Just days after arriving in Arizona for his stateside debut, 17-year-old Royals righthander Kendry Chourio was invited to Chase Field, where Kansas City’s big league club was playing the Diamondbacks over Fourth of July weekend. He walked into the visiting clubhouse wide-eyed, taking in the rows of crisp jerseys and nameplates—each one a symbol of a dream he was just beginning to chase.
In the dugout, Chourio spotted familiar faces in fellow Venezuelans Freddy Fermín, Angel Zerpa and Salvador Perez going through their warmups. All three had once stood where he was—scouted in Venezuela, signed by the Royals and developed through the system. Now, they were on a big league field together, each at a different stage of a shared journey.
It gave Chourio, who had been in the United States for less than a week, the assurance to tell himself that would be him one day.
“I felt so confident when I walked into the stadium,” Chourio, who turned 18 on Oct. 1, told Baseball America in Spanish. “I felt like I could go out and compete with them. I have so much respect for everything they have done to get to where they are at, and it motivates me to do the same.”
The righthander had already put himself in prime position before even touching U.S. soil. In just five games in the Dominican Summer League, he established himself as one of the most dominant pitchers in the circuit with a 2.04 ERA, 22 strikeouts and just one walk.
The Royals were confident in Chourio’s command of his arsenal, which features a strong pair of secondaries in an upper-70s curveball with sharp bite and a fading mid-to-upper-80s changeup. But they wanted to see more velocity on his fastball. At the time of his Jan. 15 signing, his heater sat in the low 90s. So when he came out pumping 95–98 mph, it turned heads.
Even if it was just five starts, the jump was real—and Kansas City’s player development staff knew it. They didn’t wait around, sending him to the Arizona Complex League in July.
“He looks far from a kid who is 17 years old,” Royals senior vice president of major league and international operations Rene Francisco said. “That’s why we felt so good about the decision that we made with him. He’s a bright kid. No one’s perfect, but he wants to be that. We felt like he was ready for the next level.”
Chourio’s dominance carried over into Arizona, where he posted a 2.45 ERA with 17 strikeouts and no walks. With the complex season nearing its end—and just 28.2 innings under his belt—the Royals made a rare move. Rather than keeping him in Arizona for the bridge league alongside their incoming draft class, they promoted Chourio to Low-A Columbia, making him the youngest pitcher at the level.
It was going to be Chourio’s biggest test yet. He knew his fastball could play, but he was determined to make sure his breaking pitches could keep pace against more advanced hitters. Over six starts (22.2 innings), he struck out 24, posted a 5.16 ERA and showed flashes of dominance while adjusting to a tougher league.
His biggest moment came in the Carolina League playoffs when he delivered five innings of one-run ball in a critical start to help the Columbia Fireflies advance to the championship series. Chourio felt a special adrenaline in that atmosphere—something he hadn’t experienced before. But he kept his composure, just as if he was still pitching on the quiet backfields.
“I was never nervous,” Chourio said. “It’s the same game, just a different stage.”
Most 17-year-old baseball prospects are getting ready for their senior year of high school. Chourio had already touched three levels of professional baseball.
But what’s propelled him forward isn’t just his velocity spike or ability to throw strikes.
“There was always a serious tone in my household,” Chourio said. “My family provided me with a great education and taught me the value of respect. The values taught to me at a young age really helped me with my discipline.”
Those values show up in the way Chourio carries himself. Coaches and staff point to his poise, routine focus—all rare traits for someone still learning how to live day to day in a new country.
“His maturity is the reason he’s been able to advance rapidly,” Jose Gualdron, the scout who signed Chourio in Venezuela, said in Spanish. “He knows what he wants right now and for his future. He has incredible focus and is able to avoid distractions. He isn’t concerned about what’s around him, he’s strictly focused on working, working and working.”
That mindset and work ethic are what the Royals believe will carry Chourio through the next steps of a baseball journey that has only just begun. He’s already shown he can rise to the occasion, level after level. And while his path to the majors will come with more challenges, the 18-year-old Venezuelan native steps onto every field with the confidence he belongs on a major league mound.
Because for Chourio, the big league dream no longer feels so far away.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.baseballamerica.com ’
