Five Hitters Sticking Out in the Arizona Complex League

The Royals are off to a brutal start at 22-34, good for fourth in the AL Central (somehow, the Detroit Tigers are 0.5 games worse). However, the Surprise Royals, who play in the Arizona Complex League, have been doing well in the rookie league.

Going into Thursday, the Surprise Royals are 14-4, leading the ACL West division by four games. The Royals have been among the best teams in scoring runs and run differential. Not only have they scored 114 runs this year, but they also have a run differential of +20. 

The Complex games aren't available on MLB.TV, unlike the Royals' affiliated MiLB teams (Columbia, Quad Cities, Northwest Arkansas, and Omaha). However, they can be found for free on the Surprise Royals' YouTube stream, though the camera angle and production values are low.

Many Royals fans may be unfamiliar with some of the prospects in the Complex League, especially since many are either recent draft picks or players coming up from the Dominican Summer League.

Thus, let's take a look at five position prospects in Surprise who are sticking out and should be worth paying attention to by Royals fans, especially since they may be due for call-ups to Low-A Columbia sooner rather than later. 

Tyson Moran, INF

Moran was a 13th-round pick out of Canada in last year's draft. He was a North Dakota State commit, but the Royals convinced him to sign with a $247,500 bonus. Moran played for the Great Lake Canadiens development team in 2025, and he posted the following numbers, according to Canadian Baseball Network. 

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2025 season, with Great Lake Canadians: Owns a .387 batting average with eight doubles, three triples, five homers and a 1.069 OPS in his first 119 plate appearances of the season. Has a .420 on-base percentage while slugging .649. He has walked six times and fanned only nine times. 

The Canadian infielder is a bit older, at 20, so he may be a bit older for the typical ACL prospect. However, he's been absolutely mashing with the Royals so far in Surprise. 

In 15 games and 65 plate appearances, Moran leads Surprise with three home runs. He's also slashing .296/.338/.537 with an .875 OPS. The first baseman doesn't walk a lot (6.2%), but he doesn't strike out much either, as evidenced by his 13.8% K% and 0.44 BB/K ratio. His all fields batted-ball ability and line-drive approach (28% line drive rate) make him an intriguing corner infielder who could develop into his power tool, especially as he gets older and puts on muscle.

Already, he has had a penchant for the big moment. Moran's first professional home run was a walk-off two-run bomb against the ACL Mariners. 

He could stand to walk a bit more, as his OBP is only .338. That said, Moran's batted-ball ability and power tool should help him earn a promotion to Columbia soon.

Jhonayker Ugarte, 3B/SS

Ugarte was a pretty heralded international prospect, as he signed out of Venezuela in the 2024 signing period for $1.3 million. He had a stellar DSL campaign in 2024, slashing .299/.423/.395 with an .818 OPS in 183 plate appearances. He also hit a home run, scored 30 runs, collected 20 RBI, and stole 11 bases.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as smoothly for him in the Complex League as an 18-year-old. In 214 plate appearances, he slashed .216/.338/.284 with a .622 OPS. He walked a lot (14.5%), and he showed some intriguing power (two home runs), but he struggled with strikeouts (30.8% K%). Thus, it made sense for the Royals to have him repeat in the Complex League in 2026.

So far, the move has paid off, and he may be due for a call-up to Columbia in the near future. 

In 64 plate appearances, he is slashing .265/.406/.408 with an .814 OPS. His K% has plummeted to 14.1%, and his walk rate is up to 15.6%, giving him a BB/K ratio of 1.11. Even though he hasn't hit a home run yet this year, he has shown some gap-to-gap power, as illustrated by his .143 ISO. 

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At 6'2, 180 pounds, Ugarte is a physical infielder who is capable of playing shortstop or third base, though he probably profiles better long-term at the hot corner. He's been better at launching the ball this year, as illustrated by lowering his infield fly ball rate from 36.4% last year in the Complex League to 6.7% this season. That should bode well for an easier transition to Columbia, likely in the second half of this year. 

Corey Cousin, OF

An 18th-round pick in the 2024 out of high school in Louisiana, Cousin signed for $347,500. The Royals moved slowly with him last year, as he didn't play at all in any official Complex League games. However, he has finally seen action in the Complex League this year, and the results have been impressive.

In 61 plate appearances, Cousin is slashing .298/.443/.511 with a .953 OPS. He also has a home run, 15 runs scored, eight RBI, and five stolen bases. He is striking out a bit too much at 27.9%. However, he makes up for it with a 21.3% K% and 0.76 BB/K ratio. Cousin's power tool may be most impressive, as he is currently sporting a .213 ISO. 

The Royals have many "raw" athletic outfielders in Surprise, including Noah Barber, Angel Ramirez, and Lewis German. That said, Cousin may be the most polished of the bunch, both at the plate (his OPS is the best of that bunch) and defensively (he's been Surprise's primary centerfielder). I think Cousin may not make his Columbia debut until next year, but if he lowers the strikeout rate, he could find himself with the Fireflies in the second half.

Darison Garcia, 2B/SS

A 2024 signee, the Dominican-born infielder has gone under the radar on most Royals Top Prospects lists. That said, he was on the Spring Breakout roster in Spring Training and had a couple of hits in the showcase. Thus, he became a bit of a dark horse prospect heading into the 2026 season.

This is a repeat of the Complex League for Garcia, who played 49 games there last year. He was decent, as he slashed .243/.389/.308 with a .696 OPS in 216 plate appearances. He didn't hit any home runs, but he scored 33 runs, stole 18 bases, and posted a 0.85 BB/K ratio.

The metrics this year, over 62 plate appearances, have been even better. He's slashing .277/.452/.404 with an .856 OPS, and he has a home run, 15 runs scored, and 14 stolen bases. At 5'11, 165 pounds, he doesn't have an impressive stature, but much like Maikel Garcia, he has a lot more pop in his profile than expected.

Garcia profiles as a much better athlete than the older Garcia, and the younger Garcia may be better as a true utility player than the Gold-Glove-winning third baseman. At 19 years of age, and with a 126 wRC+ right now in Surprise, I think the Royals will call up Garcia to Columbia once a spot in the infield becomes available.

Ramcell Medina, SS

One of the Royals' top signees during the 2025 international signing period, Medina has a tall (6'1) and lanky (155-pound) profile that could profile as a regular shortstop at the MLB level. He had an encouraging professional debut in the DSL last year, shortly after signing. As a result, he got on the radar of many prospect experts, including Baseball America.

In 186 plate appearances in the DSL, Medina slashed .260/.398/.404 with an .802 OPS as a 17-year-old. He also hit two home runs, scored 35 runs, collected 25 RBI, and stole seven bases. The Dominican-born shortstop also showed a mature plate approach, as illustrated by his 1.19 BB/K ratio. 

The results so far in the Complex League have been slow for Medina, unfortunately.

In 61 plate appearances, he's slashing .240/.361/.280 with a .641 OPS. The BB/K ratio is still strong at 0.62, but the power just isn't there, as evidenced by his .040 ISO. An issue is that he's just hitting way too many balls on the ground (59.5% GB%) and popping them up too frequently (37.5% IFFB%). If he can launch more fly balls as he did a year ago in the DSL (43.4% FB%), then he could start to see a positive regression in his results.

Medina doesn't have the impressive numbers as the other four position players. However, his tools still play impressively, including the plate discipline. He deserves more patience, even if that means that his Columbia debut won't come until 2027 at the soonest. 

Interested in learning more about the Kansas City Royals' top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!