When the Royals signed Salvador Perez for $65,000 in October 2006, it was hard to grasp just how impactful an addition they had just made. The Venezuelan catcher has gone on to become a staple of Kansas City ballclubs for over a decade and will make a compelling Hall of Fame case once his playing days are over.

Those superlatives are lofty for any young player to live up to. But the Royals have once again agreed to terms with a Venezuelan catcher they¡¯re ecstatic about adding to their organization in Moises Marchán, the No. 31 overall prospect in the 2025 international class per MLB Pipeline.

March¨¢n headlines the class, but it¡¯s an extremely deep one as the Royals are also bringing aboard Dominican shortstops Warren Calcaño (No. 38) and Ramcell Medina (No. 49).

Calca?o's and Medina's deals are both worth $1 million, per an industry source. The club, which received $6.9 million in pool money, did not publicize the financial terms.

In all, the Royals signed 22 international free agents at the start of the 2025 international signing period. The group features nine right-handed pitchers, six infielders, four catchers and three outfielders.

¡°We are excited to welcome such a diverse and talented group of players into our organization,¡± Royals senior vice president of Major League & international operations/assistant general manager Rene Francisco said in the team announcement. ¡°Daniel Guerrero [Royals international scouting director] and his team did an outstanding job of identifying these players and signing them to their first professional contracts. We look forward to watching them all grow together as both men and baseball players as they pursue their dreams of becoming Major Leaguers.¡±

March¨¢n is regarded as having top-of-the-chart baseball IQ, coming from a family immersed in the game: his cousin, Rafael, has spent parts of three seasons with the Phillies, while his father also played professionally. Moises trains with Carlos Az¨®car at VPA in Miranda, Venezuela, an MLB Trainer Partnership Program.

Already equipped with at least average pop that has room to grow, March¨¢n has a track record of performing well with the bat during game action. He has the advantage of getting to play the entirety of his first pro year as a 17-year-old.

It¡¯s not often that catchers get popped with the ¡°five-tool¡± label, but March¨¢n has already been clocked at 6.4 seconds on his 60-yard dash times, and his throwing arm is regarded as his primary standout tool. He¡¯s shown an ability to steal bases in game action and will be considered a long-term surefire backstop as he joins the pro ball ranks.

The Royals, like nearly all organizations, can dream on the projection of a sweet-swinging, switch-hitting shortstop. Calca?o has long excelled on the tournament circuit throughout the Dominican Republic, giving him an established track record to go along with an ample amount of projection.

While the offensive component of his game remains a work in progress, Calca?o will be a surefire shortstop as he gets his pro career underway. That should give him a runway for his bat to catch up, as similarly to March¨¢n, he will play the entire 2025 regular season as a 17-year-old.

Medina has been preparing for the rigors that come with playing for a Major League organization since he was 15 years old when he began playing with pro clubs in his native D.R. A right-handed hitter, Medina stays short to the ball with a compact approach at the dish that features very little movement or drift in his hands. He has a solid track record of producing top-tier exit velocities, exciting evaluators about what¡¯s still to come offensively.

Scouts believe that Medina may have slid slightly under the radar due to his previously diminutive size, which has since undergone a growth spurt. There¡¯s optimism that Medina¡¯s all-around package can blossom into an impact talent.

For March¨¢n, the competition behind the dish will be hefty. Kansas City is unique in already having four primary catchers as part of its Top 30 Prospects list: Blake Mitchell (Royals' No. 2/MLB No. 51) and Hyungchan Um (Royals' No. 25) shared catching duties this past summer at Single-A Columbia, while No. 5 prospect Carter Jensen is higher up the ladder and No. 10 prospect Ramon Ramirez is just getting his feet wet Stateside.

But having a wealth of talent at a premium position is never a bad thing. Look to Kansas City¡¯s top two international signings from 2024, Yandel Ricardo (Royals' No. 8) and Jhonayker Ugarte (Royals' No. 18). Both inked nine-figure deals as shortstops, but Ugarte primarily slid over to the hot corner in Year 1, allowing his bat to play up.

March¨¢n, Calca?o and Medina could all be in for similar division of positional labor in 2025 and beyond, but as long as their bats prove satisfactory in the early going, they¡¯ll have ample opportunities to separate as they move up through the farm system.

An international player is eligible to sign with a Major League team between Jan. 15 and Dec. 15. He must turn 16 before he signs and be 17 before Sept. 1 the following year.

That means players born between Sept. 1, 2007, and Aug. 31, 2008, will be eligible to sign in the current signing period. Players must be registered with Major League Baseball in advance to be eligible to sign.