Fuentes Briefly Earned Spot For Royals
KANSAS CITY—Outfielder Reymond Fuentes faced long odds to make the Royals, even after Jarrod Dyson pulled his right oblique in the first spring training game.
Yet not only did Fuentes earn a roster spot, he was the starting right fielder for the defending World Series champions on Opening Day.
Fuentes went 22-for-57 (.386) with three home runs and 14 RBIs this spring. He also hit .325 in the Puerto Rican League.
Fuentes, a cousin of former Royal Carlos Beltran, was a 2009 first-round pick of the Red Sox out of high school in Manati, P.R.
“Baseball runs in the family,” said Fuentes, who was sent to Triple-A on April 20 after Dyson was activated.
The Red Sox packaged Fuentes and three other prospects to acquire Adrian Gonzalez from the Padres after the 2010 season. The Royals acquired Fuentes from San Diego in a trade for lefthander Kyle Bartsch after the 2014 season, and he hit .308/.360/.422 in 2015 at Triple-A Omaha.
Fuentes estimated he took more than 5,000 swings in the cage during the offseason.
“Some things have changed,” said Fuentes, 25, a lefthanded batter. “I’m thinking about keeping my hands through the ball. My swing is more downward than upward and long. It produces more backspin on the ball, so the ball can carry a little bit better. And I’m just trying to swing at good pitches.”
Fuentes stole 29 bases last year.
“I still have my speed,” Fuentes said. “When I was first drafted, I weighed 160 pounds. Now I weigh 190, so it’s a little bit more complicated stealing bases. I’m still learning how to steal bases.”
Kansas City called up Fuentes for one day last season, but he did not play. The Royals promoted him on April 17 after Alex Rios went on the disabled list, but that night shortstop Alcides Escobar suffered a knee injury from a Brett Lawrie slide.
“They needed an extra infielder, and they had an extra outfielder, which was me, so they had to send me down,” Fuentes said.
ROYALTIES
• Righthander Kyle Zimmer, limited to 217 innings because of injuries since the Royals drafted him fifth overall in 2012, began the season on the Omaha disabled list with shoulder fatigue. He had shoulder surgery after the 2014 season.
• Righthanders Scott Blewett and Nolan Watson and lefthander Foster Griffin, three of the Royals top pitching prospects, opened the season at low Class A Lexington.
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