Former Royals’ Minor Leaguer Anthony Seratelli Signs with New York Mets

Credit to: Minda Haas

Earlier this week, any minor league players who weren’t on 40 man rosters and who had fulfilled their contract obligations with their current teams became free agents, some for the first time. Among the Royals’ list of minor league free agents were Julio Rodriguez, Sam Runion, Brian Sanches, Zach Jackson, Manny Pina, Max Ramirez, Ben Broussard, Rey Navarro, Gorkys Hernandez, and Anthony Seratelli. Some of those names are fairly recognizable. Some are guys who couldn’t find their way out of the lower minors. Some are older players who are past their prime. And some, like Seratelli, just never got an opportunity with the big league club. Despite playing well in Omaha for the last two seasons, the Royals didn’t give Seratelli even a cup of coffee in Kansas City.

But it seems like Seratelli may now have a better chance for his long awaited major league debut after signing  a contract with the New York Mets on Friday.

Seratelli is one of my favorite Royals’ minor leaguers that I’ve seen play. He’s been in the farm system since 2007 after playing a season of Independent League ball in 2006. In total, his career line to this point is .276/.372/.418 in 3236 plate appearances. In 926 plate appearances at AAA in 2012 and 2013, Seratelli was even better, putting up a .286/.385/.452 slash line with 28 home runs and 34 doubles. He combined his .837 OPS with terrific speed, stealing 39 bases, and only being caught stealing 5 times. Seratelli was very versatile in the field, playing all 4 infield positions and right field for the Storm Chasers.

It isn’t just Seratelli’s baseball prowess that I’m a fan of, either. The story of how he became a professional player in the first place is tremendous. Instead of trying to explain the whole story to you myself, I’ll let you listen to Seratelli tell it in his own words. Listen to this episode of the Kansas City Baseball Vault at around the 40 minute mark, at which point the guys talk to Seratelli about the crazy path that led him to sign with the Royals.

It’s impossible to not root for a guy like Seratelli. He’s put in his time in the minors, performed well, and even when he wasn’t rewarded with a major league call-up, he never gave up on his dream. Off the field, Seratelli has a video production website (www.ars1productions.com) and he will frequently post entertaining short videos featuring him and his teammates and friends. I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Seratelli, but everyone I’ve talked to who has says he is an incredibly nice person, too. How can you not want to see him succeed?

Despite Seratelli no longer being in the Royals’ organization, I will definitely still follow his career closely. He’s been a joy to watch play in Omaha these last 2 seasons. I wish him nothing but the best, and I look forward to seeing him on a major league ball field in the very near future.