Kansas City Royals Prospects: Who’s Hot, Who’s Not

Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Omaha Storm Chasers: Hitting

Hot: Reymond Fuentes

During Spring Training, the battle for the final outfield spot for the Kansas City Royals came down to Reymond Fuentes and Paulo Orlando. As Orlando has proven to be a triples hitting machine, his inclusion on the major league roster has had positive results. However, Fuentes has been swinging a hot bat for Omaha, producing a .375/.474/.438 batting line, stealing two bases and even proving his Royals stripes by being hit with a pitch.

If Fuentes is able to continue to perform at this level, he may find himself getting called up in the event of another outfield injury. At the very least, he has displayed the potential to be able to swing the bat at the AAA level, making him someone to watch in the coming weeks.

Cold: Francisco Pena

For as torrid a start that Fuentes has had in Omaha, Francisco Pena has been equally cold. A year removed from his breakout season, and after being somewhat considered for the Kansas City Royals backup catcher role during Spring Training, Pena’s bat has been dormant. Thus far, he has one hit in his 17 plate appearances, striking out four times.

While Pena may never produce a high batting average, he still has plenty of power potential and could be an interesting back up catcher at the major league level. Hopefully, he can shake off the rough start to the season.

Next: Sheer dominance