Royals Fall League Recap: Bryan Bashes Balls and Arronde Joins the Pitching Fold

 The Arizona Fall League just completed its third week of play, which means we're nearing the end of the season. The Saguaros are 10-8, good for third in the AFL behind Scottsdale (11-7) and Peoria (11-8). 

For a third straight week, the Kansas City Royals prospects have done pretty well in the AFL, capturing the attention of both prospect experts and Royals fans. While this was not a great past season for Kansas City, the strong play of Royals prospects in Arizona should give hope that the future is bright for the Royals long term.  

For those who missed the previous editions, you can find previous coverage at Royals Keep from week one here and week two here.

Hitters: Bryan Stands Out for the Saguaros

Royals hitting stats from October 20th to October 27th

• Zion Rose, OF: 13 AB, .308/.400/.308, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 SB.
• Brooks Bryan, C: 11 AB, .273/.429/.549, 3 R, 1 HR, 4 RBI. 
• Angeibel Gomez, OF: 8 AB, .375/.444/.625, 1 R, 1 RB, 2 2B, 2 SB. 
• Austin Charles, 3B/SS: 10 AB, .100/.100/.100, 1 H, 4 K. 

The catching prospect out of Troy University had a solid week at the plate in week three after a down week in week two. The former 2025 draft pick hit a home run, drove in four runs, and posted a .974 OPS. Bryan has shown a patient approach at the plate with three walks to four strikeouts. He also uses his plate discipline well, pouncing on hittable balls for power when he gets the chance. 

Jared Perkins and I talked about this on the latest episode of Royals Pipeline, but Bryan is doing his best to make No. 4 prospect Blake Mitchell expendable this offseason.

In 33 games and 138 plate appearances with the Fireflies last year, Bryan hit .319 with three homers, 24 RBI, a .902 OPS, and a 0.59 BB/K ratio. Injuries limited his plate appearances in 2026, but this fall he's showing he's healthy and ready to break out in 2027.

Gomez has captured prospect experts' attention this fall in all the right ways. Over the past seven days, Gomez hit .375, posted a 1.069 OPS, and hit two doubles. He also stole two bases. This fall, Gomez is hitting .333 with a .906 OPS in the AFL at 17, which is wild to think about.

On Tuesday, he hit another key run-scoring hit with runners in scoring position early against Peoria. He continues to show Royals fans he isn't overwhelmed by the competition in Arizona. 

Rose saw his power dip a bit this week. He didn't hit any extra-base hits and posted a .308 slugging percentage. However, the Royals' 2026 first-round pick continues to hit for average (.308), post strong OBP numbers (.400), and terrorize the basepaths (two stolen bases). With a .306 average, .912 OPS, and five stolen bases this fall, Rose is showing that he's a candidate for an early promotion to Double-A Northwest Arkansas in 2027. 

Charles had another rough week for the Saguaros, disappointing after showing some power progress in week two. 

The former 20th-round pick collected just one base hit in 10 at-bats and struck out four times, with zero walks. This season in the AFL, he is hitting .154 with a .483 OPS in 39 at-bats, tied for second-most among Surprise hitters this fall. He also has 13 strikeouts and hasn't drawn a single walk. 

The Royals still have time to be patient with Charles, but the talented infield prospect has had a disappointing fall (though the at-bats are nice considering all the time he missed due to injury over the past two years). 

Pitchers: Arronde Makes His 2026 AFL Debut

Royals pitching stats from October 20th to 27th

• Justin Lamkin, LHP: 1 G, 4.1 IP, 0 BB, 4 K, 0.00 ERA, and 0.00 WHIP.
• Felix Arronde, RHP: 1 G, 1.0 IP, 1 BB, 3 K, 18.00 ERA, and 3.00 WHIP.
• Hiro Wyatt, RHP: 1 G, 2.1 IP, 0 BB, 1 K, 3.86 ERA, and 1.29 WHIP.
• Josh Hansell, RHP: 1 G, 0.2 IP, 0 BB, 0 K, 13.50 ERA, and 3.00 WHIP.
• Frank Mozzicato, LHP: 1 G, 0.1 IP, 0 BB, 1 K, 0.00 ERA, and 0.00 WHIP.

Lamkin, our No. 12 prospect, had a phenomenal outing in week three and earned AFL Pitcher of the Week honors. 

The former Texas A&M product retired all 13 batters he faced and struck out four. While his stuff wasn't overwhelming, Lamkin showed excellent command and control against the Solar Sox, with 40 of his 52 pitches being strikes. 

Lamkin has looked stronger with each outing this fall. After reaching Double-A last year, Lamkin will likely start the 2027 season with the Naturals. His stuff will be worth watching (his four-seamer rates as below average on most Stuff metrics). However, his command and efficiency may be good enough to help him reach the Majors at some point next season. 

Arronde, the No. 16 prospect at Royals Keep, made his AFL debut on Tuesday, October 27th. He replaced Steven Zobac on the Surprise roster, who appears done for the rest of the fall. Zobac posted a 12.46 ERA and 1.85 WHIP in 4.1 IP. 

In his debut, the 23-year-old righty gave up two runs on two hits and one walk. However, he struck out three and generated a 50% whiff rate. 

Arronde's cutter was a positive pitch stuff-wise (101 TJ Stuff+), but the rest of his profile was unimpressive (94 TJ Stuff+ overall). He did produce a strong whiff rate and a .321 xwOBACON, but he struggled to throw consistent strikes (48.4% zone rate) and didn't generate much chase (12.5%). Arronde is coming off a brutal 2026 season in Northwest Arkansas, posting a 6.49 ERA and 6.85 FIP in 105.1 IP with the Naturals.

If the Royals want to move Arronde quicker, they may be better off moving him to the bullpen full time. Tuesday's outing showed that shorter stints may suit him better anyways. 

Wyatt had a stronger outing on October 21st, allowing one earned run on three hits and no walks while striking out one (he did hit two batters). Wyatt's stuff looked much better in his latest outing, with three pitches earning TJ Stuff+ marks of 100 or higher. 

Wyatt isn't a whiff-or-chase machine, and he struggled to find the zone in his last outing (40.5% zone rate). But he throws a bunch of pitches (six) and minimizes hard contact (.307 xwOBACON). Wyatt could be a Seth Lugo-esque reliever, though he needs more time to mature in the Minors (he hasn't advanced beyond Low-A). 

Hansell had another mediocre week, allowing a run on two hits in 0.2 IP. Mozzicato made only one appearance this week and recorded just one out. However, he struck out a batter and got some whiffs in his one outing against Salt River, in which he relied heavily on his four-seamer (six of his seven pitchers were four-seamers). 

This fall, Mozzicato has a 2.70 ERA, 1.80 WHIP, and 31.3% K% in 3.1 IP. He's struggling with control (25% BB% and 6.3% K-BB%), and he's not generating many ground balls (essential for a reliever), but his stuff has been pretty solid in Arizona, as his AFL Season Summary via TJ Stats shows. 

Even though he has a paltry zone (34.8%) and low chase (18.6%), he has made up for it with strong whiff (34.8%) and xwOBACON (.229) metrics. Add that to a 100 TJ Stuff+ (three pitches graded over 50), and you can see Mozzicato due for a sneaky 2027 campaign out of the bullpen (as long as he can improve his control somewhat).  

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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!