KC Royals prospects end Arizona Fall League season with mixed results

Jac Caglianone didn't disappoint at the plate in the Arizona Fall League Championship Game on Saturday night. Hitting in the three-spot for the Surprise Saguaros, a club composed in part of several top Kansas City Royals prospects, Caglianone slapped three singles in four at-bats, drew a walk, and scored a run. But his excellent evening wasn't enough to propel the Saguaros to their third straight AFL title.

Instead, Surprise, which at 18-10 was the cream of the regular season AFL crop, suffered a heart-breaking 3-2 loss to the Salt River Rattlers at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. The Saguaros threatened to tie the contest in the ninth, but Royals prospect Daniel Vazquez, who'd just entered the game as a pinch runner, was forced at second on Chase DeLauter's grounder and, after drawing a walk, Caglianone was stranded when Alejandro Osuna grounded out to end the game and hand Salt River the title.

Now, and unless some opt to play winter ball, the Kansas City members of the Saguaros won't see game action until spring training opens in February. Some enjoyed nice AFL seasons, but others did not.

Jac Caglianone and Carter Jensen had good AFL performances

Caglianone and Jensen — rated by MLB Pipeline as Kansas City's best and fifth-best prospects, respectively — showed why they are more than just blips on the Kauffman Stadium radar.

Jensen played in just 12 of Surprise's 28 regular season games, but still hit four homers — only one less than Caglianone clubbed in 21 contests — drove in 11 runs, and hit .425 with a .582 OBP and 1.382 OPS. Caglianone's five home runs and 21 RBI justifiably overshadowed his pedestrian .236/.300/.449 line.

KC Royals prospects Anthony Simonelli, Luinder Avila, and Daniel Vazquez also stood out

Simonelli, who could find himself in Royals manager Matt Quatraro's bullpen before the 2025 season ends, had an 0.00 ERA in eight appearances for Surprise. He also struck out 8 batters, and his 0.88 WHIP was excellent. All that, as well as the 5-3, 2.93 ERA, six-save record he posted in 43 appearances split between Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha in 2024, could convince the Royals to protect him from the upcoming Rule 5 draft.

Avila, who joined Caglianone and Jensen on the American League AFL Fall Star team, made his own case for Rule 5 protection with 17 strikeouts and a 3.07 ERA in five games for the Saguaros. Dividing his 2024 season between Northwest Arkansas and Omaha, he was 6-5 with a 4.14 ERA in 2024. MLB Pipeline ranks him 26th among Kansas City's best prospects.

Shortstop Vazquez hit .298 with a .382 OBP in 14 AFL games. Rated as the Royals' 23rd-best prospect by Pipeline, he hit .253 with a .353 OBP and stole 12 bases at Single-A Columbia this season. He had 32 steals for the Fireflies in 2023.

Four Saguaros didn't have great AFL campaigns

Other Kansas City prospects didn't fare as well in Arizona. Righty reliever Brandon Johnson, who was 3-3 with a 4.13 ERA and two saves for High-A Quad Cities before going 0-1, 4.31 in 27 games at Double-A Northwest Arkansas, pitched eight times for Surprise and surrendered nine runs in 8.2 innings.

After posting a 4.09 ERA and 6.22 BB/9 in 35 games at Quad Cities, left-handed reliever Chazz Martinez gave up seven runs in six AFL innings, averaging a strikeout and a walk per frame.

Although Shane Panzini struck out 15 in six innings spread across three starts and three relief appearances for the Saguaros, he yielded 12 runs (10 earned) in 15.2 innings and went 1-2. This season at Quad Cities, he gave up 30 earned runs, struck out 48, and walked 26 in 51 innings.

First baseman Brett Squires played in 20 of the Saguaros' 28 regular-season games and drove in 10 runs. He added a homer, but managed only a subpar .222/.264/.309 line. Squires' 2024 campaign at Quad Cities was much better — he had a superb .390 OBP, hit .309, homered nine times and drove in 42 runs in 62 games.