Royals name Players, Pitchers of the Year for Minor League affiliates
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (September 30, 2021) – The Kansas City Royals have named their Minor League Players and Pitchers of the Year for their respective affiliates.
Omaha (AAA)
Shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., 21, was named the Omaha Player of the Year, after being named the George Brett Hitter of the Year last week. He split the season between Omaha and Northwest Arkansas (AA) and through Sept. 29, he’s played in 121 combined games and is batting .293 (143-for-488). He leads all minor league players in extra-base hits (72) and is also second in total bases (285), tied for second in runs scored (98), third in RBI (96), fourth in homers (33) and tied for fourth in hits. The right-handed hitter became the first Royals minor league player to record 20+ home runs and 20+ stolen bases in a season since Alex Gordon did so in 2006 with the Wichita Wranglers (AA). Witt Jr. was selected in the first round (2nd overall) of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft out of Colleyville Heritage High School in Texas.
Right hander Jackson Kowar, 24, was named the Omaha Pitcher of the Year, after being tabbed the Paul Splittorff Pitcher of the Year last week. Kowar went 9-4 with a 3.46 ERA (31 ER in 80.2 IP) and 115 strikeouts (12.8 K/9) in 17 overall appearances (16 starts) over two stints with the Storm Chasers. He’s recorded the seventh-most strikeouts among Triple-A pitchers, despite a pair of stints in the Majors, including two weeks in June and the entire month of September. The righty opened the season going 5-0 with a 0.85 ERA (3 ER in 31.2 IP) and a .165 opponents’ average (18-for-109) in six starts before having his contract selected by Kansas City on June 6. He was selected by the Royals in the first round (33rd overall) of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Florida.
Northwest Arkansas (AA)
Catcher MJ Melendez, 22, was named the Northwest Arkansas Player of the Year, and through games on Sept. 29, he leads all minor league players in home runs (41), while ranking second in RBI (99) and slugging percentage (.628), and fourth in extra-base hits (63). He opened the season with the Naturals and was hitting .285/.372/.628 (85-for-298) and led all Double-A players in home runs (28), RBI (65), slugging percentage, OPS (.999), extra-base hits (46) and total bases (187), when he was promoted to Omaha (AAA) on Aug. 9. He was selected in the second round of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft out of Westminster Christian High School in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Right hander Jonathan Heasley, 24, has been named the Northwest Arkansas Pitcher of the Year, going 7-3 with a 3.33 ERA (39 ER in 105.1 IP) in 22 appearances (21 starts) with the Naturals, before having his contract selected by the Royals on Sept. 17. His ERA ranked third among all Double-A pitchers, while he was fourth in WHIP (1.22), sixth in opponents’ average (.244) and tied for sixth in strikeouts (120). He allowed three earned runs or fewer in all but four of his Double-A starts and posted a 1.50 ERA (6 ER in 36.0 IP) in his final seven outings with Northwest Arkansas. Heasley was selected in the 13th round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft out of Oklahoma State University.
Quad Cities (High-A)
First baseman Vinnie Pasquatino, 23, was tabbed the Quad Cities Player of the Year, after hitting a combined .300/.394/.563 (131-for-437) between Quad Cities and Northwest Arkansas. The left-handed hitter is tied for second among all minor league players in doubles (37), ranks fifth in extra-base hits (64) and 10th in total bases (246). He opened the year with the River Bandits and hit .291 (69-for-237) with 20 doubles, three triples, 13 homers, 33 walks and 42 RBI, before being promoted to Double-A on July 20. Among Royals minor league players this season, he’s tops in doubles, ranks second in hits, third in walks (64) and tied for fourth in runs scored (79). He was selected in the 11th round of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft out of Old Dominion University.
Left hander Anthony Veneziano, 24, was named the Quad Cities Pitcher of the Year, after going 6-4 with a 3.75 ERA (39 ER in 93.2 IP) with 127 strikeouts (12.2 K/9), holding the opposition to a .222 average (76-for-342). He tied for the High-A Central lead in strikeouts, ranking tied for second among all High-A pitchers overall and tied for third in starts (22). His strikeout total also leads all Royals minor league pitchers and included a career-high 10 K’s on July 30 vs. South Bend. He was selected in the 10th round of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft out of Coastal Carolina University.
Columbia (Low-A)
Shortstop Maikel Garcia, 21, was tabbed the Columbia Player of the Year. The infielder split the year between Columbia and Quad Cities, batting a combined .291/.380/.405 (120-for-412) with 21 doubles, seven triples, four homers and 35 stolen bases. He was promoted to High-A on July 13, and at the time of his promotion, he ranked fourth among Low-A East hitters in walks (38) and stolen bases (24) and fifth in on-base percentage (.409). The right-handed hitter is tied for fourth among Royals minor league players in walks (62) and stolen bases (35), ranks fifth in hits and is tied for sixth in runs scored (78). He was originally signed as an international free agent on July 27, 2016 out of La Sabana, Venezuela.
Left hander Emilio Marquez, 23, has been named the Columbia Pitcher of the Year. He made 20 appearances (5 starts) with the Fireflies, going 6-1 with a 1.86 ERA (13 ER in 63.0 IP) and 87 strikeouts (12.43 K/9), while holding the opposition to a .170 batting average (83-for-224). Among Low-A East pitchers that worked at least 60 innings, the southpaw tied for the league lead in WHIP (0.83), ranked second in ERA, third in opponents’ average and strikeouts per 9.0 innings. His .857 winning percentage was also third in the division (min. 7 decisions) and included four-straight winning decisions to open the year. He signed as an international free agent on March 4, 2018 out of Upata, Venezuela.
Arizona Complex League Royals (Rookie)
Catcher Guillermo Quintana, 20, has been named the ACL Royals Player of the Year, after hitting .298/.454/.452 (25-for-84), leading the team in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS (.906). He started 31 of the 33 games he appeared in, posting a .978 fielding percentage behind the plate. He was originally signed as an international free agent on July 14, 2017 out of Cartagena, Colombia.
Right hander Heribert Garcia, 21, was tabbed the ACL Royals Pitcher of the Year, after splitting the season between the Arizona Complex League and Low-A. He combined to go 2-5 with a 5.12 ERA (33 ER in 58.0 IP) between his two stops, but posted a 2.62 ERA (10 ER in 34.1 IP) with 40 strikeouts (10.5 K/9) and just six walks in the ACL. Among pitchers in the Arizona Complex League that worked at least 30.0 innings, he ranked fifth in ERA and issued the fifth-fewest walks. He was originally signed as an international free agent on March 31, 2018 out of Bolivar, Venezuela.
Dominican Summer League Royals Blue
Shortstop Lizandro Rodriguez, 18, was named the DSL Royals Blue Player of the Year, hitting .309/.446/.567 (30-for-97) through Sept. 29 in the Dominican Summer League, ranking fifth in the league in OPS (1.013) among players with at least 80 at bats. The switch-hitter also drew more walks (21) than strikeouts (18) and recorded 14 stolen bases in 18 attempts. He signed as an international free agent on July 2, 2019 out of Santiago, Dominican Republic.
Left hander Jose Catano, 20, was named DSL Royals Blue Pitcher of the Year, posting a 1.16 ERA (5 ER in 38.2 IP) with 53 strikeouts to just 14 walks in 11 starts through Sept. 29. He ranks second in the DSL (min. 35 IP), holding the opposition to a .123 average (16-for-130), and ranks third in ERA and seventh in WHIP (0.78). The lefty hasn’t allowed an earned run over his last seven outings, dating back to Aug. 10 (24.0 IP). He was originally signed as an international free agent on June 14, 2019 out of San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic.
Dominican Summer League Royals White
Shortstop Yeudi Advincola, 19, has been selected DSL Royals White Player of the Year. The right-handed hitter is batting .313/.365/.385 (30-for-96) with seven doubles, 14 RBI and 18 runs scored in 32 games with DSL Royals White through Sept. 29. He also appeared in three games for DSL Royals Blue. He signed as an international free agent on July 2, 2019 out of San Cristobal, Dominican Republic.
Left hander Fraicy Breton, 20, was named DSL Royals White Pitcher of the Year, posting a 2.11 ERA (10 ER in 42.2 IP), with 44 strikeouts (9.28 K/9) and a .209 opponents’ batting average (33-for-158) in 11 appearances (10 starts) through Sept. 29. He was originally signed as an international free agent on July 2, 2018 out of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.