Kansas City Royals: Profiling the nineteen 2019 Non-Roster Invitees

Catchers

In addition to MJ Melendez, the Kansas City Royals invited three other catchers to participate in Spring Training.

Nick Dini

Nick Dini is a 25 year old catcher hailing from Monroe, New Jersey. He spent a majority of his 2018 season with Northwest Arkansas, but he did get a little time with the Storm Chasers. In 2018, he slashed .251/.294/.398 overall. He only played 14 games with Omaha, but there he recorded 13 hits, six RBI’s, and an OPS of 1.017.

In his four year minor league career, his overall slash is .287/.342/.409. He has totaled 244 hits, 19 homers, and 117 RBI’s. In 205 games behind the plate, he totals a fielding percentage of .985.

Xavier Fernandez

Another one of the catchers invited to Spring Training is Xavier Fernandez. He began his career with the Royals in 2013. In 2018, he split between playing with Wilmington and Northwest Arkansas, playing 36 games with each. His overall slash for the year sat at .287/.335/.445, but his numbers were considerably higher with Northwest Arkansas at .328/.382/.504.

In his career, he has a slash of .275/.337/.404. He has hit a total of 18 homeruns, 247 total hits, and knocked in 112 RBI’s in his five-year minor league career to this point. Fernandez has also played a little first base, but his main position is behind the plate. His career fielding percentage as a catcher is .981.

Sebastian Rivero

Sebastian Rivero rounds out the list of catchers invited. He is just 20 years old, and the entirety of his 2018 season was spent with the Lexington Legends. He played in a total of 77 games during the 2018 season, where he slashed .258/.301/.391.

Overall, he holds a fielding percentage of .987 behind the plate.