Royals organizational awards name Jensen and Caglianone as headliners

Carter Jensen and Jac Caglianone were among the players honored at the Royals' organizational awards in Surprise, Ariz., where the club recognized Minor League players, staff and language-program graduates. The ceremony was held earlier to allow players to depart for the World Baseball Classic.

The Royals held their annual organizational awards Friday at the club’s complex in Surprise, Ariz. The gathering brought together Minor League players, coaches and Major Leaguers to recognize accomplishments from the 2025 season. The ceremony was scheduled earlier than usual so players leaving for the World Baseball Classic could attend. Front-office leaders described the event as a chance to celebrate individual contributions and the organization’s culture. Recognitions: - Players and pitchers of the year were named for each affiliate: Triple-A Omaha — Carter Jensen and Luinder Avila; Double-A Northwest Arkansas — Jac Caglianone and Ben Kudrna; High-A Quad Cities — Sam Kulasingam and Felix Arronde; Single-A Columbia — Ramon Ramirez and David Shields; ACL Royals — Yandel Ricardo and Darwin Rodriguez; DSL Royals — Ramcell Medina and Kendry Chourio. - Additional awards included the Matt Minker Award to Massiel Rodriguez (manager of Dominican Republic Operations), the Dick Howser Award to Jesús Delgado (ACL Royals pitching coach) and the Carlos Fortuna Award to Juan Martínez. - Six players graduated from the Royals’ language programs: English graduates Yandel Ricardo (Cuba), Gabriel Silva (Venezuela), Victor Peña (Dominican Republic) and Jesus Rios (Mexico); Spanish graduates Brandon Herbold (Netherlands) and Hyungchan Um (Korea). Hyungchan Um was noted as the first player to complete both the English and Spanish programs. - Royals officials, including CEO John Sherman and president of baseball operations J.J. Picollo, spoke about the ceremony’s role in connecting the club’s past, present and future and noted the applause given to language-program graduates. Summary: The awards highlighted individual and staff contributions across the Royals’ farm system and recognized progress in player development and language learning. Many honorees now prepare to depart for the World Baseball Classic.