Royals assign 121 minor leaguers to fall camps

The Royals have assigned 121 minor league players to four teams for further development this fall. Two of the teams will work out and play games in Arizona, while two of the teams will work out in Kansas City. The teams in Arizona will play games against teams from other organizations in Arizona from October 5 until November 14.

The more polished prospects will remain in Kansas City. Top pitching prospects Jackson Kowar, Daniel Lynch, and 2020 first-round pick Asa Lacy headline the rosters. Outfielders Kyle Isbel and Khalil Lee, and 2020 draft pick Nick Loftin are among the hitters, including one surprise name in Erick Pena, who is a good 7-8 years younger than his teammates.

The teams in Arizona consist mostly of younger players or those new to the organization. It includes several 2020 draft picks such as pitchers Christian Chamberlain, Will Klein, and Ben Hernandez, and outfielder Tyler Gentry. Other notable prospects include outfielder Juan Carlos Negret, who the Royals signed once he was ordered to be made a free agent following the Braves signing scandal, Dutch standout Darryl Collins, 2019 second-round pick Brady McConnell, and top international free agent Wilmin Candelario.

Major League Baseball announced there would be no Arizona Fall League this year. Dayton Moore wanted players on the 40-man roster to be able to participate in the Kansas City instructional camp with some players expressing interest, but the club found resistance from the union, according to Ken Rosenthal at The Athletic.

“That’s the dysfunction in the game,” Moore said on Wednesday. “I’m not a labor attorney. I’m not negotiating the next Basic Agreement. My job is simply to provide opportunities for players to play baseball.

“That’s all we’ve tried to do. No agenda. Very innocent. And for whatever reason, we have labor attorneys, once again, deciding who gets to play baseball and who doesn’t get to play baseball when a kid just simply wants to put the damn uniform on and go play.”

From the article, it seems the Royals initially planned to house and feed players, but not provide any salary beyond $50 in meal money. Rosenthal indicates that Moore heard from agents that the players might be willing to participate with full salaries, but it is unclear if the Royals ever planned to offer that. There was also some worry from agents that some players might feel compelled to participate even if they didn’t want to.

Regardless, it is a good thing the Royals are providing the opportunity for minor leaguers to get some development in this fall after a lost minor league season. It is an encouraging sign that despite cutbacks in minor league development around baseball, Royals ownership seems committed to investing in the future.

Fall Instructional League in Kansas City

Pena Roster

Pitchers: Jonathan Bowlan, Jake Brentz, Robert Garcia, Zach Haake, Arnaldo Hernandez, Nick Howard, Jackson Kowar, Alec Marsh, Yohanse Morel, Noah Murdock, Franco Terrero, Stephen Woods, Jr.

Catchers: Freddy Fermin, Sebastian Rivero

Infielders: Gabriel Cancel, Angelo Castellano, Michael Massey, Vinnie Pasquantino, Emmanuel Rivera, Bobby Witt, Jr.

Outfielders: Kyle Isbel, Khalil Lee, Anderson Miller, Erick Pena, Blake Perkins

Thorman Roster

Pitchers: Holden Capps, Austin Cox, Yefri del Rosario, Josh Dye, Grant Gavin, Peyton Gray, Jonathan Heasley, Asa Lacy, Daniel Lynch, Charlie Neuweiler, Collin Snider, Andres Sotillet, Jace Vines

Catchers: Nathan Esposito, M.J. Melendez, Logan Porter

Infielders: Clay Dungan, Nathan Eaton, Jimmy Govern, Travis Jones, Nick Loftin, Nick Pratto

Outfielders: Brewer Hicklen, Rudy Martin, Seuly Matias, Kort Peterson

Fall camp in Arizona

Team 1

Pitchers: Dante Biasi, A.J. Block, Christian Chamberlain, Christian Cosby, C.J. Eldred, Grant Gambrell, Will Klein, Adam Lukas, Emilio Marquez, John McMillion, Walter Pennington, Walker Sheller, Augie Sylk, Anthony Veneziano, Chase Wallace, Nathan Webb, Angel Zerpa

Catchers: Michael Emodi, William Hancock, Wyatt Mascarella, Chase Vallot

Infielders: Rhett Aplin, Bhret Bewley, Maikel Garcia, Kyle Kasser, Jake Means, Colby Schultz, Tyler Tolbert

Outfielders: Eric Cole, Jackson Lueck, Isaiah Henry, Brady McConnell, Juan Carlos Negret, John Rave

Team 2

Pitchers: Derrick Adams, Adrian Alcantara, Noah Bryant, Delvin Capellan, Tyshaun Chapman, Cody Davenport, Bryce Hensley, Ben Hernandez, Kyle Hinton, Justin Hooper, Daniel James, Rylan Kaufman, Austin Manning, Andres Nunez, Anderson Paulino, Matt Stil, Samuel Valero

Catchers: Kale Emshoff, Felix Familia, Saul Garza, Omar Hernandez, Paul Mondesi

Infielders: Wilmin Candelario, Jay Charleston, Herald Gonzalez, Jack Gethings, Gage Hughes, Kember Nacero, Matt Schmidt, Enrique Valdez

Outfielders: Tucker Bradley, Darryl Collins, Mikey Filia, Tyler Gentry, Diego Hernandez, Rothalkeg Seijas