Kansas City Royals: Five bold predictions for 2019
By Cullen Jekel
Kansas City Royals Bold Predictions for 2019: Number 4
The Royals Snag a Star with the Second Overall Draft Pick
In the 2018 first-year player draft, the Royals drafted four pitchers in the first 40 picks headlined by Brady Singer out of Florida at 18th overall.
2019 will be different. The Royals draft second behind only the Orioles, and the projected top two picks are positional players. Further, both of these young men should be stars.
The top prospect, according to MLB.com, is Oregon State’s switch-hitting catcher Adley Rutschman. On the 20-80 scale, MLB.com ranks his hitting at 60, power at 55, arm at 60, and fielding at 60. And while the Royals have Perez behind the plate for the time being, Rutschman is only 20. Plus, should he reach the Majors quickly, he spend time as the DH while spelling Perez when needed.
Related Story. Every Royals First Round Pick Since 2000. light
The other option, should the Orioles snag Rutschman, is shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., an 18-year-old out of Texas currently committed to Oklahoma University. Witt doesn’t rank as highly as Rutschman in the hitting categories, but, accordng to MLB.com, he rates at 60 in running, arm, and fielding. MLB.com makes it obvious that Witt can play short in the big leagues and that he could end up as a 20-20 guy.
Kansas City currently has a young shortstop on hand in Aldaberto Mondesi, but the great thing about shortstops is that they are outstanding athletes and can play almost anywhere. It wouldn’t be surprising for the Royals, in the future, to start Mondesi at short with Witt Jr. at third.
The best thing about losing 108 games in 2018 is that Dayton Moore will certainly draft either Adley Rutschman or Bobby Witt Jr. And while the Major League Baseball draft is more of a crap-shoot than, say, the NFL draft, landing a long-term member of your organization in the top two picks seems solid.
Both of these guys will be stars, and one of them will be wearing a Royals jersey.