Royals Catching Prospect Makes Deep Run in Fall League Home Run Derby

Catcher Brooks Bryan put on a show at Salt River Fields on Saturday night, hitting 11 total home runs and making it all the way to the semifinals of the Arizona Fall League Home Run Derby for the Kansas City Royals.

He did not take home the trophy, but it was a fun night for a 22-year-old who lost most of his first pro season to an injury.

The derby used a single-elimination bracket with eight hitters, and Bryan hit five homers in the preliminary round, which set the seeding for the bracket.

He then edged a Red Sox prospect in the next round, seven total homers to six, to reach the final four.

That is where catcher Aaron Parker of the Blue Jays got in the way.

Bryan batted first in the semifinal and put up a strong number, and Parker looked like he was in trouble before he rallied with three homers on his final two outs to move on.

Parker went on to win the whole thing, and he talked about that comeback with MLB.com's Jim Callis after the event.

"Just never take your foot off the gas," Parker said in the derby recap.

Even with the loss, Bryan's 11 homers were the fourth-most of anyone in the field, which is a strong showing against that group.

The derby was fun, but what Bryan has done all fall means more for the Royals.

The Royals took him in the eighth round of the 2025 draft out of Troy, where he hit more than 30 homers in three college seasons, and his first pro season at Single-A Columbia ended on May 24 because of an injury.

Before that, he hit .319 with a .406 on-base percentage in 33 games, so the Fall League was a chance to get back the at-bats he missed.

He has made the most of it for Surprise, hitting .310 with four home runs and 17 RBIs in 14 games.

MLB.com noted in a story on his fall that his first homer in Arizona, a 442-foot drive to center field on Oct. 6, was his first since April 21.

Kansas City has had other prospects shine in the desert this fall as well.

Bryan has played mostly first base in Arizona, and he threw out only 11.9 percent of base stealers at Columbia, so the catching side of his game still needs time.

The Royals also do not need to rush him, since catcher Carter Jensen already looks like a long-term answer behind the plate.

After a 69-93 season, the Royals need good news from their farm system, and I like that a bat with this much power gives them one more name to track.

Bryan was not picked for the Fall Stars Game, but outfielders Angeibel Gomez and Zion Rose and left-hander Justin Lamkin will represent Kansas City in Sunday's game.

The front office has bigger needs to address this winter, starting with the GM Meetings in Las Vegas from Nov. 10-12, but Bryan's bat gives the people in charge one more reason to feel good about the catching depth they have coming.