Kansas City Royals
SURPRISE, Ariz.—The Kansas City Royals this morning named their 2025 Organization Award winners and their Players and Pitchers of the Year for each minor league affiliate.
All Organization Award winners were honored at the club’s Spring Training complex in Surprise, Ariz. this morning.
Massiel Rodriguez was the recipient of the Matt Minker Award, which annually recognizes an outstanding minor league affiliate employee. Rodriguez is in her ninth season with the Royals and first as the Manager of D.R. Administration after spending eight seasons as the Assistant to Dominican Operations. She previously worked as the Investigations Administrative Coordinator for the MLB office in Santo Domingo from 2011-18. Rodriguez has proven to be a driving force behind the transformation of the Royals Dominican Academy, turning it from a training complex into the true Royals home outside the United States.
Jes?s Delgado was honored as the Dick Howser Award winner, which recognizes a player development employee for outstanding contributions to the organization. Delgado is entering his fourth season with the club as the Pitching Coach for the ACL Royals in Surprise, Ariz. Under his tutelage, last season’s ACL Royals posted a league-low 9.2% walk rate and the 4th-best strikeout rate (25.2%) in the Arizona Complex League. He played 11 years in the minors with the Red Sox, Marlins, Mariners and Reds organizations, after which he spent four seasons playing in the Mexican and Italian baseball leagues.
Juan Mart?nez was the recipient of the Carlos Fortuna Award, which recognizes a player who is dedicated to improving his English on and off the field, and who exemplifies leadership, great work ethic, discipline and dedication. The San Salvador, El Salvador native appeared in 36 games (1 start) for the Quad Cities River Bandits in 2025, and pitched to a 2.08 ERA (12 ER in 52.0 IP). As the only current Salvadoran player across all Major League organizations, Mart?nez carries his country with pride and integrity. He has worked tirelessly to perfect his English skills, demonstrating discipline and commitment both on and off the field. His dedication to personal growth allowed him to graduate and improve his communication. Mart?nez aspires to support and inspire children in San Salvador, helping them learn about baseball and pursue opportunities through the game he loves.
Omaha Storm Chasers (Triple-A)
Carter Jensen, 22, was named Omaha’s Player of the Year for 2025, after slashing .288/.404/.647 (44-for-153) with 14 home runs in 43 games with the Storm Chasers. This marks his second honor for 2025, as he was also named the organization’s overall George Brett Hitter of the Year. He opened the season with Double-A Northwest Arkansas, where he batted .292 (80-for-274) with 37 RBI in 68 games before earning a promotion to Triple-A on June 24. Jensen was a 2025 Futures Game selection and represented the American League in July at Truist Park. His contract was selected on Sept. 1 and he made his Major League debut the following night against the Angels. At the time of his promotion to the Majors, he ranked 1st among Royals farmhands in RBI (76), slugging percentage (.501), OPS (.878) and home runs (tied, 20), and 2nd in hits (124) and batting average (.290). Over his 20 big league games in September, he drove in 13 runs for the Royals, which tied for the 6th-most RBI by a Royal through their 1st 20 career games. Jensen was selected in the 3rd round of the 2021 Draft out of Park Hill HS (Mo.) and was signed by scout Matt Price.
Luinder Avila, 24, was honored as Omaha’s 2025 Pitcher of the Year after striking out 61 batters over 53.1 innings (10.3 K/9) in 14 appearances (9 starts) with the Storm Chasers. He made his 1st start of the season on April 1 vs. Louisville and struck out a career-high 11 batters in 5.2 innings. Avila was recalled by the Royals on Aug. 11 and made his Major League debut on Aug. 13 vs. the Nationals, pitching a scoreless 8th inning. He had three stints with the Royals in 2025, from Aug. 11-16, Sept. 1-17 and Sept. 18 through season’s end, making 13 relief appearances. He struck out at least 1 batter in 10 of his 13 games and held opponents to a .143 average (7-for-49). Avila was also named the 2025 Mike Sweeney Community Impact Award winner, an honor he received for mentoring Royals minor leaguers—especially Latin players—helping them navigate the challenges of professional baseball. He was signed as an international free agent from Caracas, Venezuela in March 2018 and was signed by scouts Jos? Figuera and Joelvis Gonzalez.
Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Double-A)
Jac Caglianone, 23, was named Northwest Arkansas Player of the Year after opening the season with the Naturals and slashing .322/.394/.553 (49-for-152) with 8 doubles, 9 home runs and 43 RBI in 38 games, before earning a promotion to Triple-A on May 20. He made his Major League debut on June 3 in St. Louis and remained with the Royals for the rest of the season, except for his stint on the 10-day Injured List from July 27-Sept. 1 with a strained left hamstring, during which he completed a minor league rehab assignment. Despite playing in only 66 minor league games, he still tied for 2nd among all Royals farmhands with 20 home runs last year, while his 72 RBI ranked 3rd. In 95 career minor league games, he’s slashed .308/.377/.547 with 23 doubles, 22 HR and 86 RBI. Caglianone was selected 6th overall out of the University of Florida in the 2024 Draft and was signed by Nick Presto.
Ben Kudrna, 23, earned Northwest Arkansas Pitcher of the Year honors after recording a 4.21 ERA (44 ER in 94.0 IP) over 20 appearances (19 starts) with the Naturals in 2025. In his last 6 starts with Northwest Arkansas before being promoted to Triple-A Omaha on Aug. 19, he recorded a 1.71 ERA (6 ER in 31.2 IP), including a career-high 11 strikeouts in 6.0 innings on July 22 at Arkansas. Kudrna was named Northwest Arkansas Pitcher of the Month for July and Texas League Pitcher of the Week for the period of July 21-27. He was selected out of Blue Valley Southwest HS (Kan.) in the 2nd round of the 2021 Draft and signed by Matt Price.
Quad Cities River Bandits (High-A)
Sam Kulasingam, 24, was honored with the Quad Cities Player of the Year Award for 2025. He posted a slashline of .291/.375/.393 (136-for-468, .786 OPS) with 26 doubles, 57 RBI, 77 runs and 22 stolen bases over 123 games with the River Bandits. Kulasingam led the Midwest League in hits, while also leading the team (min. 35 G) in batting average, runs and extra-base hits (36). He finished the season with a 27-game on-base streak, slashing .323/.403/.455 (32-for-99). He was also the recipient of the Alex Gordon Heart & Hustle Award, which recognizes a player who best exemplifies how Gordon played the game. Kulasingam was selected out of the Air Force Academy in the 13th round of the 2024 Draft and was signed by scout Ken Munoz.
F?lix Arronde, 22, was named Quad Cities Pitcher of the Year for 2025, the same honor he earned with Columbia in 2024. Arronde followed up his 2024 campaign with a 2.80 ERA (40 ER in 128.2 IP) in 26 appearances (24 starts) last season, which led all Royals farmhands as well as the Midwest League. He became the first qualified River Bandit to lead the league in ERA since becoming a Royals affiliate in 2021. Arronde also led the Midwest League in opponent’s average (.210) and WHIP (1.08). He earned Quad Cities Pitcher of the Month honors in July after logging a 1.57 ERA (4 ER in 23.0 IP) and a .154 opponents’ average (12-for-78) across 5 games (4 starts). Arronde signed as an international free agent on June 28, 2021 by Royals scout Elias Despradel out of Santa Clara, Cuba.
Columbia Fireflies (Single-A)
Ram?n Ram?rez, 20, was crowned Columbia’s Player of the Year for 2025. This is his third consecutive season with end-of-year honors, following his 2024 campaign when he won ACL Royals Player of the Year and in 2023 when he won DSL Royals Blue Player of the Year. Ram?rez played in 70 games for Columbia in 2025, slashing .244/.339/.442 (63-for-258, .781 OPS) with 11 HR, 12 doubles and 56 RBI. He was recognized as Fireflies Player of the Month for May after he slashed .261/.377/.466 (23-for-88, .843 OPS) with 5 home runs and 19 RBI. Ram?rez was originally signed as an international free agent out of Porlamar, Venezuela on Jan. 20, 2023, by Royals scouts Roberto Aquino, Francis Feliciano and Daniel Guerrero.
David Shields, 19, was named Columbia Pitcher of the Year for 2025. After making 1 start for the rookie-level ACL Royals, he was promoted to Single-A Columbia in May, where he made 18 starts and posted a 2.01 ERA (16 ER in 71.2 IP) with 81 strikeouts (28.3 K%) to just 15 walks (5.2 BB%) in his first professional season. Shields earned the 2025 Paul Splittorff Award, given to the top pitcher in the Royals organization, as well as Carolina League All-Star and Pitcher of the Year honors. He was one of two 18-year-olds to throw at least 70.0 innings in full-season ball, joining Milwaukee’s right hander Melvin Hern?ndez, and he became the first Royals farmhand to do so since Yefri Del Rosario (79.0 IP in 2018), per FanGraphs. He made 2 postseason starts for the Fireflies and earned the win in both games, recording 12 strikeouts and no walks across 10.0 innings. Shields was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2024 Draft out of Mt. Lebanon HS (Penn.) and was signed by scout Tim Bittner.
Arizona Complex League Royals (Rookie)
Yandel Ricardo, 19, was recognized as the ACL Royals Player of the Year for 2025 after slashing .342/.438/.533 (41-for-120, .971 OPS) over 33 games. He led all ACL Royals (min. 75 PA) in on-base percentage, slugging percentage and triples (5) and finished 2nd in batting average and stolen bases (17). In 83 games between the Arizona Complex League and Single-A Columbia, Ricardo recorded 22 extra-base hits, 35 RBI and 31 stolen bases. He signed as an international free agent out of Ciego De ?vila, Cuba on Jan. 17, 2024 by scouts Nicolas Bautista, Roberto Aquino and Daniel Guerrero.
Darwin Rodr?guez, 22, was named the ACL Royals Pitcher of the Year after finishing the 2025 season with a 3.58 ERA (22 ER in 55.1 IP) across 16 appearances (14 starts) between the ACL Royals (12 G/10 GS) and Single-A Columbia (4 GS). With the ACL Royals, Rodr?guez led the team in strikeouts (50) and BB/9 (1.33), while finishing 2nd in starts and innings pitched (40.2), which earned him Arizona Complex League All-Star honors. He was originally signed as an international free agent out of Naguanagua, Venezuela on Dec. 15, 2022, by Royals scouts Alberto Garcia and Richard Castro.
Dominican Summer League Royals (Rookie)
Ramcell Medina, 18, was honored as the DSL Royals Player of the Year for 2025. In his first professional season, Medina earned DSL All-Star honors and slashed .260/.398/.404 (38-for-146, .802 OPS) with 13 extra-base hits, 25 RBI and more walks (31) than strikeouts (26) across 44 games for the DSL Royals Ventura. He was originally signed as an international free agent on Jan. 17, 2025 out of Nagua, Dominican Republic by Roberto Aquino, Daniel Guerrero and Rene Francisco.