Revamped, rejuvenated system has Royals poised to bounce back

“Truth Training”

One of those key additions was Drew Saylor. Hired from the role of assistant hitting coordinator with the Pirates, Saylor joined the Royals after the 2019 season and really got to work implementing his vision once the minor leagues resumed in 2021.

Much of his plan involved what he called “truth training.”

“We wanted our guys to be able to get up to speed,” Saylor said. “We made them more comfortable with being uncomfortable, and we wanted them to be able to learn how to hit certain pitch shapes and certain movement profiles and kind of started there.

“Then we can kind of start cooking in ‘OK, well, this guy’s movement profile says this, this guy’s strength profile says that, here’s how we’re going to build and put all these pieces together.’ Here’s how we’re going to predict what that should look like And then (later) we’re going to re-evaluate that.

To achieve these goals, each affiliate’s pre-game routine has changed. Instead of hitting a coach during batting practice, Royals prospects began facing machines designed to spit out pitches that closely mimic the arsenal of that night’s opposing pitcher. If he has a downward curveball, the machine will serve up snapdragons. If sweepers are on the menu, the machine will throw them at hitters. And if a pitcher can provide heat, the machine will increase the speed.

The results have been mixed from a team perspective, as all four of Kansas City’s season-long affiliates sit in the middle of the pack in their respective leagues. But there have been significant rebounds throughout the system.

2022 first-rounder Gavin Cross, for example, is hitting .286/.368/.454 with seven home runs for Double-A Northwest Arkansas. This recovery comes a year after Cross produced an OPS of just .683 during a season spent mostly spinning his wheels at High-A. An illness suffered last season almost certainly contributed to those struggles and limited Cross’ promotion to Double-A to just two games. Now the Virginia Tech alum looks rejuvenated and back to something resembling what Kansas City expected when it drafted him seventh overall.

One level lower, in Quad Cities in the Midwest League, catcher Carter Jensen, 20, has quietly had an excellent season. A year after a rocky introduction to the level, the 2021 third-rounder demonstrated a telling mix of impact and patience. Through 67 games, the Missouri native was among the league’s top 10 in hits (69), extra base hits (24) and total bases (110), and led the league with 48 bases on balls.

At Low-A, there’s 2023 first-rounder Blake Mitchell, a high school catcher chosen by the Royals out of high school in Texas with the eighth overall pick a year ago. Despite a significant platoon split, Mitchell still produced some of the best offensive numbers in the pitcher-friendly Carolina League. His .390 on-base percentage is seventh in the league, his eight home runs are tied for fourth, his .827 OPS is tied for eighth and his 43 walks rank third.

A foundation in coaching

Part of the system’s offensive uptick can be attributed to a greater investment in development, particularly when it comes to young coaches who are proficient in analytics and adept at teaching. Each level of Kansas City’s system features at least two pitching coaches and two hitting coaches, many of whom are new to the organization in recent years.

“There is a certain level of compatibility, character and the way they believe in coaching and teaching, as well as the skills and knowledge of the field and the skill set that they bring through their experiences and their learning where we thought we could build and put that puzzle together,” Royals farm manager Mitch Maier said when asked about the types of characteristics the team was looking for in its new signings.

“We put together a very diverse group to help us reach every player, from a Spanish speaking player, a high school player, a big school college player, a small school player, a high pick, a high school player low choose, whatever. We have people in every role who have the experience and knowledge consistent with what we believe it means to be a coach within this organization.

One of those coaches is Ari Adut, who spent time in the Yankees and Phillies organizations and is now one of two hitting coaches at Low-A Columbia. He turned professional after five seasons as an assistant coach at Los Angeles Valley College. He also played two seasons in the Pecos League.

Now he’s tasked with helping some of the Royals’ younger prospects, like Mitchell, tool shed shortstop Austin Charles and powerhouse trade import Derlin Figueroa, become the best versions of themselves.

To do this, he and the rest of the coaches in the system attempted to accentuate each hitter’s strengths while molding them into the type of player the Royals prefer.

“They want them to be team players to the nth degree,” said Adut, who also noted that the team has placed a heavy emphasis on situational hitting and imitating situations as completely as possible. game during their pre-match work. “They’re looking for that team camaraderie, which we build here as much as possible. It’s more difficult in the minors, but that’s our goal since day one.

The long road to reconstruction

As with any process, implementing Kansas City’s new offensive game plan took time. There certainly have been and will be bumps and bruises along the way. Even if the results aren’t there immediately, part of the team’s player development team’s job is getting players to stay patient and trust the process.

This is not always an easy question.

“I think the more consistent our process is, I hope it builds on them,” Adut said. “And there’s a conversation about that too, isn’t there?” No matter what we say, a dashboard shows statistics. That’s exactly what it is, and we try to get them to focus on what they’re trying to do, to make one argument at a time, one idea at a time and not let it pass on to the next one.

“That’s the thing: (the development) can happen when they’re hot, when they’re cold, when they’re just normal. But it’s that consistency that reminds them to continue to view this as a process as much as possible and to know that they don’t need to be a finished product that leaves (a level).

Of course, hitting is only part of the equation. The Royals also had plenty of wins on the mound.

In the Texas League, one of the most hitter-friendly atmospheres in sports, the Royals have two of the top 10 leaders in strikeouts. Mason Barnett’s 73 punch outs are fourth in the league, while fellow right-hander Eric Cerantola is tied for eighth with 62 K’s.

Left-hander Hunter Patteson dominated competition in the Carolina League before a promotion to High-A, and right-hander Steven Zobac threw one of the highest volumes of strikes in the minor leagues. Right-hander Chandler Champlain, acquired by the Yankees in 2022, has consistently been mentioned by evaluators as one of the most intriguing weapons in Kansas City’s system.

Like on the hitting side, each Royals minor league affiliate has two pitching coaches. This process began with the upper levels in 2021 and concluded this season.

When looking to add coaches to the organization, pitching coordinator Paul Gibson looks for people who are curious, creative and willing to dig deep into a pitcher’s strengths and weaknesses to find areas for improvement.

“When you look at player development, there are basically, to me, three different stages,” Gibson said. “The early development of their births and arms, building their bodies and getting stronger. And then the normal course of action that you would see as they develop through the system. And then, finally, what is at stake in the big leagues. When they get to the back end of Double-A, Triple-A, at that point you hope that (they already have) a lot of the base base, and now it comes down to, ‘OK, what who plays in the major leagues?

“To me, these guys are involved in all of this. Build that foundation first, then put the smaller pieces in place to build a solid foundation for the player.

Next steps

Although Kansas City’s system is in a much better place than it has been in each of the last two seasons, it still has a ways to go. Prospects have rebounded and new players are producing, but the organization still has no players in the BA Top 100.

That should change once the Royals sign their sixth overall pick in this year’s draft, but as of now, there are no truly elite prospects in the organization. There is, however, enough improvement that the team has the prospect depth needed to trade reinforcements to the big league club. So even if a prospect doesn’t end up playing for Kansas City, his progress will help the team move closer to its goal of returning to the playoffs for the first time since winning the World Series in 2015.

The same year Kansas City won it all, Jesus Azuaje joined the organization as coach. Now the director of Low-A Columbia, he has seen the ups and downs of a system on the rebound.

“We are very excited about where we are right now, talent-wise,” Azuaje said. “The last two years have been big for us in the draft. The guys are doing a really good job and we are excited for our future.

“Guys are coming in who know how to play the game. They bring a lot of passion for the game, which has helped. You must have a love for the game and a passion to continue to develop and learn to play the game the way it is meant to be played.

There’s still plenty of room for growth, but the people and processes Kansas City has added over the past few years have put the Royals on a much better path. Today, the results achieved in the major leagues are starting to trickle down to the minor leagues.