Royals announce international class, including OF Tony Ruiz. Here’s why that’s a big deal...

Outfielder Tony Ruiz, a highly-regarded amateur prospect from the Dominican Republic, headed a group of 30 players from six countries who comprised the Kansas City Royals’ largest international signing class in club history.

MLBPipeline.com ranked Ruiz as the No. 30 prospect in this year’s international class, and Baseball America’s scouting report on Ruiz cited his “premium bat speed and power for his age from a fluid swing.”

Ruiz, who’d been thought to likely land with the Boston Red Sox, signed for a $1.2 million signing bonus according to Baseball America’s Ben Badler.

The Royals’ class features 16 players from the Dominican Republic, eight from Venezuela, three from México and one each from the Netherlands, Nicaragua and South Korea.

The positional breakdown of the group includes 11 right-handed pitchers, seven outfielders, five catchers, three infielders, three left-handed pitchers and one catcher/infielder.

“We’re proud of this group and excited to get them all in our system and help them achieve their dreams,” Royals senior vice president and assistant general manager of major league and international operations Rene Francisco said in a release from the club. “We believe we have a strong mix of high-end pitching talent, athleticism that can play all over the field and power. I know our great fans will enjoy following their progress.”

The international signing period officially began on January 15, and the Royals went into the period with a signing bonus pool of $5,825,500. That’s equal to the pools of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Guardians, Baltimore Orioles, San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates and Colorado Rockies.

The clubs with larger bonus pools ($6,366,900) were the Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, Seattle Mariners, Miami Marlins, Tampa Bay Rays, Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins.

The Royals’ 30-player class includes 18-year-old catcher Hyungchan Um, whose father Jong-soo, played one season with Atlanta’s High-A affiliate in 2001. That will make them the first South Korean father-son duo to sign with MLB organizations, according to the Yonhap News Agency in South Korea.

Pitcher Marwys Jorge, 16, ranked No. 49 on MLB.com’s international prospects list, reportedly trained with former Royals pitcher and 2015 World Series champion Edinson Vólquez.

The full list of Royals signings:

Player Name, Position, Country

Angel Acosta, C, Venezuela

Edgar Mota, C, Venezuela

Moises Amezquita, LHP, Venezuela

José Paulino, OF, Dominican Republic

José Castro, IF, Venezuela

Angel Ramírez, OF, México

Darvin Cruz, OF, Dominican Republic

Ramón Ramírez, C, Dominican Republic

Lloyd Downs, RHP, Nicaragua

John Reyes, RHP, Dominican Republic

Asbel González, OF, Venezuela

Omar Reyes, IF, Venezuela

Carlos González, RHP, Venezuela

Darwin Rodríguez, LHP, Venezuela

Franquely Guzmán, RHP, Dominican Republic

Frandy Rodríguez, RHP, Dominican Republic

Brandon Herbold, LHP, Netherlands

Marvin Rojas, RHP, Dominican Republic

Jorge Hernández, C, México

Pedro Roque, IF, Dominican Republic

Damian Jiménez, RHP, Dominican Republic

Julio Rosario, RHP, Dominican Republic

Marwys Jorge, RHP, Dominican Republic

Sandy Ruiz, C/IF, Dominican Republic

Daniel López, OF, Dominican Republic

Tony Ruiz, OF, Dominican Republic

Johan Lorenzo, RHP, Dominican Republic

Emmanuel Santos, OF, Dominican Republic

Augusto Mendieta, RHP, México

Hyungchan Um, C, South Korea