When Daniel Vazquez was being scouted to be signed as an international amateur free agent in 2021, he earned comps to the likes of Fernando Tatis Jr. and a teenage Manny Machado in terms of body type and ceiling. That's a part of why he ranked No. 11 on MLB Pipeline's International Top 30 prospects as that signing period arrived and the Royals paid him accordingly, adding him to the organization for $1.5 million.
One of the great unknowns in evaluating prospects at such a young age -- Vazquez was 17 when he signed with the Royals -- is how they're going to develop, both physically and in terms of baseball skills. Now finishing his fifth season with the organization, the prognostications haven't quite panned out, at least not yet, on the offensive side.
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There have been some signs of life. After three seasons with Single-A Columbia, the last of which was capped off with a stint in the Arizona Fall League, Vazquez moved up to High-A Quad Cities for the first time and was a bit more productive than he had been previously, finishing with a .260/.336/.349 line and a 98 wRC+ in 105 games. His 32 extra-base hits were by far a career high, setting him up for a return AFL engagement.
"It's been tough, especially when you're young," Vazquez said about his development, with Brewers hitting coach Ricky Carvajal translating. "You go through a lot of things and you want results right away. When I started working hard, Kansas City has done a really good job with me working on my hitting.
"I think the biggest thing has been my body, that's been the game-changer. I learned how to take care of my body and that’s helped me with my hitting and defense as well."
That's carried over to this second go-round in the AFL. Vazquez hit his second homer of the fall, tying his total from the regular season, on Saturday afternoon. It's not quite approaching Tatis or Machado levels, but the infielder did bring his line for the Surprise Saguaros up to .306/.427/.435 with the pair of long balls and 14 RBIs. His eighth stolen base, a swipe of third, led to a throwing error and another run in Surprise's 6-4 victory over Peoria.
"I was getting ready for the sinker," Vazquez said. "He attacked me with the sinker in the first at-bat, then I made the adjustment. He got the better of me in that first at-bat, then I got him in that at-bat."
It wasn't a cheapy, either. Vazquez's blast was 106.1 mph off the bat and traveled 392 feet, according to Statcast, landing on the berm beyond the left-center field fence. And the sinker came from Top 100 pitching prospect Rhett Lowder, who has big league time, to boot.
"It's a lot different whenever you face guys like him," Vazquez said. "I faced him one time in instructs, so I was ready for that."
Still only 21, it's possible there is still offensive ceiling for him to reach, though it seems more likely at this point that his big league future will be as a utility type. He can flat-out play shortstop and has done that almost exclusively with the Royals. This fall, he slid over and has played a bunch of games at third to add to his defensive repertoire.
"I really like third base, it's easier," Vazquez said. "I just have to react to certain balls, but it's way easier than shortstop. At shortstop, you have to get to every single one of those balls. I feel like third base is a lot more laid back and I'm actually enjoying it right now."