Welcome back. This is now the third edition of our preseason prospect rankings here at Royals Farm Report. Before we get into the rankings, there is a lot that has changed here at the site that I want to catch you up on.

First of all, our founding father and fearless leader, Patrick Brennan (@paintingcorner), is now working on the analytics team for Kansas State Baseball. One of our writers, Joel Penfield (@jtpenfield), was picked up by 2080 Baseball doing scouting in the Texas League. Another writer and editor, Joshua Payton (@josh_payton), was hired by Excelsior Leader Sports as their new Director of Baseball Operations.

We’re all busy people, but with the turnover we’ve had recently things are going to be a little different around here. You’ll still see a lot of familiar names writing here, it may just be in different capacities. In any case, we’d like to like to sincerely thank all of you for reading along. As you can tell from above, this website has given our writers access to opportunities bigger and better than we ever could have imagined. We love sharing our love of Minor League Baseball, and of the Royals, with you, and we thank you for allowing us to do so.

You can check out or 2019 midseason top 75 here.

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Without further ado, here are our 2020 preseason prospect rankings, 60-51.

#60: Jose Marquez, INF

• Age: 22 (October 7, 1997)
• Bats/Throws: S/R
• Ht: 6′ 0″ Wt: 175
• Acquired: International Free Agent
• 2019 stats (IDF): 289 PA, .310/.378/.409/.786, 1 HR, 18 XBH, 13 SB, 0.58 BB/K, 111 wRC+

Jose Marquez reminds me a lot of another player that will be on this list here shortly. Really athletic middle infielder with a good feel for hitting but hasn’t seen any power develop just yet. Marquez figures to take over for Rubendy Jaquez in Lexington this spring, and his ability to move up in the organization will probably hinge on his performance in a Legends uniform. Marquez is coming off of back-to-back productive seasons, so it should be interesting to see how he handles full season ball.

#59: Andres Sotillet, RHP

• Age: 22 (March 2, 1997)
• Bats/Throws: R/R
• Ht: 6′ 1″ Wt: 175
• Acquired: International Free Agent
• 2019 stats (NWA): 75.1 IP, 3.35 ERA, 4.05 FIP, 7.53 K/9, 3.46 BB/9, 0.72 HR/9

When it comes to Sotillet, the stuff has never really matched the results. Sotillet posted a 3.07 FIP in 89.1 IP to begin 2018 in Lexington, was striking guys out, didn’t walk many, and was keeping the ball in the yard at an elite rate. Sotillet didn’t find the same success in Wilmington at the end of 2018, but he moved to the bullpen in 2019 and found a lot of success again in NWA. He posted the 11th best HR/9 among all pitchers with at least 70 IP in the Texas League last year, and the best mark among Naturals pitchers. He doesn’t throw overly hard, he really only has two pitches, and I’m not really sure how to project him moving forward, but he’s done a great job of limiting runs since joining the Royals in 2016, and you’ve gotta figure he’ll continue moving up the organizational ladder if he keeps this up.

#58: Rubendy Jaquez, IF

• Age: 20 (February 13, 1999)
• Bats/Throws: S/R
• Ht: 5′ 11″ Wt: 174
• Acquired: International Free Agent
• 2019 stats (LEX): 466 PA, .243/.320/.352/.672, 6 HR, 29 XBH, 30 SB, 0.43 BB/K, 98 wRC+

Across three levels of rookie ball from 2016-2018, Jaquez posted wRC+’s of 107, 112, and 139. Needless to say I was pretty excited to see a tooled up, 20-year old middle infielder make his way to the South Atlantic League this past spring. Jaquez got off to a really slow start, hitting .209 in April and just .195 in May, but heated up over the second half of the season and posted a 114 wRC+ over his last 300 PA from May 30th on. Over the course of the entire season, there were only 11 players in the SALLY with at least 300 PA that posted a 114 wRC+ or better. The power never did come around for Jaquez, but he started getting on base more and with his 30 SB showed plenty of value offensively. He’ll need to avoid extended cold streaks to continue moving through the organization, but his speed and defensive versatility will more than keep him on our radar for now.

#57: Juan Carlos Negret, OF

• Age: 20 (June 19, 1999)
• Bats/Throws: R/R
• Ht: 6′ 1″ Wt: 190
• Acquired: Minor League Free Agent
• 2019 stats (LEX): 158 PA, .172/.285/.351/.636, 6 HR, 12 XBH, 1 SB, 0.26 BB/K, 89 wRC+

There’s still a lot to be hopeful for when it comes to Juan Carlos Negret. He walked a fair bit in Lexington and has some light-tower power in the bat. The general athleticism is eye catching and I’ve been waiting for Negret to break out for a while now. Since posting a 140 wRC+ in the DSL with the Braves back in 2017, he just hasn’t been able to put it all together. There’s obviously still time, as Negret is still only 20 years old, but it would be comforting to see Negret start knocking balls around the yard this spring like we know he’s capable.

#56: Drew Parrish, LHP

• Age: 22 (December 8, 1997)
• Bats/Throws: R/R
• Ht: 5′ 11″ Wt: 200
• Acquired: 2019 MLB Draft
• 2019 stats (BUR): 25 IP, 2.52 ERA, 3.22 FIP, 14.04 K/9, 1.44 BB/9, 1.44 HR/9

Drew Parrish was taken in the 8th round by KC during the June draft last summer and immediately impressed during his pro debut. Parrish struggled in the spring at Florida State, posting an ERA of 5.11 in 86.1 IP, but was dominant as a sophomore, posting an ERA of 2.52 in 107 IP with 128 K. Parrish generates his strikeouts on the back of a 2700 RPM curveball and advanced changeup that really give hitters fits. If you asked for my opinion, I could see Drew Parrish making a Jonathan Bowlan like rise through the system  in 2020. He may be a bit overlooked now, but he could be a very legitimate prospect for KC by the end of the season.

#55: Adrian Alcantara, RHP

• Age: 20 (August 29, 1999)
• Bats/Throws: R/R
• Ht: 6′ 1″ Wt: 178
• Acquired: Minor League Free Agent
• 2019 stats (BUR): 51 IP, 2.47 ERA, 3.29 FIP, 10.06 K/9, 3.00 BB/9, 0.35 HR/9

To be really honest with you, Adrian Alcantara wasn’t more than a blip on my radar heading into 2019. He didn’t even crack our midseason top 75 but wound up being one of the most impressive pitchers among the Royals lower level prospects last summer. Alcantara posted the 5th best HR/9 among all Royals prospects with at least 50 IP last year, and his .152 BAA was the best mark on the farm. Alcantara is still super young, and given his lack of track record it’s hard to expect too much from him just yet. However, with a good 2020 in Lexington, Alcantara has the ability to put himself in the same conversation as guys like Charlie Neuweiler and Rylan Kaufman up higher on this list.

#54: Dante Biasi, LHP

• Age: 22 (December 4, 1997)
• Bats/Throws: L/L
• Ht: 6′ 0″ Wt: 205
• Acquired: 2019 MLB Draft
• 2019 stats (BUR): 18 IP, 2.50 ERA, 3.94 FIP, 12.00 K/9, 1.50 BB/9, 1.50 HR/9

Dante Biasi, a left-handed pitcher, made one of the craziest plays I’ve seen from a college baseball player:

Biasi’s fastball sat 92-93 in college, topping out around 95, but he was reportedly throwing the ball 95 on a consistent basis in a relief role for Burlington this spring. Biasi is probably a reliever long-term, but he can throw some absolute gas from the left side of the mound and could create a lot of issues for left-handed hitters as he continues to move through the system.

#53: Janser Lara, RHP

• Age: 23 (August 10, 1996)
• Bats/Throws: R/R
• Ht: 6′ 0″ Wt: 170
• Acquired: International Free Agent
• 2019 stats: N/A

Janser Lara legitimately has some of the best stuff in the entire organization. He walks a few too many batters just yet, but he strikes out a ton as well. He missed the entire 2019 season due to an undisclosed injury, which is certainly worrisome, but if he’s healthy, he’s nearly as talented as guys like Yohanse Morel and Yefri Del Rosario. I’ll be watching Janser Lara closely in 2020 to see if he can return to form.

#52: Yunior Marte, RHP

• Age: 24 (February 2, 1995)
• Bats/Throws: R/R
• Ht: 6′ 2″ Wt: 180
• Acquired: International Free Agent
• 2019 stats (NWA): 34 IP, 1.59 ERA, 2.92 FIP, 9.26 K/9, 3.44 BB/9, 0.26 HR/9

Yunior Marte absolutely dominated the Texas League last summer. He was promoted to AAA Omaha in June, and while Marte’s ERA wouldn’t suggest that he was any good at the AAA level last summer (6.25 ERA in 26.1 AAA innings), he did post a 4.67 FIP which was actually in the top third of the league (min. 20 IP). Marte’s walks and strikeouts both went up upon arriving to Omaha, but he did a good job of keeping the ball in the yard in what was a dynamic offensive league in 2019. Marte has some electric stuff, and could potentially see time in the big league bullpen this year. I don’t think he’ll ever be a closer, but Marte has the ability to be a really effective 7th inning guy if he puts it all together.

#51: Arnaldo Hernandez, RHP

• Age: 23 (February 9, 1996)
• Bats/Throws: R/R
• Ht: 6′ 0″ Wt: 175
• Acquired: International Free Agent
• 2019 stats (OMA): 105.2 IP, 6.39 ERA, 6.88 FIP, 5.54 K/9, 3.49 BB/9, 2.04 HR/9

I have no idea what happened to Arnaldo Hernandez in 2019, but it may always be a mystery. Hernandez saw an uptick in his raw stuff in 2018 and made his way from Wilmington all the way to Omaha. Hernandez has never been a huge strikeout guy, but he’s punched out fair share of batters at the AA level over the last couple of seasons and has not been able to adjust to the AAA level just yet. One scout told us that Hernandez had fallen in love with making the ball move and wasn’t satisfied with just throwing hard. If Hernandez can return to his 2018 form, I think he’s a legitimate top 30 prospect in this system. His 2018 just doesn’t allow for it at this point in time.

 

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Photo Credits: Tallahassee Democrat – USA Today Sports