Royals minor-league report: Two from KC affiliates make MLB’s Prospect Team of Week
The hottest hitter in Triple-A’s International League is Royals minor-league first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino.
In a seven-day span that ended Monday, Pasquantino led the International League in on-base-plus-slugging percentage (1.674), and is tied for the lead in home runs (four) and RBIs (11).
Pasquantino also has the most home runs (11) and highest OPS (1.181) in the month of May.
That strong play landed Pasquantino on MLB.com’s Prospect Team of the Week.
Here is part of what Tyler Maun wrote: “Pasquantino had knocks in all six of his games played and went off on Wednesday during a 5-for-5 performance in which he homered twice, doubled twice and drove in five runs. The first baseman added homers on Saturday and Sunday and registered a triple on Sunday, as well, to contribute to his four-RBI effort. Pasquantino leads all of Triple-A with 51 RBIs as of Memorial Day and has driven in 34 through 25 May games.”
This is the first of what will be an occasional look at what is happening in the Royals minor-league system.
Double-A Northwest Arkansas
Outfielder Seuly Matias is heating up, as he led the Texas League in OPS this past week (minimum four games played) at 1.420. He went 7 for 18 (.389 average) with two doubles, a triple and two homers.
Starting pitcher Drew Parrish is second in the Texas League with a 1.63 ERA, and he’s tied for sixth in the league in strikeouts (45). His 0.72 WHIP is best in the Texas League.
Second baseman Michael Massey is leading the Naturals in the triple-crown categories. He’s batting .328 with eight homers and 44 RBIs in 42 games.
Massey was the Royals’ fourth-round pick in the 2019 MLB draft. He also made the Prospect Team of the Week.
This is an excerpt of what Maun wrote: “Already authoring a stellar season for the Naturals, Massey put together his best week with multiple hits in his first five games at Midland. The second baseman kicked things off with a 3-for-5 performance that featured a homer and four RBIs on Tuesday and followed with two-hit games on Wednesday and Thursday. Massey then tallied three knocks on Friday and Saturday, doubling twice in the former, while combining to drive in three runs and score three more.”
Single-A Quad Cities River Bandits
Outfielder Juan Carlos Negret had a great week, clubbing three homers in three games.
Right fielder Tyler Gentry is third in the Midwest League in batting average at .337 (minimum 19 games played).
Single-A Columbia Fireflies
Jack Aldrich, a left-hander out of Tulane who was selected in the 20th round of last year’s draft, has a 3.32 ERA in nine relief appearances. He has struck out 22 in 19 innings pitched.
This story was originally published May 31, 2022 at 11:00 AM.
