Pair of promising young Royals prospects crack MLB’s Top 30 AFL list

The Kansas City Royals prospect power is not as strong as that of many other organizations, but they sent some of their best to this year’s Arizona Fall League (AFL). The extra baseball for minor-league players sees teams combine to create six total AFL teams, sporting many of the game’s top prospects.

The Surprise Saguaros, featuring Royals prospects, walked away with another championship win and entered the offseason wondering what 2026 holds for them. Success in the desert does not translate directly to major-league production, but it certainly doesn’t hurt a prospect’s outlook.

MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis, along with unnamed scouts, ranked the top 30 prospects from this past AFL campaign based on a player’s “long-term value.” With that lens, two Royals prospects popped up: catcher Blake Mitchell and shortstop Daniel Vazquez. Here is what Callis had to say about the pair and what their AFL performances mean heading into the winter.

Pair of Royals promising prospects crack MLB’s Top 30 AFL list

C Blake Mitchell

“Mitchell hit just .230/.434/.311 but ranked second with 20 walks and came up big in the playoffs as the Saguaros won their third championship in four years. His numbers belie his plus power to all fields and he is an athletic defender with a strong arm.”

Jim Callis on Blake Mitchell

The 2023 first-rounder’s 2025 season saw plenty of concern about his power at the plate, but his AFL campaign put some of those concerns to bed.

Much like Caglianone wowed with his hard-hit balls in 2024, Mitchell ranked in the 99th percentile for max exit velocity with a 116.5 MPH batted ball. Overall, his average bat speed ranked in the 80th percentile, while his average 93.2 MPH exit velocity ranked in the 85th percentile. He was one of the AFL’s best at drawing walks, nearly matching his 26.2% strikeout rate with a 23.8% walk rate.

It will be interesting to see if Mitchell remains a top-100 prospect overall, but he should comfortably be the Royals’ second-best prospect behind fellow catcher Carter Jensen. Mitchell’s ceiling is as high, if not higher, than Jensen’s, but he has some more years of production ahead to prove his floor is just as high.

SS Daniel Vazquez

“Vazquez is a quality defender at shortstop who continues to make slow but steady progress at the plate. He is not a power guy but knows his limitations, focusing on getting on base to use his solid speed. He slashed .329/.459/.468 with 11 steals in 22 games.”

Jim Callis on Daniel Vazquez

The Royals left Vazquez unprotected from this winter’s Rule 5 Draft, but the odds of him being selected are slim to none. Vazquez is an above-average fielder at baseball’s most valuable defensive position, but his bat has always lagged behind in minor-league action. While Vazquez could likely hold his own in the field at the MLB level, his 98 wRC+ in 105 High-A games in 2025 suggests he would be overwhelmed at the plate.

For the Royals, hopefully, Vazquez’s AFL performance is another step forward for the Dominican native. He was a top international free agent signing for Kansas City back in 2021 and quickly made his way to Low-A Columbia.

However, that bat lagging behind kept him at that level for three seasons. His 60-grade field, arm, and run tools keep him at 16th in MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 Royals prospects, but the 21-year-old still has plenty to prove before reaching the big leagues.

Scouts down in the desert were obviously impressed by Vazquez’s production, so Royals fans will see how that translates to momentum for 2026.