Seven Players Who Have Stuck Out from the Royals Complex Team This Season – Farm to Fountains

The Arizona Complex League is a 60-game rookie league season played in Major League teams’ Spring Training complexes. It begins in May (after extended Spring Training) and runs until July 25th.

Typically, rookies matriculating from the Dominican Summer League are the main ones who play in the Complex League. Sometimes, prospects drafted out of high school will play in the Complex League to have more direct access to the development team and resources.

The Complex League season will wrap up next week with the Royals 25-31 as of Saturday.

I will examine seven players who stood out in Arizona this season in this post. Some stood out for their strong performances, and some stood out because they still have intriguing potential but struggled in the Complex League.

Age: 19; Position: C

Ramirez was one of the most anticipated Royals prospects in the Complex League this year. Just Baseball ranked him as the Royals’ best prospect in October and the 98th overall prospect in baseball.

Here’s what Just Baseball said in their scouting report of Ramirez:

It was an incredibly impressive showing from Ramirez both at the plate and behind it. 17 years old at the start of the season, Ramirez looked far more polished than the majority of his competition. He was among the DSL leaders in just about every offensive category, but it’s the swing mechanics, defensive tools and underlying data that make him such an intriguing prospect already. Ramirez has the potential to be a two-way backstop who can can hit for both average and power.

No. 99: Ramon Ramirez – C – Kansas City Royals; by Aram Leighton; Just Baseball

As a recently-turned 19-year-old (his birthday was in June), Ramirez has had an impressive season in the Complex League. In 47 games and 196 plate appearances, he has a 117 wRC+ and is hitting .268 with a 0.63 BB/K ratio. Ramirez’s power has been his most standout tool in Arizona. He leads all Royals hitters in the Complex with seven home runs and has a .201 ISO.

Below is an example of Ramirez displaying his prodigious power in an early July 8th game against the Rangers when he hit two home runs.

The Royals recently promoted catching prospect Carter Jensen to Double-A Northwest Arkansas. That leaves a spot open in Quad Cities, which seems open for fellow catching prospect Blake Mitchell, who is currently in Low-A Columbia.

It seems likely that Ramirez will share catching duties in Columbia with Korean catching prospect Hyungchan Um once the Complex League season wraps up next week.

Age: 18; Position: OF

Fangraphs recently released their Top-42 Royals Prospect list for 2024 and Gonzalez came in at No. 10. Here’s what Eric Longenhagen said about Gonzalez in his most recent report:

Gonzalez is a premier athlete with a long-levered, high-waisted frame that has huge projectability, but he’s still extremely raw from a skill set standpoint. The quality of his at-bats can vary greatly, but it’s apparent that Gonzalez has feel for manipulating the barrel in the zone and making consistent contact. There’s loft in his bat path, but his body lacks the strength to consistently put a charge in his batted balls. Despite his physical projection, Gonzalez likely doesn’t have a future as a 30-homer bopper. Instead, he’s someone who’s going to rack up doubles. Gonzalez still tends to take inefficient routes when ranging for balls in center field, but his plus foot speed and top-tier agility allow him to cover up many of those mistakes at present, and his routes should get cleaned up as he continues to get more reps. This is one of the highest variance prospects in the system, but also one of the easiest to dream on.

No. 10: Asbel Gonzalez; by Eric Longenhagen; Fangraphs

Gonzalez has had a solid stateside campaign in Arizona and has been one of their top-hitting performers beyond Ramirez.

In 38 games and 170 plate appearances, he is hitting .300 with a 118 wRC+. As Longenhagen pointed out in his report, Gonzalez hasn’t shown much big-fly power, as he has zero home runs and a .100 ISO. However, he has collected ten doubles and two triples, which shows that he has gap power that can be utilized at the K.

Gonzalez is an intriguing athlete who has shown great speed on the basepaths in the Complex League. He has stolen 21 bases on 25 attempts, and though his defense needs some polish, he has the frame and athleticism to handle CF in the long term.

The Fireflies outfield is stacked with Erick Torres and Erick Pena. However, Gonzalez seems to have the plate discipline skills of Torres (0.56 BB/K ratio) with the size and upside of Pena. That makes Gonzalez one of the more enticing prospects to follow for 2025.

Age: 20; Position: 2B/3B

An 18th-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft out of IMG Academy, Russell has gotten off to a rocky start in his first entire Arizona Complex League campaign. However, that shouldn’t deter Royals fans’ outlook on him, as he could be someone who starts to put it together once he reaches the affiliated levels ball.

In 42 games and 171 plate appearances, Russell is hitting .257 with a 89 wRC+ and .351 wOBA. The recently-turned 20-year-old shows a mature approach at the plate, as he has a 0.62 BB/K ratio this season and had a 0.80 BB/K ratio in a nine-game sample in the Complex League last year. He also has demonstrated some position versatility in the field, playing first, second, and third base. Most of his time has come at the keystone position, and he has only made two errors this year.

The main issue with Russell has been his power. He only has a .104 ISO and two home runs in the Complex League this season. That said, he’s been starting to show some power lately, as he recently had an eight RBI game in a 22-7 win over the Rangers and hit an opposite-field home run in that same game.

Russell hits many of the balls to the opposite field (51.4% oppo rate), which is a sign that he’s likely behind fastballs. If Russell can make that adjustment and start pulling balls more, I could see him moving up to Columbia in 2025 and finding success, especially with his multi-positional ability.

Age: 18; Position: OF

Cabrera was included in the Aroldis Chapman trade along with Cole Ragans. Though Ragans has garnered most of the attention in that deal (and rightfully so), Cabrera has started to show this season in the Complex why the Royals wanted him included in the trade from Texas.

In 27 games and 107 plate appearances, Cabrera only hits .242 with a 96 wRC+. However, he has a .363 wOBA, a .198 ISO, and four home runs, the third-most of Royals hitters in the Complex League. The former Rangers international signing has shown an impressive ability to barrel balls with authority, which makes up a bit for his 29% K% this season in Arizona.

— Surprise Royals (@Surprise_Royals) July 12, 2024

Even though the strikeout rate is high, he still has a 0.39 BB/K ratio, which is tolerable. He also has only in played in 27 games, as it seems like nagging injuries have kept him from playing a full slate. I wonder if the K% and batting average would be better if he had played more games this season in the Complex.

At only 18, he will likely return to the Complex for a bit next year. However, I could see him being a fast mover in 2025 and impacting Columbia, especially once some spots clear up in the outfield.

Age: 19; Position: SS

Novas is a prospect that should be looked at beyond the numbers.

In his second stint in the Complex League, Novas has struggled. He has a 55 wRC+ in 40 games and 167 plate appearances. He also has a 45.5% K%, which is almost comical. That massive K rate is a big reason why many Royals fans have been out on Novas as a prospect.

That said, Novas hit .324 with a 130 wRC+ in 135 plate appearances in the Complex League last year. That included a BB/K ratio of 0.55. He has five home runs this season, the second-most of Royals complex hitters in 2024. Furthermore, that total is two better than last year, and his .164 ISO is 40 points better than a year ago. So, at least Novas is showing gains in his power and barrel ability, even if the contact skills have regressed in 2024.

The chips are stacked against Novas, and the Royals seem to develop middle infielders well in this system. Other options, including ones from the DSL, may be safer bets than Novas.

That said, it wouldn’t surprise me if Novas put this season behind him, bounces back in 2025, and makes his way to Columbia at some point.

Age: 19; Position: P

Wyatt was the Royals’ third-round pick out of the Connecticut prep scene last season. An over-slot signee, the Royals have taken their time with Wyatt in Arizona, which makes sense, considering he was seen as a bit of a raw pitching prospect at the time of the draft.

Below is Wyatt’s scouting report via MLB Pipeline, which ranks Wyatt as the 24th-best prospect in the Royals system.

Wyatt is long and lean at 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds, but he has big stuff. His plus fastball sits 92-95 mph and has touched 97 with good armside life. His slider is also plus with high spin and sweeping movement to it. Wyatt has some feel for a changeup, but that’ll be a big focus for him this year, as it has been with other Royals high school pitching prospects. He has a quick arm from a three-quarters slot and a clean delivery that shouldn’t prevent him from throwing strikes, but he struggled to command his fastball in high school.

No. 24: Hiro Wyatt; MLB Pipeline

Wyatt has gotten most of the starting innings in Arizona, accumulating 33.2 IP in 12 appearances and eight starts. The ERA is a bit high at 4.81, but he has a 2.25 K/BB ratio and 22.5% K%. The FIP is also a bit more tolerable at 4.31, and it seems like Wyatt is pitching his best during this stretch run of the Complex League season.

Because of his strong finish to the season, the Royals promoted Wyatt to Low-A Columbia today, July 20th.

It will be interesting to see how Wyatt performs, especially against higher-caliber hitters in the Carolina League. That said, the Fireflies need arms, and Wyatt certainly can help boost their pitching corps, whether as a starter or reliever.

Age: 20; Position: P

Woods is an exciting story in the Royals’ player development system. The Royals signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Canada in 2022. Woods went undrafted because he underwent Tommy John surgery before the MLB Draft. Therefore, he has been a bit of a project for the Royals’ pitching development team for the past two years in Surprise.

The Royals’ gamble on Woods has seemingly paid off, even though he’s still progressing and adjusting to professional competition after his surgery.

His ERA is high at 5.14, and his GB% could be better (36.6%). However, in nine outings and 28 IP, he has a K/9 of 11.57 and a K/BB ratio of 3.60, both impressive. Longenhagen ranked Woods as the 11th-best prospect in the Royals system, and this is what he said about Woods’ outlook as a pitcher for Kansas City:

There’s plus athleticism here, with a fluent delivery that he repeats well. Woods’ 88-90 mph four-seamer is a vertically oriented heater that punches above its weight due to the quality of life it has. Woods’ frame is still very lean and projectable so there’s likely another tick of velocity on the horizon. By far the best secondary pitch in Woods’ arsenal is his changeup, which he sells very well with his arm action; its late action generates above-average swing-and-miss. His 75-78 mph breaking ball is a tweener that often lacks sharpness and will likely need a tweak to its shape to become a usable third pitch. As Woods continues to build up post-TJ and his frame evolves, he has the potential to be in the mix for the highest ceiling among the pitchers in this system.

“No. 11: Jordan Woods”; by Eric Longenhagen; Fangraphs

It is possible that Woods could be joining Wyatt soon in Columbia, especially with the strikeout numbers and control Woods has been displaying in Arizona this season. Woods could be a valuable bullpen arm for a Columbia team that could make a push to the Carolina League postseason.

Woods may be a sleeper pitching prospect in the Royals system next year who could climb fast in 2025, especially if he continues to respond positively to the Royals pitching development team and program.

Photo Credit: Surprise Royals/X