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Kansas City Royals: Every top five draft pick in Royals history

By Leigh Oleszczak

OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 7: Yamaico Navarro #24, Alcides Escobar #2, Brayan Pena #27, Eric Hosmer #35 and Mike Moustakas #8 of the Kansas City Royals joke around in the dugout prior to the game against the Oakland Athletics at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on September 7, 2011 in Oakland, California. The Athletics defeated the Royals 7-0. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 7: Yamaico Navarro #24, Alcides Escobar #2, Brayan Pena #27, Eric Hosmer #35 and Mike Moustakas #8 of the Kansas City Royals joke around in the dugout prior to the game against the Oakland Athletics at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on September 7, 2011 in Oakland, California. The Athletics defeated the Royals 7-0. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images) /
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Kyle Zimmer, the Kansas City Royals’ No. 1 pick in the 2012 draft (John Sleezer/Kansas City Star/MCT via Getty Images)
Kyle Zimmer, the Kansas City Royals’ No. 1 pick in the 2012 draft (John Sleezer/Kansas City Star/MCT via Getty Images) /

ROYALS TOP FIVE PICKS IN MLB DRAFT

2012 – KYLE ZIMMER (FIFTH OVERALL)

For the third year in a row (and for the eighth time in ten years), the Royals had a top-five selection in the MLB Draft. In 2012, they decided to draft Kyle Zimmer out of the University of San Francisco.

Zimmer looked to have nearly the same exact career (or lack thereof) as Bubba Starling, but he did finally make his MLB debut in 2019. Before that, Zimmer had a hard time staying healthy and that was his biggest problem.

It was never about talent with Zimmer. He had the chops to be a darn good pitcher in the big leagues, but year after year, some type of injury would derail his season and it was so frustrating for Royals fans.

It was pretty cool when Zimmer finally got his chance in 2019. He did run into some problems with a 9.00 ERA and eventually getting sent back down to Triple-A Omaha to figure things out. He was very good in the shortened 2020 season, pitching 23 innings and allowing just four runs, good for a 1.57 ERA.

Zimmer looks to be an important piece in the Royals’ bullpen and hopefully, all of the waiting for him to get healthy will have paid off and he’ll be able to contribute to this team.

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