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https://theathletic.com/3153457/2022...atto-and-more/

Royals prospect news and notes from Arizona: Nick Loftin, Nick Pratto and more

SURPRISE, ARIZ. — When the clock hits 9 a.m. each morning, minor-league players walk outside the main building of Royals’ spring training facility and toward the green grass. They tote their blue Royals bat bags filled with equipment: bats wrapped with lime green grip; gloves inked with their names on the sides; multi-colored sunglasses so wide you’d think they double as ski goggles.

Then the day begins.

Minor-league camp is typically confined to the back fields, away from the eyes of spectators, big-league coaches and all of the executives. But that’s not the case right now, not during the owner-imposed lockout. These minor leaguers, from 18-year-old mega-prospects to 27-year-old men clinging to their dreams, are the focus.

A week into camp, there’s a typical sense of serenity all the way out here north of Phoenix, beneath the White Tank Mountains. Bobby Witt Jr. jokes with Clay Dungan. Jake Means chats with Nathan Eaton. They prepare for a day of work, which moves from high-intensity swings in the cages to fielding practice to live at-bats. Then, after noon, they grab food and many make their walk to The Fountains, a new residence for Royals players and staff, where they shoot pool, play Madden, sleep and prepare to do it all over again.

These are what the days look like within the Royals’ walls. This resembles the rigorously structured big-league spring training but carries a different vibe. No fans are lining the walkways. Many of the players are less imposing. It’s akin to a warmup act playing longer than expected. They know the main act is forthcoming, but they do not know when.

Outside of the Royals’ walls, in some cases just a few minutes away, players who are part of the main act — those on the 40-man roster — find cages to hit in at private facilities, where teammates feed them pitches through machines. They converge on warehouse-looking, cemented facilities outside of the team’s jurisdiction and meet up with other big-league players. They offer thoughts on players they have faced. Some even trash talk. This is baseball’s current reality. These scenes also provide interesting windows into player development and progression.

With that, here are some observations from a week spent with Royals players and staffers throughout the Valley:

Rusty Kuntz raves about prospect Nick Loftin
One commonality between normal big-league spring training and this minor-league camp scene occurs each morning. Rusty Kuntz, donning a Royals uniform, emerges on his bike. He blows its horn. He yells at players who are watching him. Occasionally, he’ll stop to talk to a reporter, yelling his patented line:

“Hey, Player!’’

Kuntz, who was the Royals’ first-base coach in 2021, has shifted into a new role as the special assistant to the president and GM/quality control. Right now, his task is to help young outfielders develop. This gets to a question The Athletic asked him last week: “Who is the one player we should be talking about?”

Kuntz stared down at the ground. The sun reflected off of his shades. He lifted his head.

“Nick Loftin.”

Loftin is a 23-year-old from Baylor University whom the Royals selected with the No. 32 pick in the 2020 MLB Draft.

What stands out about him?

Kuntz smiled.

“His bat? Check. His arm? Check. His feet? Check. His instincts? Check.”

Loftin posted an .836 OPS in 2021 at High-A Quad Cities. The Athletic’s Keith Law ranked him as the Royals’ No. 5 prospect and wrote: “His OBP of .374 was fueled by a balance of hitting and patience, enough to think it’s sustainable as an above-average skill for him.”

Law also mentioned Loftin’s speed and internal clock, both of which he believed make Loftin a candidate to play center field.

Kuntz agreed. Any time the longtime outfield-teaching savant gets his hands on a shortstop, he is stoked. Loftin, who played shortstop, second and third base in 2021, is the latest example.

“He can handle it,” Kuntz said.

Center field has long stood out as a hole in the Royals’ farm system. The club’s lack of depth there was, in part, why Michael A. Taylor’s two-year extension made sense. Presuming Loftin begins the 2022 season at Double A, it’s fair to wonder how much the Royals thought about Loftin’s impending debut (potentially in 2023) in context with the timeframe of Taylor’s extension.

Nick Pratto, Kyle Isbel and Sebastian Rivero are spending their days together
One Royals staffer explained the lockout this way: It is similar to watching your kids leave for school, except you will not see them again for months and you cannot check on them in the meantime; you simply have to hope that you taught them well.

Fortunately, in places such as Arizona that are highly populated with professional baseball players, many are motivated (and helped) by others. Royals first base prospect Nick Pratto, outfield prospect Kyle Isbel and catching prospect Sebastian Rivero — all of whom are on the 40-man roster — are perfect examples.

One day last week, the three Royals prospects arrived at a local workout facility in Surprise. As Drake blasted on the speakers, the three gathered around a cage. Rivero danced. Pratto laughed. Isbel chatted with A’s right-hander Frankie Montas, who was present. Then they entered the swinging space and fed pitches to each other. One suggested they hit against sliders, so they did. Afterward, they all lifted weights, keeping their bodies in shape. Later in the week, they all met up for live at-bats against current big-league starters with years of experience; Rivero has even spent time catching a few of those high-level talents.

Loneliness is an element for players on the 40-man
Rivero, a native of Venezuela, has his wife, Loana, and his young son, Sebastian Enrique, with him in Arizona this year. But his Royals family remains scattered. Rivero can no longer spend time with the coaches and teammates who have invested in him for years.

Typically, he works out during offseasons at the Royals’ spring training facility. He enters early in the morning. He steps inside the office of long-term player development staffer Chino Cadahia. They talk about fatherhood, baseball, etc. These days, not only can he not work out at the facility, but he also cannot communicate with mentors and father figures such as Cadahia.

“Honestly,” Rivero said recently, “it’s been the loneliest offseason of my life.”

Fortunately, Rivero said, Pratto and Isbel are working out with him. Without that, though, he explained how difficult the circumstances have been. He can’t work on his catching ability alongside catching coordinator J.C. Boscan. He can’t spend time at the facility with close friend Freddy Fermin.

Rivero’s issue illustrates a broader challenge regarding mental health during the lockout. Several sources noted last week that players on the 40-man roster no longer have access to the psychologists on the Royals’ staff, at least not until there’s a new labor agreement. So players who may have been working through issues with a familiar face last season have to see psychologists from outside the organization with whom they might not have the same relationships.

Royals minor leaguers applaud The Fountains housing facility
In January, Royals director of Arizona operations/scouting assistant Nick Leto said of the Royals’ new housing facility called The Fountains: “The things that can be done here are unquantifiable.”

Case in point: A group of roommates — Vinnie Pasquantino, Michael Massey, Jake Means and Nathan Eaton — have started a tradition in which they drink coffee in the morning and play Madden franchise games. It’s a fun idea. Other prospects such as Jimmy Govern, John Rave and others have joined them.

And so have youngsters such as Ben Kudrna and Frank Mozzicato. Think about that. A group of college-aged hitting prospects are hanging out with high-school-aged pitching talent. They’re not glancing at each other across a clubhouse for the first time. No, they’re joking around and spending time together in a different setting.

How much will this benefit the club on the field? Only time will tell. But many have been open about how much they’ve enjoyed the living situation.

“It’s incredible,” Pasquantino said.

Another room, for example, houses a pair of college-aged pitching prospects: Alec Marsh and Anthony Veneziano. The two have not only gone mano a mano on the pool table downstairs, but they’ve also talked pitching, building bonds similar to those that current Royals pitchers Brady Singer, Jackson Kowar, Daniel Lynch, Kris Bubic, Jonathan Heasley, Jonathan Bowlan and Austin Cox have.

Underrated lefty prospect Anthony Veneziano explains his focus
One afternoon last week, a 6-foot-5 lefty stepped on a rubber inside the Royals’ bullpen and fired premium velocity fastballs. It was Anthony Veneziano, one of the more underrated pitchers in the Royals’ system.

Veneziano was a 10th-round pick in 2019 from Coastal Carolina. Last year, he posted a 3.75 ERA in 93 2/3 innings with 127 strikeouts and 37 walks in High A. Royals staffers as well as opposing scouts have praised his fastball and slider, which were on display.

“The last two years, I’ve worked on each,” he said. “And my velocity has shot up.”

Veneziano attributed the progression to some mechanical adjustments he made alongside the Royals’ pitching development staff. They suggested Veneziano put more emphasis on his back leg. He improved his direction as well as the way he managed his front side through his delivery. His velocity jumped up to 94 mph from the high-80s. It has continued to creep up.

“They really helped me stay efficient and hold my velocity,” Veneziano said.

Now, he’s focused on continuing to eliminate pitching across his body through his delivery. Maintaining his direction helps improve his fastball’s carry, which will lead to more swings-and-misses in the zone.

Carter Jensen and Brennon McNair integrate themselves into pro ball
The Royals selected Jensen, a Kansas City, Mo., native, with the No. 78 pick in the 2021 MLB Draft.

How’d his first fall go?

“He launched home runs,” Alec Zumwalt, the Royals’ senior director of player development and hitting performance, said. “He did not hit home runs. He launched home runs. It is some big power.”

Zumwalt was referencing batting practice sessions — games were a different story. In 57 in-game at-bats in the Arizona Complex League, Jensen hit one home run. He also posted a .792 OPS in 19 games.

The questions surrounding his potential often lie behind the plate. He’s a catcher who has been spending ample time with catching coordinator J.C. Boscan.

“I told Carter prior to him getting here, ‘J.C. is going to be on you every single day, embrace it,’” Zumwalt said. “And he did to the point of wanting to learn Spanish. He was unbelievable from day No. 1. He’s been great.”

Jensen, who was born in 2003, has been rooming with McNair, an 11th-round pick in 2021, at The Fountains. At 19 years old, McNair, a shortstop from Magee, Miss., posted a .980 OPS in 31 at-bats in the ACL.

“Brennon is outstanding,” Zumwalt said. “Except he needs to learn his music. The other day, he didn’t know who LL Cool J was. Like, what?”

Nic Jackson begins work as assistant hitting coordinator with Royals
Last November, the Royals elevated former assistant hitting coordinator Keoni DeRenne to big-league assistant hitting coach. That left a hole in the Royals’ revamped hitting development department, which the club filled with Nic Jackson, a 42-year-old who played more than a decade in the minor leagues and independent ball.

Jackson, who had previously been a pro scout with the Chicago Cubs and a minor-league hitting coach with the New York Mets, did not waste any time contributing to a staff — led by Zumwalt, hitting coordinator Drew Saylor and special assignment hitting coach Mike Tosar — that has been lauded throughout baseball. In the fall, Jackson, Zumwalt and Tosar flew to the Dominican Republic to work with numerous young hitting prospects, including outfielder Erick Peña.

Recently, second base prospect Michael Massey explained his attempt at maximizing rotation in his lower half during his swing. Massey said Jackson offered a quick way for him to feel the correct movements throughout a swing. Massey appreciated the insight. Others such as Pasquantino said they were excited about having another staffer with insight into the scouting process, the movement element (Jackson had been a sports performance coach) and the road minor-league players have to navigate.

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