Mitch Maier Explains Why Royals Sent a 17-Year-Old to the Fall League

No organization had ever sent a player from the Dominican Summer League to the Arizona Fall League until the Kansas City Royals did it this fall with outfielder Angeibel Gomez, who is only 17.

The club probably knew people would call the move aggressive, and after about two weeks with the Surprise Saguaros, I think the Royals got this one right.

Gomez signed with Kansas City out of Venezuela in January for $2.9 million, and MLB.com has him second among Royals prospects and 76th overall.

He spent the summer in the Dominican Summer League, where he hit .361 with nine home runs and 15 stolen bases in 47 games and drew more walks than strikeouts, 28 to 19.

Kansas City assigned him to Surprise on Sept. 28, and he became the second-youngest player in Fall League history when he led off his first game on Oct. 4.

According to MLB.com, the choice had less to do with his numbers than with the way he carries himself, and player development director Mitch Maier explained the thinking behind the assignment after that debut.

"He's super-talented, but it was more about his maturity, the poise in how he goes about things."

Maier also said Gomez is around Royals staff every day at the team's spring training home, and the plan was to get him about 20 more games to carry his momentum into next season.

Gomez struck out three times in his debut but only once in the three games since then, and he is now 4-for-14 with four runs scored, one walk and one stolen base.

All four hits have been singles, though, and Royals Keep noted that he is using very little stride against these older arms, which has cut into his power.

FanGraphs saw him turn around a 97 mph fastball this fall, but he is a very good prospect rather than a generational one and could be a likely right fielder.

Surprise had two games postponed this week, and the Saguaros are set to host Peoria on Wednesday and then visit Glendale on Thursday, with the Fall League running until its title game on Nov. 14.

Kansas City finished 69-93 and in last place in the American League Central, 16 games out, so the club will have to lean on its homegrown talent to climb back up.

President of baseball operations J.J. Picollo has said center field and left field need better results, and while the club could find outfield help on the free agent market this winter, I can see Gomez holding one of those spots for years once he gets to Kansas City.

Plenty has already been written about his ceiling as a future star, and MLB.com reported that the Royals and Gomez will keep talking this offseason about whether he can skip the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League in 2027.

I think he should skip it, because a 17-year-old who can hang with Fall League pitching has little left to learn in rookie ball, and I would rather see him open next season on the Opening Day roster at Single-A Columbia, where the pitching will keep pushing him.