KC Royals: Starters in 2019 All-Star Game that Royals missed out on

2011 MLB DRAFT

The 2011 draft ended up being a pretty loaded one with a lot of the first rounders contributing in the big leagues now. The two starters from this year’s class in the All-Star Game are Javier Baez of the Cubs and George Springer of the Astros.

Before we get more into them, let’s discuss who the Royals took in 2011. That player was none other than Bubba Starling out of Gardner-Edgerton High School in Kansas.

We all know Starling’s story. He’s yet to make it to the majors, but there is some hope that this year could finally be when he gets his MLB call-up and makes his debut at Kauffman Stadium. Even if Starling gets to the bigs in 2019, it took him eight years to do so and he missed out on contributing during some important seasons.

Starling was the fifth overall pick in 2011 while Baez went ninth to the Cubs and Springer went 11th to the Astros. Both guys have won World Series with their respective teams and were key players in those title years. Baez won NLCS MVP in 2016 while Springer was named the World Series MVP in 2017 when Houston won it all.

In other words, the Royals could have had themselves a sure thing with Baez or Springer, but went with the younger, local product in Bubba Starling. Even if Starling makes it to the major leagues this year, the Royals missed out on what likely would have been his prime years in the bigs (he’s almost 27 years old now) and that’s a bummer for sure.