Royals top prospect among several KC youngsters heading to Arizona Fall League

The minor-league seasons are winding down, with the Triple-A season being the last affiliated level to close up shop in September. The Kansas City Royals will be playing baseball after that season ends, but the Royals have some prospects heading to the desert for an extended look.

The club announced the prospects and coaching staff heading to represent Kansas City with the Surprise Saguaros in this year’s Arizona Fall League.

The Royals send Blake Mitchell, others to represent in the Arizona Fall League.

Kansas City’s top prospect and MLB Pipeline’s 48th-ranked prospect, catcher Blake Mitchell, leads a group of eight players heading down south.

There are several top-30 prospects in the group as well, including left-handed pitcher Hunder Owen, outfielder Carson Roccaforte, shortstop Daniel Vazquez, and LP Langevin. Right-handed pitcher A.J. Causey will also look to extend his red-hot 2025 campaign by facing off against more highly-regarded prospects. Right-handed starter Logan Martin and right-handed reliever Dennis Colleran round out the players Kansas City is sending.

Two coaches from the Royals organization will be in the Arizona Fall League as well. High-A Quad Cities manager Jesus Azuaje will serve as the Saguaros’ manager for the second time since 2023, while Low-A Columbia strength and conditioning coach Bryce Hall will fill that same role for Surprise.

If this seems like a loaded roster for the Royals, it matches the standard set by this year’s rosters altogether. Thirteen of MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospects and 97 organizational top-30 prospects are playing in the Arizona Fall League this year.

Two of baseball’s top four prospects are the headline names in shortstops Kevin McGonigle and Sebastian Walcott, ranked second and fourth, respectively. This is the first year that has happened since 2011 when future All-Stars Bryce Harper and Mike Trout played in the fall league at the same time.

All 30 MLB organizations are represented in the league each year, with five teams coming together to make one Fall League team. For example, the Saguaros are made up of the Milwaukee Brewers, Cleveland Guardians, Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, and Royals. The team will call Surprise Stadium home for the Arizona Fall League, which is also the spring training facility for the Rangers and Royals.

It is easy to miss the action unless fans are in the stands, but the Arizona Fall League is undoubtedly a benchmark moment for a player's chances at reaching the big leagues. According to MLB, “[41%] of all players named to the 2025 MLB All Star Game in Atlanta are AFL alums (33 of 80).”

Trout, Harper, Max Scherzer, and Albert Pujols are just a handful of future stars who once played in the Arizona Fall League. Not every player who goes through is a guaranteed MLB contributor—but it is a pretty good sign that an organization sends a player to the desert.

Opening night is on Oct. 6, as the Peoria Javelinas take on the Scottsdale Scorpions at Scottsdale Stadium. Surprise will start their slate of games against the Mesa Solar Sox on Oct. 7 in Sloan Park.

MLB has been providing live streams for games since 2022 available on MLB.com. If Royals fans want to revisit current big-leaguers Carter Jensen and Jac Caglianone on last year’s first-place Saguaros squad, check out the stream archive here.