Kansas City Royals: Five round 2019 MLB Mock Draft

Round 3, Pick 80

Selection: Cameron Cannon, 2B, Arizona

Others Considered: Ryan Zeferjahn, RHP, Kansas & Josh Smith, SS, Louisiana State

For the Arizona Wildcats, Cameron Cannon primarily played second base, but also spent some time at short while playing third in Cape Cod. Regardless, his hit grade is above-average at 55 while his power is slightly below-average at 45.

The 5-foot-10 former 21st-round pick of the Diamondbacks slashed .397/.478/.651 this year with 29 doubles, three triples, and eight home runs. He drove in 56 runs while scoring 71 runs himself. He walked 35 times compared to 29 strikeouts. According to MLB Pipeline:

"“Cannon’s best attribute is his ability to make repeated line-drive contact from the right side of the plate. He controls the strike zone well and has grown into some gap power, ranking among the NCAA Division I leaders in doubles this spring.”"

Another option here is right-handed pitcher Ryan Zeferjahn out of Kansas, who ranks as MLB Pipeline’s number 84 prospect and 2080 Baseball’s number 87 prospect. In three seasons for the Jayhawks, Zeferjahn, previously drafted in the 37th round by Tampa Bay in 2016, has mostly started, with just five appearances out of the bullpen, and none since 2017.

His control only rates as a 40, though, leading MLB Pipeline to note that “[Zeferjahn] doesn’t have a track record of throwing strikes, leading several scouts to project a move the bullpen, where he could regularly feature a double-plus fastball in shorter stints.”

Then there’s shortstop Josh Smith out of LSU. Smith is slight of frame, standing 5-foot-10 and weighing under 180 pounds. There’s also quite the bit of discrepancy as to where he ranks, as MLB Pipeline has him at 76 while 2080 Baseball has him at 41.

Regardless, before playing short, Smith manned third for the Tigers. Moreover, MLB notes that he has “good instincts in the field, giving him a chance to stay at shortstop even if many scouts project him to shift to second base at the big league level.”