Miguel Almonte was signed by the Royals as a non-drafted free agent on Nov. 20, 2010.  He made is professional debut in 2011 in the Dominical Summer League where he pitched in 5 games going 11.2 innings.  Over the next few years he quickly worked his way up the Royals minor league system and found himself in AAA Omaha in 2015.  That was not his last stop for the year though.  He made his MLB debut with the Royals on September 1, 2015.  As the Royals were chasing their first World Series win in 30 years Almonte pitched 8.2 innings over 9 games with an 0-2 record and 6.23 ERA all in relief.

In 2013 Almonte along with Royals prospect Yordano Ventrua pitched for the World team in the Futures Game.  Almonte pitched a scorless seventh inning needing only 14 pitches to retire all three batters he faced.

Almonte was well on his way to earning a spot in with the Royals pitching staff in 2016 when he regressed a bit.  Early in the season he was called up to the Royals but was sent back down to AAA Omaha without an appearance.  He logged 21 games with Omaha with 12 starts and a 3-7 record with a 5.55 ERA over 60 innings giving up 63 hits, 37 ER, 42 BB, 57 SO.  He was then sent down to AA Northwest Arkansas where he finished the season.  In 2017 he once again found himself in AA Northwest Arkansas but was plagued by injuries that limited his season.  Almonte was slated to make his first MLB start on May 25, 2017 against the Yankees in New York but the game was postponed and he was optioned back to AAA Omaha.  The rest of the season he bounced between the disabled list, AAA, and the MLB.  He ended up appearing in just two games for the Royals in 2017 going 2 innings with a 13.50 ERA.  He also logged 18 innings over 9 games with the AAA Omaha Storm Chasers where he put up a 1.50 ERA while striking out 17 batters and walking only 7.

Almonte can throw his fastball in the mid-90s regularly with excellent movement that can blow by hitters or induce groundballs when down in the zone. All though he has had problems with his secondary stuff, his changeup is arguably the best in the organization and has had some excellent fade, and his curveball occasionally looks good but his arm slot keeps it’s potential on the low side.  Although he’s spent most of his time as a starter in the minors, his career path may put him in the bullpen at the MLB level with a possibility of being a good closer.

Almonte is currently ranked as the Royals #23 prospect by Royals Farm Report. 2018 will be his age 25 season and he has the ability to make the team out of Spring Training with a good showing. However, there are a lot of pitchers battling for only a few spots and he has not yet lived up to his potential having only pitched 10.2 innings over 11 games in the MLB with a 7.59 ERA, 9 BB, and 10 S0.