Led by OF Gomez, Royals continue to make waves in international market

As the 2026 international signing period opens, the Royals have wasted little time by making a gigantic splash. The club has come to terms with Venezuelan outfielder Angeibel Gomez, the No. 4 overall prospect in his class, tying for the honors of highest-ranked international talent the club has ever signed (Marten Gasparini, 2013).

And that’s not all. They also have landed Cuban shortstop Jaider Suarez (No. 22) and Venezuelan catcher Adrian Lunar (No. 43), giving them consecutive years of having signed at least three members of MLB Pipeline’s Top 50 International Prospects list under Daniel Guerrero, the club’s director of international scouting.

Kansas City tied for the highest bonus pool allotment this season, receiving $8,034,900 in funds. It reportedly handed out signing agreements of $700,000 or higher to five players in the class, giving the Royals one of the most balanced and well-rounded influxes of talent of any club.

But the star is undoubtedly Gomez. Equipped with SEC football-like physicality, one talent evaluator said watching Gomez hit his top speed is like “watching a bronco run.” He’s ripped off 60-yard-dash times as fast as 6.2 seconds and plays an excellent center field, with the likelihood of remaining there in the long run.

Known for top-of-the-scale baseball acumen and as a tremendous individual off the field, Gomez also stars on it. He won MVP of the Amateur Scouting League in 2024, routinely delivering hard contact from the right side of the plate. He trained with Alexis Quiroz of AQ Sport Agency, a member of MLB’s Trainer Partnership Program.

A longtime standout in his native Cuba, Suarez won a silver medal at the U15 World Cup in Mexico in 2022 and then slashed .355/.495/.605 over 100 plate appearances in his country’s U16 National League -- as a 13-year-old. He has plenty of pop and earns marks from scouts for playing the game hard in all settings.

Royals fans are well versed on the impact of longtime Venezuelan catcher Salvador Perez. The club tapped back into that market to land Lunar, who has trained with 13-year big league vet Miguel Montero, whom he mirrors on the field in many ways.

A left-handed hitter, Lunar sprays the ball to all fields and almost never swings and misses. Equipped with elite bat-to-ball skills, there’s some legitimate offensive upside as he continues to get stronger. Behind the dish, the former infielder has showcased his quick hands by routinely ripping off 1.8-to-1.9-second pop times.

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In addition to its Top 50 talents, the club is also set to bring aboard a pair of highly regarded right-handed-hitting Venezuelan shortstops: Maicoll Rondon and Leandro Briceno.

Rondon is of the prototypical “plays with his hair on fire” mold. He’s long had success as an amateur in his native country and has a whippy Gleyber Torres-esque swing that could lead to extra-base impact if he continues to fill out his frame. Briceno is more of a smooth operator, consistently displaying clean actions, especially defensively where he’s likely to stick at shortstop as long as he can. Solid across the board in terms of tools, he has the type of bat speed that makes evaluators perk up and dream on his potential future impact.

One year ago, the Royals landed Warren Calcaño, Ramcell Medina and Moises Marchán as Top 50 international prospects. It took the trio all of one spin through the Dominican Summer League to jump onto the club’s Top 30 Prospects list at Nos. 17, 19 and 26 respectively.

Add in top 2024 signee Yandel Ricardo (No. 5), ‘25 fast riser Kendry Chourio (No. 8) and ‘23 breakout Asbel Gonzalez (No. 12) and the fruits of the club’s labor on the international market are apparent. Ten of their top 13 overall prospects are yet to play above A-ball, an indicator of how supremely talented the next wave of Royals is shaping up to be.

An international player is eligible to sign with a Major League team between Jan. 15 and Dec. 15. He must turn 16 before he signs and be 17 before Sept. 1 the following year.

That means players born between Sept. 1, 2008, and Aug. 31, 2009, will be eligible to sign in the current signing period. Players must be registered with Major League Baseball in advance to be eligible to sign.