Sometimes valuable big leaguers come from places you’d least expect.
It’s fairly easy to follow along with the Royals' top prospects. At least, most fans could probably name the top handful of guys working their way through the pipeline. Many of them, including Blake Mitchell, Gavin Cross, and Ben Kudrna have had solid seasons and taken noticeable steps forward. Beyond the top of the system lies lesser-known minor leaguers who sometimes develop into key contributors at the big league level. Jose Altuve was barely ever a Top 30 prospect for the Astros. He ranked as the team’s 28th-best prospect following the 2010 season. Now nearly 14 years later, he’s one of the best players in franchise history.
Others — such as Whit Merrifield and Bronson Arroyo — are examples of players who never landed on their team’s Top 30 prospects list but still went on to have very solid big-league careers. All this to say, sometimes it’s the minor leaguers we least expect who can become important pieces of a 26-man roster. For the Royals in 2024, there have been a handful of lesser-known minor leaguers putting together very solid seasons.
Squires is currently on the injured list but spent much of the season dominating the Midwest League. A college product, Squires was a bit advanced for Low-A in his 2023 debut but remained there all season nonetheless. After moving up a level to open this season, his performance only got better. Over 62 games thus far, he’s posted a 147 wRC+ and a .172 ISO. He’s essentially a true first baseman defensively, which limits his prospect profile. He simply doesn’t have the prodigious power ceiling that you usually find with top-tier first-base prospects. If not for the injury, there’s a high chance we’d be talking about a mid-season move to Double-A for Squires.
Jared Dickey was an 11th-round pick by the Royals in the 2023 draft. He signed for $572,500 or roughly the equivalent of a back-end fourth-round pick. As a draft-eligible sophomore, there was a chance Dickey would return to Tennessee for another College World Series run. Instead, the Royals pried him away. On the surface, the power numbers don’t look all that impressive but Dickey is one of the best contact hitters in the organization.
That’s Jared Dickey’s third homer in his last five games. pic.twitter.com/3tAlgQI9XZ
— Preston Farr (@royalsminors) July 24, 2024
His in-zone contact rate so far is over 80%. At the same time, he rarely chases outside of the zone. There’s more power potential to unlock here, and it’s shown of late. Since June 15, Dickey has slashed .323/.398/.500 with a .177 ISO. He’s a name to watch moving forward but isn’t currently ranked in the team’s Top 30 by MLB Pipeline.
Simonelli is 25 years old and has spent most of the season with the Naturals. He did have a brief four-game stint with Triple-A Omaha but ended up heading back to Arkansas due to a roster crunch. He was a 16th-round selection by the Royals in 2021 and it’s taken him some time to get going. However, over the last two seasons, he’s started to make strides on the bump. So far this season with Northwest Arkansas, Simonelli has 21 appearances, good for 39.2 innings of work. He’s posted an impressive 15.5% swinging strike rate. That swing-and-miss has helped him post a 34.2% strikeout rate — third among any Royals minor leaguer with at least 30 IP this season. His command has been solid (8.4% walk rate) as well. There’s some concern about whether Simonelli’s stuff can really play in the big leagues. Only time will tell, but he’s looked great this season.
Wallace was once a third-round pick by the Rockies out of UConn. He eventually made his way to Boston as a player to be named later in the Kevin Pillar trade. Then he made his way to the Royals organization in the trade that sent Wyatt Mills to the Red Sox. Wallace has three above-average pitches but has always struggled with command. That’s been the case once again in 2024, although not quite to the extent that we’ve seen before. He’s dropped his walk rate by four percent compared to a year ago. At the same time, he’s struck out 35.1% of batters in 41 IP with the Naturals. Much like Simonelli, Wallace is likely still in Arkansas due to a roster crunch of arms in the Storm Chasers bullpen. He has legitimate strikeout stuff, and the command has taken some steps forward. He could be a solid bullpen piece in 2025 and beyond if those improvements continue.
Ramsey reminds me quite a bit of former Royals first-round pick J.P. Howell. All he’s done in his minor league career thus far is pitch solid. Last season, he suffered an injury that sidelined him for part of the year. That didn’t stop him from setting the Fireflies franchise record for consecutive scoreless innings. He’s been healthy all year so far in 2024 and has 15 appearances under his belt. Over 53.2 IP, he owns a 3.71 FIP. Among Kansas City minor league arms with at least 40 IP this season, his 17.2% swinging strike rate comes in second, behind only Jacob Wallace who I mentioned above. Ramsey has a three-pitch mix, featuring a fastball, curveball, and changeup. None of his pitches looked especially impressive by the end of 2023, but his arsenal has taken some steps forward this season. He locates everything well and pitches smart and in the zone. It’s probably a reliever profile long-term, but there’s still value if it all continues progressing.
