Kansas City Royals: Every First Round Pick Since 2000

Every Royals first-round draft pick since 2000: Bubba Starling (2011)

Bubba Starling seemingly had a bright future ahead of him. He was committed to the University of Nebraska to become their next starting quarterback and also was a first-round pick by the KC Royals in 2011.

With that selection, Starling de-committed from the Cornhuskers and headed to the minor leagues in hopes of becoming the next big thing for the Royals. Starling was a Kansas native, so that made drafting him even more special because he was “one of us”.

Bubba Starling seemed like a sure thing for the Royals at the time. He was only 18 years old and had all of the potential in the world. His athletic ability was surely going to turn into something special for the organization and he was going to be dealing out in center field for the Royals.

Instead, it took Starling until 2019 to make it to the majors, marking eight years between the Royals making him the No. 5 overall pick in the draft and him making his MLB debut.