It’s Time for Royals Prospect Seuly Matias To Produce

Matias has all the power in the world. If he can put it all together and stay healthy, the Royals will have a a fun player back in their minor league system.

In what's been a bumpy season for the Kansas City Royals, they've recently done some shuffling of their minor league prospects. It's the time of year where MLB teams assess where their young players are at, then decide where they need to be. That couldn't ring truer with outfielder Seuly Matias.

Matias, still just 22 years of age, possesses some of the best raw power in all of minor league baseball. He put that on full display when he hit a whopping 31 jacks out of the yard and slugged to the tune of .550 in 2018. On the other hand, he hit .231 and struck out an alarming 131 times in 94 games. He struggled immensely the following year and has recently had issues with staying healthy. After some time in High-A Quad Cities, the Royals promoted him to Double-A Northwest Arkansas this week.

The Royals made two minor league promotions today: OF Dairon Blanco has been bumped from Double-A Northwest Arkansas to Triple-A Omaha; OF Seuly Matias has been bumped from High-A Quad Cities to Double-A Northwest Arkansas.

— Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) August 17, 2021

In 25 games with the High-A River Bandits, Matias posted a .240/.309/.610 line with 10 home runs and 25 RBIs in 25 games. His .919 OPS was very impressive and flashed his overall potential to the organization. Much like in his past stints, though, Matias also struck out at a crazy rate. 41 in 25 games (100 at-bats) is way too often, even for a player with immense power potential. Luckily, the Royals have some experience with that. 

In 2019, when outfielder/designated hitter Jorge Soler set the Royals single-season record in home runs with a towering 48, he also led the league in strikeouts with 178 in 162 games. He followed that up with 60 in just 43 games in 2020, then 97 in 94 games with the team before being traded to the Atlanta Braves at the deadline. Kansas City is familiar with outfielders who don't necessarily hit well and strike out a ton, but have power that 99% of the world simply couldn't dream of possessing. 

Matias hits the ball. Hard. He's just a few years removed from one of the best minor league seasons in recent memory. He also has a strong arm in right field, suggesting that he may not have to be strictly a designated hitter at the next level. If he eventually makes the MLB club and strikes out too much for their liking, but can balance it out by hitting quite a few balls into the fountains at Kauffman Stadium, the trade-off may be worth it. 

The time is now for Matias to continue improving. Even an incremental improvement in his plate discipline or overall on-base ability would go a long way towards making him a can't-miss prospect again. He's still young enough to make it happen and if he can, the Royals will have a pleasant surprise with elite pop in his bat. That's dangerous.