The road to success in professional baseball is a struggle, even if you’re drafted. For Kansas City Royals’ catching prospect Logan Porter, he had to find his way to success after going undrafted in 2018 and signing a free agent deal.
Porter grew up across the street from the Kansas City Royals spring training facility in Surprise, Arizona, where he played high school baseball at Valley Vista. He had dreams of playing for the Royals.
“I remember as a kid watching spring training practices in the morning with my dad and seeing some of the young prospects coming up,” Porter said. “I always wanted to see how these guys trained and prepared before a game.”
He’d get an even closer opportunity to see how these guys prepared. Little did he know he’d have a chance to work in the clubhouse at the Royals’ spring training facility during minor league spring training.
“My experience working in the clubhouse was incredible,” Porter said. “ The guys were amazing, and it was awesome to be around them. They didn’t treat me like a worker but just like another player.”
That treatment didn’t mean Porter wasn’t working hard both in the clubhouse and on the field.
“Once I was finished folding 500 towels I would get one-on-one instruction when it came to catching,” Porter said.
He had the opportunity to polish his skills on the field, an experience not many youngsters get. He’d have the chance to catch bullpens for pros, which helped refine his craft. “It helped a ton just talking with the guys and learning and watching how to call a game properly.”
Making His Way to the Next Level
Porter hit the ground running in his college career. He initially attended an NCAA Division II school called Northwestern Oklahoma State. He tore it up his first year, being voted Second Team All-Great American Conference at catcher and was named Northwestern’s Male Freshman of the Year.
Even though he had his new finely tuned skills behind the plate, Porter would quickly face adversity he would have to power through in the form of a severe injury. Before his junior year of college, he tore his ACL. He decided to find the positive in his injury situation.
“As crazy as it may sound, that may have been the best thing that could have happened,” Porter said. “It gave me an opportunity to sit back and think about how much I really love this game.”
Porter took the time to get himself both mentally and physically strong. He had a solid supporting cast around him to get through it. “I have to shout out my wife and my parents for being there but most importantly my wife,” Porter said. “There were days that I didn’t want to rehab but she was always there to say ‘Hey today’s a new day and make the most of every opportunity. Thankfully, I was able to fully recover from this injury.”
With his new perspective on the game, Porter decided he wanted to play closer to him and searched for DII programs he could make his way to. Along came Dixie State (now Utah Tech University), where Head Coach Chris Pfatenhauer gave him a walk-on opportunity.
As most know, being a walk-on at the college level can be highly challenging. For Porter, Dixie State’s philosophy seemed perfect, as Coach Pfatenhauer emphasized giving everyone an equal shot. “In our program we’ve never really paid attention to the scholarship guy or walk on,” Coach Pfatenhauer said. “Once they are in our program, the best guys play, regardless. [Porter] was flexible and willing to play anywhere and due to injuries and a lack of production at first base, there was an opportunity, and he took it and ran with it.”
Porter used the opportunity to help him develop on and off the field. “The program at Dixie was run just like a professional team,” Porter said. “We had great competition day in and day out and Coach Pfatenhauer knew how to bring the best out of every guy.”
He kept grinding and showed up with an attitude that he was ready to play every day. “Logan had a great attitude and really never had to say a word to get a response from teammates, he was a silent leader,” Pfatenhauer said. “You never had to get on him or ask for more because you knew he was doing his work and everything he needed to do to be successful.” That attitude would get Porter a shot in the pros.
Adjusting to Professional Baseball
After having much success at Dixie State, Porter signed as an undrafted free agent with the Kansas City Royals on June 18, 2018. “The biggest adjustment from college to pro ball was just the everyday grind,” Porter said. “In college you play 4 games a week so you have time to readjust if you have a bad week as opposed to pro ball where it’s every day and every day is a new day and new opportunity.”
Porter hit the ground running in his first year in the pros, where he played most of his time in the Arizona Complex League, allowing him to play right across the street from his old high school.
Professional ball became more challenging in his second year when he spent time away from his family and competition. “The biggest challenge of professional baseball is the everyday grind and being away from family and friends,” Porter said. “Just being able to manage that with the highs and lows of a season is crucial.”
Porter realized quickly you have to prove yourself at every level as well. “This is especially difficult being an undrafted free agent. There is less opportunity for mistakes and you must continue to outperform your competition.
He did just that. He had so much success that the Kansas City Royals invited him to his first big league spring training in 2022.
Big League Camp and Recent Success
“My experience in big league camp was surreal. Growing up in Surprise, I always dreamed of taking the field with the best in the world,” Porter said. “I learned a lot, especially with guys like Salvy (Salvador Perez) and Gally (Cam Gallagher) - just picking their brain on certain catching aspects and hearing them talk about ways that they do things that I felt I needed to improve on.”
He took much of what he learned to help him in the 2022 season, where he started in Double-A with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. He’s been on a tear with the Naturals, walking nearly as much as he has struck out. He’s also been playing games at third and first while spending the majority of time behind the plate.
Although he has found success, he is always trying to improve his game. “My main focus this year was just to be consistent all year,” Porter said. “Not letting the lows get so low and the highs so high. Being on that same even keel all year.”
From living across the street from the spring training complex to being invited to big league spring training, Porter will look to continue building on his success. He’s far from done. This is just the beginning of his fantastic journey to hopefully one day become a major leaguer.