ROYALS REVIVAL

A revamped and rejuvenated farm system has Kansas City ready to rebound

- JOSH NORRIS

Heading into the 2022 season, the Royals’ farm system ranked fifth in baseball. It was led by superstar-in-waiting Bobby Witt Jr. and also included future big leaguers Vinnie Pasquantino, Michael Massey and Alec Marsh.

Now, Witt is one of the best players in the sport, while Pasquantino, Massey, Marsh and others, including MJ Melendez, Kyle Isbel, Angel Zerpa and Maikel Garcia, have contributed to a big league team that finished the first half in the thick of the American League wild card race.

Once that group graduated from prospect consideration, however, things began to go south. Kansas City’s system ranked 29th in 2023 and entered this season dead last in BA’s organization talent rankings.

There was nowhere for the Royals to go but up, and a system-wide overhaul has helped expedite that process. And although the results are only now starting to shine through, the first hints of change came in 2021, when the Royals overhauled their minor league hitting department.

One of those key additions was Drew Saylor. Hired away from an assistant hitting coordinator’s role with the Pirates, Saylor joined the Royals after the 2019 season and really set to work implementing his vision once the minor leagues resumed in 2021 following the lost 2020 season.

A major part of his plan involved what he tabbed “training to the truth.” “We wanted our guys to be able to hit velocity,” Saylor said. “We got them more comfortable with being uncomfortable, and we wanted them to be able to learn how to hit certain pitch shapes and movement profiles and kind of started there.

“Then we’re able to kind of start to bake 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 together all those pieces. Here’s how we’re going to forecast what this should look like. And then, (later), we’re going to reevaluate that.’ ”