This will be the last Friday without Royals baseball for quite a while. Next Friday, the Royals kick off their Cactus League campaign against the Texas Rangers, beginning a stretch of roughly 30 games in Arizona leading up to Opening Day on March 27th.
Every Spring Training, position battles become the most amplified stories, especially among positions that were areas of struggle a season ago. Another type of Spring Training story that stands out is those involving players who may be at a crossroads with a particular organization (in this case, the Royals).
Spring Training can be the last hurrah of certain players in an organization, whether due to a lack of opportunity or because they’re out of Minor League options. In some cases, those players rise to the occasion, perform in Spring Training, and not just earn their spots for Opening Day but prove to be players who earn their roster spots for a significant time. Conversely, a rough or mediocre Spring Training can be the final nail in the coffin of their respective careers with that franchise.
Multiple pitchers and position players are at this particular crossroads with the Royals for 2025. In this post, I will look at five hitters who need a strong Spring performance to keep their place on the Royals’ 40-man roster on Opening Day (though a strong performance may not guarantee their roster spot either).
Nelson Velazquez, OF
Velazquez was acquired from the Cubs at the Trade Deadline in 2023, and it seemed like the Royals had gotten a “diamond in the rough” who only cost Kansas City a middling reliever (Jose Cuas). In 40 games and 147 plate appearances, Velazquez hit 14 home runs, collected 28 RBI, and posted a 129 wRC+.
Despite loftier expectations in 2025, the Puerto Rican outfielder struggled in his first full season in Kansas City. He only hit eight home runs in 64 games and 230 plate appearances, collected 27 RBI, and posted a 76 wRC+. Add lackluster defense and baserunning to the mix, and it’s not surprising that Velazquez produced a -0.5 fWAR before being optioned to Omaha in late June, where he stayed for the remainder of the year.
Even though Velazquez in Omaha didn’t hit for a high average (.239) or showcase that 2023 power (.415 slugging; 7 home runs in 224 PA), he did get on base more (.353), increase his walks (14.7% BB%), and posted a xwOBA that ranked in the 89th percentile. Thus, there were plenty of signs with the Storm Chasers (via TJ Stats) that Velazquez was improving as a hitter and ready to return to Kansas City.
The key to Velazquez returning to the Royals’ active roster in 2025 is his power and whether he can bounce back after a disappointing 2024 in that area. According to his Process+ data from 2023 and 2024, the 26-year-old slugger has consistently demonstrated strong decision-making skills (as well as a questionable contact tool). However, his power data flipped in 2024, which explains his lackluster production and eventual demotion to Triple-A midseason.
If Velazquez can recapture that power tool, starting in Cactus League play, then it’s not unreasonable to think he can slot in as a semi-regular DH or platoon LF with MJ Melendez in 2025.
If he doesn’t perform in Arizona this spring, Velazquez will likely be with another organization on Opening Day, as Velazquez is out of Minor League options.
Nick Pratto, 1B/OF
Saying Pratto is at a crossroads with the Royals is pretty generous.
Last season, the former Royals first-round pick only made one appearance in the Majors, and that was as an emergency pitcher in a blowout against the Yankees. He didn’t garner a single at-bat with the Royals. However, based on his metrics in Omaha, it makes sense why JJ Picollo didn’t opt for Pratto last year, even when Vinnie Pasquantino went down with an injury at the end of the season.
Like Velazquez, Pratto is out of Minor League options, meaning he needs to make the Opening Day roster, or he will be designated for assignment.
Unlike Velazquez, who has some possibility of making the roster due to “platoon” situations (which manager Matt Quatraro favors), no such conditions exist for Pratto. It’s unlikely that Pratto will take at-bats away from Vinnie at first. Also, when Vinnie gets a rest against left-handed starting pitchers, Salvador Perez will likely get those innings.
Even in seasons when he got some opportunity with the Royals (primarily 2023), Pratto’s Process+ metrics showcased a sub-par hitter who struggled to make contact and didn’t display good decision-making skills.
I like Pratto and am rooting for him as a fan. That said, it seems likely that Pratto will be with another club on Opening Day (though likely in Triple-A for that particular organization).
Tyler Gentry, OF
Hopes were high for Gentry last spring after he hit .253 with 16 home runs, 71 RBI, and a 103 wRC+ in 129 games and 572 plate appearances with the Storm Chasers in 2023. Unfortunately, Gentry took a step back in his second season with Omaha, which has clouded his long-term future with the Royals.
In 488 plate appearances, he hit 16 home runs again, but his OBP dropped from .370 to .338, and his wRC+ also regressed from 103 in 2023 to 99 in 2024. A big issue for Gentry was swing-and-miss, as he ranked in the 27th percentile in whiff rate and sixth percentile in K rate via TJ Stats.
The good thing about Gentry’s profile is that he still barreled (79th percentile barrel rate), didn’t chase too much (80th percentile O-Swing%), and pulled the ball (72nd percentile pull rate). Unfortunately, those positives didn’t outweigh the negatives he displayed in his overall hitting profile in Omahas last season.
To make matters worse, Gentry looked overwhelmed at the big-league level last year. He went hitless in five plate appearances and saw his spot on the active roster replaced with Tommy Pham and Robbie Grossman.
Gentry could still be a solid player at the Major League level. That said, his future feels similar to CJ Alexander, a similarly flawed hitter who didn’t get much of an opportunity with Kansas City. Alexander is currently in the Athletics organization.
Nick Loftin, 2B/UT
At the Royals Rally in early February, I listened to Loftin talk about his love and passion for collecting baseball (and other sports) cards. It made me think of two things: 1.) Loftin has a cool hobby, and 2.) I had dismissed Loftin as a serious candidate to contribute to the roster in 2025.
Loftin flashed promise in a 19-game sample in 2023. In 68 plate appearances, he hit .323 with a 117 wRC+. He didn’t demonstrate any power (.113 ISO), but he showcased a solid ability to make contact at the Major League level (17.6% K%).
Loftin again seemed to show solid decision-making and contact ability at the MLB level in 2024. His BB/K ratio improved from 0.33 in 2023 to 0.79 in 2024. Furthermore, his decision-making and contact skills via Process+ consistently hovered above average during his limited time with the Royals last season.
That said, the power dipped even more in 2024 (.079 ISO), and his batted ball luck decreased significantly, as his BABIP went from .392 in 2023 to .216 in 2024. Loftin’s BABIP is likely to rebound in 2025, but he struggles to produce hard contact, which will always put him at risk of low BABIP numbers.
Below is a look at Loftin’s career-rolling hard-hit chart via Savant. As Royals fans can see, he has been a sub-average player in this category in his time at the big-league level.
Unfortunately, Loftin didn’t show much progress in hard-contact ability in Omaha either last season.
He only hit seven home runs in 254 plate appearances with the Storm Chasers. Furthermore, his barrel rate ranked in the 28th percentile, his 90th% EV in the 23rd percentile, and his hard-hit rate in the 18th percentile. Therefore, it’s unsurprising that his wOBA (.381) was 59 points higher than his xwOBA with the Storm Chasers.
Loftin has a better shot at making the Opening Day roster as Adam Frazier and Garrett Hampson are both gone (they had guaranteed roster spots last year). He will need to stave off Cavan Biggio, Harold Castro, and Jordan Groshans, utility types who can also fill that utility role off the bench.
If Loftin struggles this Spring Training and repeats Omaha, he could be considered a throw-in for a possible trade in June and July.
Drew Waters, OF
It’s hard to see what went wrong with Waters in 2024.
On one end, he’s been mediocre at the MLB level in his career thus far. In 137 career games and 465 plate appearances, he has a career 91 wRC+, .307 wOBA, and 1.2 fWAR. That’s not bad, especially for a Royals outfield group that has struggled to produce much since 2022 (when Waters debuted).
Then again, once seen as a top prospect, Waters has just underwhelmed in his time in Kansas City, with strikeouts being his most enormous red flag. He has a career K% of 32.9% and a BB/K ratio of 0.29. Even though the Royals haven’t necessarily “excelled” in those categories since 2022, his numbers indicate some long-term swing-and-miss and contact issues at the Major League level.
When looking at his Process+ data from 2023 (when he played in 98 games with the Royals), he demonstrated an intriguing power tool but lackluster decision-making and contact ability.
Waters’s contact issues didn’t improve last season in Omaha, where he primarily played (he only appeared in seven games with the Royals in 2024).
In 458 plate appearances, his whiff rate ranked in the 21st percentile, his O-swing% in the 33rd percentile, and his K% in the 23rd percentile. Those sub-par rankings overshadowed some otherwise gaudy numbers, especially in xwOBA (76th percentile) and wOBA (85th percentile).
Waters may still be valuable on this 2025 roster, especially since the Royals struck out with free-agent options such as Anthony Santander, Jurickson Profar, and Randal Grichuk. Waters can play all three outfield positions decently well, and if the contact ability comes along this spring, he could be a platoon option with Kyle Isbel in CF or Hunter Renfroe in RF.
For now, however, he’s on the outside looking in when making the Royals’ Opening Day roster, especially with one Minor League option remaining.
Photo Credit: Aaron Doster/Getty Images
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