Kansas City Royals: Five round 2019 MLB Mock Draft
By Cullen Jekel
Round 5, Pick 139
Selection: Sebastian Keane, RHP, North Andover (Mass.) High School
Others Considered: Ivan Johnson, 2B, Chipola & Jaxx Groshans, C, Kansas
Out of Chipola Junior College in Florida, Ivan Johnson is ranked 67th by 2080 Baseball but 133rd by MLB Pipeline. If he’s still around at this pick, then the Kansas City Royals may very well select him.
The switch-hitting 20-year-old is set to play for South Carolina next season. Yet, Johnson possesses “easy power from the left side of the plate and has a good right-handed swing as well, with more gap power from that side,” as noted by MLB.com. His eye-popping numbers in JUCO, which includes slashing .381/.491/.587 with 10 doubles, nine home runs, and 49 runs batted in, should get him drafted relatively early.
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Next up is catcher Jaxx Groshans, the second Kansas Jayhawk to make this article. The 6-foot junior slugged 12 home runs this season, more than twice as many as he hit his first two seasons combined.
He added 14 doubles and 46 runs batted in as he walked 13 more times than he struck out. Overall, he slashed .340/.475/.604. If he doesn’t stick behind the plate, MLB.com notes that Groshans “has experience on the infield and outfield corners.”
Ultimately, though, I have the Royals selecting the State of Massachusetts’ Gatorade Player of the Year: Sebastian Keane, a 6-foot-3, 18-year-old pitcher currently committed to play college ball for Northeastern. According to The Boston Herald, Keane went 6-0 this year, appearing in 13 games while striking out a whopping 62 batters and walking just seven. His ERA was 0.88.
Watch 2019 Sebastian Keane (MA) toss an absolutely dominant inning at PG National striking out the side. Fastball was up to 92 mph, CB 79 mph. Northeastern commit is going to be a lot of fun to watch develop next few years https://t.co/OvZoVWY8FI pic.twitter.com/u4RdzJNUAQ
— Perfect Game USA (@PerfectGameUSA) February 26, 2019
MLB.com notes that Keane was once a “high level soccer player,” but that since he’s started focusing on pitching, “the team taking [him] could have a solid mid-rotation or No. 4 starter when all is said and done.”