Royals catching prospect Brooks Bryan had waited since April 21 to round the bases again after a home run. On Oct. 6, a 442-foot drive to center field at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale finally ended that wait.
Now, those trips are coming more often.
Bryan has homered in each of his past two Arizona Fall League appearances. In just six games with the Surprise Saguaros, he has matched his three-homer total from 33 games with Single-A Columbia -- a first season that ended due to injury on May 24.
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After spending the entire summer on the injured list, Bryan is getting additional at-bats to build on a promising start.
His first Fall League homer came in the ninth inning on Oct. 6, when he connected on a 90.5 mph cutter down and in from right-hander Owen Puk. The ball left his bat at 108.1 mph -- and it wasn’t even his hardest-hit ball of the game. He smoked a double at 110.3 mph in the second inning.
Bryan added a two-run homer on Tuesday, driving an 86.1 mph cutter a projected 385 feet at Surprise Stadium.
Then, on Thursday, Bryan delivered a go-ahead three-run homer in the ninth at Peoria Stadium. After Adam Smith worked him down and in during the at-bat, Bryan scooped an 88.8 mph cutter below the strike zone and sent it a projected 399 feet to right-center field with a 102.8 mph exit velocity.
COMPLETE ROYALS PROSPECT COVERAGE
The Saguaros ultimately fell to the Peoria Javelinas, 12-11, but Bryan finished with two hits and a walk, continuing his productive start to the fall.
Through six games, the 22-year-old was batting .296 (8-for-27) with a .704 slugging percentage and a 1.049 OPS. Five of his eight hits went for extra bases -- two doubles and three homers -- and he has driven in nine runs.
He has done it while getting regular work at a less familiar position.
A catcher by trade, Bryan started his first six of his Fall League games at first base, a position he had played only sparingly before arriving in Arizona.
He made just two starts there with Columbia, logging 15 innings without an error. The rest of his regular-season starts were split between catcher (15) and designated hitter (16). His experience at first was similarly limited during his final season at Troy, when he made one start there compared to 50 behind the plate and eight in the outfield.
While his defensive workload has changed, Bryan’s production at the plate builds on what he showed before his injury.
The home run drought hadn’t stopped him from collecting extra-base hits. He hit 12 doubles alongside his three homers, slashing .319/.406/.496 through 138 plate appearances with Columbia.
The Fireflies placed him on the seven-day injured list June 1 and transferred him to the 60-day IL on July 23, cutting short his first Minor League season.
The home runs have come more quickly in Arizona, but power has been part of his game.
The Royals’ eighth-round pick in the 2025 Draft hit 34 homers across three seasons at Troy. The Opelika, Ala., native broke out as a sophomore in 2024, hitting 18 homers and setting the program’s single-season record with 85 RBIs.
That summer, he became the first player in Troy history to compete for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team. He followed that with 12 homers, 18 doubles and 61 RBIs in his final college season before Kansas City selected him in the draft.
His first Minor League season offered only a brief look at that offensive potential. The Fall League is giving him more time to show it -- and more chances to round the bases.