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

Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

We now find ourselves just over a week into the Kansas City Royals full season minor league schedule. The Omaha Storm Chasers, Northwest Arkansas Naturals, Wilmington Blue Rocks and Lexington Legends have all kicked off their seasons, with three of the four teams sitting at .500 or better in the early going.

As is the case anywhere, during any week of the season, some players have gotten off to a great start, while others have been ice cold coming out of Spring Training. That could be the case at any point in time, where any player would have a hot week or two while someone else is embroiled in the midst of a slump. Unfortunately, when this happens at the beginning of the season, these extremes become a bit more obvious.

Now, with that first week of the minor league season down, let us take a tour through the Royals farm system. We will stop off at each team, and check out which players are hot, and which are not, both on the hitting and pitching sides. Here, we will see some truly great performances, while others were absolutely horrid. Such is the wonder of the one week sample size.

In some, but not all of these cases, should the hot streak continue, these players may be worth keeping an eye on as a possible candidate to be promoted to the next level during the course of the year. Who knows, some of these players may even find themselves contributing for the Kansas City Royals at some point in time.

Let us know if there is someone that you feel deserves to be on the list but was left off in the comments below!

*stats up to date as of the beginning of the day on April 16*

Next: We begin in Omaha

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

Mandatory Credit: H. Darr Beiser-USA TODAY Sports

Northwest Arkansas Naturals: Offense

Hot: Mike Bianucci

If you are a 29 year old playing at the AA level, and on your third organization, chances are that you will need to show something to even remain on the roster, otherwise your place will be taken by some player that could have a future with the team. Mike Bianucci is certainly doing his part to attempt to turn a few heads and get some attention.

The minor league slugger continued his power hitting ways during the first week of the Travelers season, producing a .360/.385/.800 batting line, slugging three home runs. Bianucci has also struck out eight times in 26 plate appearances, but if he keeps hitting home runs at this pace, he could catch the attention of the Kansas City Royals front office.

Cold: Terrance Gore

Yes, Terrance Gore was recalled to the major leagues on Wednesday, as Ned Yost and Dayton Moore felt that his potential as a pinch runner is is worth having on the Kansas City Royals at this point in the season. However, it would be nice if Gore could show some sort of viability with the bat, which he has failed to do thus far.

While Gore has continued to show his speed by stealing two bases for the Travelers, that is really all he has done. In 15 at bats this season, he has failed to get a hit and has struck out five times. Yes, Gore’s speed is valuable, but he may have been better served by staying in AA and continuing to work on his batting stroke instead of being used like Herb Washington until Alex Rios returns.

Next: An outing to forget

Northwest Arkansas Naturals: Pitching

Hot: Andy Ferguson

After spending most of his career as a starter in the Kansas City Royals system, Andy Ferguson made his first appearance of the season as a reliever for the Travelers. This outing went about as well as it could have been hoped for, as he allowed only two hits and a walk while striking out six in four innings of work. This outing follows a 2014 season where Ferguson was 11-10 with a 2.93 ERA with Northwest Arkansas, as he is continuing to show his dominance at the AA level.

While Ferguson had not been a true strikeout pitcher as a starter, if this transition to the bullpen is permanent, he may suddenly become a true fireman. The Kansas City Royals have a proven ability to find excellent relievers, so why should Ferguson not potentially be added to the list?

Cold: Matthew Murray

When looking at a rough outing, one should take it with a grain of salt. Any player have have a bad game, and when that happens to a pitcher, it can truly skew the statistics, especially in the early part of the season. That definitely happened to Matthew Murray in his only appearance of the season.

While recording two outs, Murray gave up four runs on four hits and a walk. He has faced six batters thus far, so he did manage to get a double play during that outing. Hopefully, this is just one bad performance, and Murray can turn his season around for the Travelers.

Next: A prospect to watch moving forward

Wilmington Blue Rocks: Offense

Hot: Dominique Taylor

Considering the sheer volume of prospects that the Kansas City Royals have stocking their system currently, a promising youngster could easily get lost in the mix. If Dominique Taylor keeps producing the way he has, the German born outfielder may not remain anonymous for long.

Thus far, Taylor has produced a .364/.391/.545 batting line with a home run and two stolen bases. Overshadowed in Wilmington by fellow prospect Bubba Starling, Taylor has outproduced the more heralded prospect, and may prove to be the better player over the long term. He certainly appears to be a player to keep an eye on as the season progresses.

Cold: Cameron Gallagher

An interesting prospect who had once been considered a potential Mike Napoli type of player, Cameron Gallagher has developed into a decent defensive catcher. Unfortunately, his offense has lagged behind, especially over the past two seasons. Beginning the season with the Blue Rocks, where Gallagher played all of last season, the hope was the he could rediscover his hitting stroke that made him such an enticing prospect for the Kansas City Royals.

If the first week is any indication, that wish may not come true. Gallagher has two hits in fifteen at bats while striking out four times. However, there may be a sign of hope, as Gallagher has drawn five walks. It seems likely that this is just a slow start to the season, and Gallagher can get his offense back on track in the weeks ahead.

Next: A complete lack of control

Wilmington Blue Rocks: Pitching

Hot: Eric Skoglund

After pitching nine games in the Pioneer League last season, Eric Skoglund made the leap to Wilmington for the 2015 season. Considering he had a 5.09 ERA and a 1.696 WHiP last season, this was quite a jump in competition. It may only be one start, but he appears to be rewarding the Kansas City Royals faith already.

In his first outing of the year, Skoglund pitched 5.2 shutout innings of ball, allowing three hits while striking out three batters. A third round draft pick of the Royals last year, Skoglund is likely to rely more upon control and movement to keep hitters off balance, as his fastball sits in the upper 80’s. It will be interesting to see how this draft pick progresses this season.

Cold: Matt Alvarez

On the other side of the control coin, there is Matt Alvarez. He has struggled with his command during his time in the Kansas City Royals system, averaging 6.3 walks per nine innings over his first two seasons in the minors. Those control issues were evident in his first outing for the Blue Rocks as he allowed three runs on a hit and three walks while recording one out.

Alvarez has displayed a live arm, striking out 75 batters during his 78.2 minor league innings, but he truly needs to refine that control in order to take the next step. Hopefully, Wilmington pitching coach Steve Luebber will be able to harness that arm.

Next: OchoCinco can hit? Wait....

Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

Lexington Legends: Offense

Hot: Chad Johnson

Not to be confused with the former NFL player who changed his name to OchoCinco or the goalie on the Islanders, this Chad Johnson is a catcher in the Kansas City Royals system. Entering his third season as a part of the Legends, Johnson has swung the bat well, potentially showing that he may be ready to move up in the next few months.

Through the first week, the Legends catcher has produced a .500/.611/.714 batting line with three doubles. Johnson is even displaying an improved batting eye, walking four times in 18 plate appearances. While he is not likely to hit at that rate, if Johnson can keep that batting average around .300 after the first couple of months, a promotion may be in order.

Not: Brandon Downes

Making the leap from the Pioneer League to the South Atlantic League has been a difficult transition for Brandon Downes thus far. After performing well for Idaho Falls, Downes has two hits in 23 plate appearances, striking out ten times while drawing a walk.

The Kansas City Royals seventh round pick last season, Downes may just be struggling with the difference in competition thus far. Going from a short season league to a full season minor league team can be one of the more difficult transitions. As the season goes on, hopefully Downes will be able to make the adjustments needed and replicate his success last season.

Next: Power arms everywhere!

Lexington Legends: Pitching

Hot: Pedro Fernandez

There were a few players who could have lain claim to being the hottest pitcher on the Legends this week, but the honor goes to Pedro Fernandez. Fernandez, who struggled with the Legends last season, has certainly done his part to prove that last year was an aberration, at least in the early part of this season.

Having made two appearances thus far, with one start and one relief outing, Fernandez has allowed only two runs on three hits and two walks in 8.1 innings of work. Even more impressively, he has struck out ten of the thirty batters he has faced this season, continuing his track record of striking out more than a batter per inning. At age 21, he is certainly going to be interesting to watch.

Cold: Corey Ray

Corey Ray’s outing was a mixed bag in terms of results. First the good news – Ray recorded seven of his eleven outs via the strikeout, showing that he has the potential to be quite the strikeout artist. However, the rest of his outing was a struggle, as he gave up three runs on five hits and a walk while recording the other four outs.

Ray pitched relatively well for the Burlington Royals last season, posting a 3.50 ERA and a 1.308 WHiP in 44.1 innings of work. Since his outing was in relief, Ray may well have worn down after the first couple of innings. If so, that outing could be forgotten about in short order, especially if Ray continues to be this caliber of strikeout pitcher.

Next: Who's Hot, Who's Not for the Royals in Week One