One of the KC Royals unheralded minor league free agent signings last season, Balbino Fuenmayor proved to be a revelation. Formerly a highly regarded prospect in the Blue Jays organization, Fuenmayor never lived up to expectations and was released at the age of 23, having never gotten higher than A ball.
Fuenmayor then went to the independent leagues, and rediscovered his batting stroke. With the Frontier Greys, and later the Laredo Lemurs and Les Capitales de Quebec, Fuenmayor began hitting for power. That carried over into the Venezuelan Winter League in 2014, when he hit ten home runs in 143 at bats, punishing the opposition.