Rare is international free agent who plays in the United States during his signing year, but that’s that’s exactly what happened with 17-year-old Venezuelan righthander Kendry Chourio. 

Chourio signed in January and began his pro career with five outings in the Dominican Summer League before being promoted to the Arizona Complex League.

In his first U.S. start on July 8, he struck out eight ACL batters in four innings.

After throwing in the low 90s when he first started working out in January at the Royals’ Dominican academy, Chourio’s fastball has more recently been sitting 94-96 mph and touching 98. He complements his heater with a sharp 77-79 mph curveball and a fading changeup at 85-88. 

Through his first 24.2 pro innings, Chourio had 34 strikeouts and a 2.55 ERA. More impressive was that he had walked only one of 100 batters faced.

That’s what the Royals like about Chourio, even more so than the impressive velocity that comes from a frame that is just a touch over 6 feet tall. Their preference is that he learns to pitch rather than consistently try to pitch in the upper 90s.

“We want him to control his effort,” said Rene Francisco, the Royals’ senior vice president of major league and international operations. “We want him to make pitches. That’s what we stress. ‘You’ve got three pitches. You have command. You can come on both sides of the plate . . .’

“So we’re not worrying about the velocity.”

Multiple factors went into the decision to promote Chourio this early in his career, with Francisco pointing out that he throws strikes, commands his pitches and has a strong work ethic. His maturity, poise and intelligence were also important considerations.

Credit goes to Chourio’s signing scout Jose Gualdron and Royals international director Daniel Guerrero.

Chourio hails from the area around Maracaibo, as do Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio and his younger brother Jaison, a Guardians prospect, but he is not related to them.

ROYALTIES

— The Royals opted for versatile high school players with their top two picks in the 2025 draft. They first chose outfielder Sean Gamble from IMG Academy in Florida with the 23rd overall pick. They followed with North Carolina prep shortstop Josh Hammond at No. 29 overall, using the Prospect Promotion Incentive pick they added for Bobby Witt Jr.’s top-three MVP finish last year.

Gamble played second base as well as outfield in high school. Hammond was a two-way player who prefers to hit and play the field.

Two key factors of this draft for the Royals were getting new players with both athleticism and versatility. “We want skill,” Royals scouting director Brian Bridges said, “but you also want baseball players who are able to . . . move around, because you don’t know where you’re going to play when you get in the big leagues.”