KC Royals: Seven options for second overall pick in 2019 MLB Draft

The bottom fell out for the KC Royals in 2018. After five straight seasons of competitive baseball, the Royals dropped to 58-104, which was the second worst record in the majors. It comes the second overall draft pick.

Holding the second overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft is great news for the Kansas City Royals. As an organizational whole, the franchise is in a good spot, with several bright spots on the Major League roster as well as numerous prospects rising through the minors together. Currently, that group is playing for the Wilmington Blue Rocks, the club’s advanced-A squad.

Now, with the second selection in the draft, general manager Dayton Moore has the opportunity to land a star. And while this draft lacks a readily-apparent generational talent, a la Bryce Harper in 2010, the Royals should still be able to land an impact player.

And with the Royals’ farm system on the upswing again after (successfully) emptying it with the goal of capturing a World Series championship, Moore can take the best available player. Since just the Orioles, who finished last year 47-115, are picking ahead of them, the options will be plentiful.

In the following pages, I take a look at seven options for the Royals with the number two pick. These players range from a high-school shortstop to a 19-year-old pitcher re-entering the draft to multiple collegiate players, including one left-handed starting pitcher, an outfielder from Mizzou, and two positional players battling for the Baseball America College Player of the Year Award.

We start, though, in Lubbock, Texas, with a slugger currently manning the hot corner for the Red Raiders.