-the-pack in their leagues’ standings. But there have been some key rebounds.
Double-A Northwest Arkansas outfielder Gavin Cross had rediscovered the form that made him the ninth overall pick out of Virginia Tech in 2022. He had improved his OPS by more than 100 points compared to 2023, a season spent mostly spinning his wheels at High-A.
An illness suffered last season almost certainly contributed to Cross’ struggles, but he now appears rejuvenated and back to something resembling what Kansas City expected when it drafted him.
High-A Quad Cities catcher Carter Jensen had quietly produced an excellent season. A year after a rough introduction to the level, the 2021 third-rounder has shown an eye-opening mix of impact and patience.
In the first half, the 21-year-old Kansas City prep product ranked among the Midwest League’s top 10 with 84 hits and 135 total bases and led the league with 57 walks.
Low-A Columbia catcher Blake Mitchell had produced some of the better offensive numbers in the pitcher-friendly Carolina League.
The 19-year-old was drafted eighth overall last year out of Sinton (Texas) High and in his full-season debut showcased impressive power with 12 home runs and led the league with an .859 OPS.
Part of the Royals system’s offensive uptick can be attributed to a stronger investment in development, particularly when it comes to younger coaches fluent in analytics and adept at teaching. Every level of the Kansas City system features at least two pitching coaches and two hitting coaches, many of whom are new to the organization within the last few years.
“There’s a level of compatibility, character and the way they believe in coaching and teaching, along with the competency and domain knowledge and skill set they bring through their experiences and their learning to where we felt we can construct and put that puzzle together,” Royals farm director Mitch Maier said when asked about the kinds of traits the team has sought in its new hires.
“We’ve put a very diverse group together to help us reach all players, from a Spanishspeaking player, a high school player, a college player from a big school, a player from a small school, a high pick, a low pick, whatever. We have individuals in every role who have the experience and knowledge compatible with what we believe it means to be a coach within this organization.”
One of those coaches is Ari Adut, who has spent time in the Yankees and Phillies organizations and is now one of two hitting coaches with Low-A Columbia. He came to pro ball after a five-season run as an assistant coach at Los Angeles Valley JC. He also played two seasons in the independent Pecos League.
Now, he’s tasked with helping some of the Royals’ youngest prospects—like Mitchell, tool shed shortstop Austin Charles and powerful trade import Derlin Figueroa—become the best versions of themselves.
To do so, he and the rest of the coaches in the system have tried to accentuate each hitter’s strengths while also molding them into the kind of player the Royals prefer.
“They want them to be team players to the Nth degree,” said Adut, who also noted that the team has placed a strong emphasis on situational hitting and ...
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Baseball America (Digital) - 1 Issue, August/September 2024