Kansas City Royals: Three potential prospects to target in 2020 MLB Draft

The Kansas City Royals are slated to select fourth overall in the upcoming MLB Draft, which is being shortened due to the pandemic. What names should Royals fans be eyeing and looking out for?

The 2020 MLB Draft is going to be shortened from 40 rounds to five due to the ongoing pandemic, per Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel of ESPN. It will be interesting to see how the draft is affected, if at all, in the early rounds, especially for the Kansas City Royals.

With the fourth overall selection in this year’s draft, the Royals will likely have an opportunity to select one of three players at that spot. Two are starting pitchers, Georgia’s Emerson Hancock and Texas A&M’s Asa Lacey, and the other is New Mexico State infielder Nick Gonzales.

Let’s start with Hancock.

EMERSON HANCOCK – PITCHER (GEORGIA)

The right-handed pitcher was considered the top draft prospect entering the spring according to MLB.com. Hancock has slid a bit due to the emergence of some college bats that appear likely to be the first two players off the board. Hancock is no slouch and a very worthy candidate to come off the board to Kansas City with pick number four.

Hancock has a good fastball and three quality other pitches to get hitters out. Mayo compares him favorably to 2018 first overall selection Casey Mize, who went to the Detroit Tigers out of Auburn. Perhaps considered a possibility as the top overall selection entering his junior season, Hancock struggled a bit as a junior after being arguably the top college pitcher last season.

If the Royals want to continue to rebuild their system with top shelf talent and develop pitching, Emerson Hancock would make a lot of sense here. He has the ability to move quickly through the lower ranks of the minors and could be spend a lot of time on the mound here in Kansas City.

NICK GONZALES – SHORTSTOP (NEW MEXICO STATE)

Gonzales is a name that has been linked to the Royals for an extended period of time. Currently a shortstop for New Mexico State, he probably transitions to second base at the professional level. Gonzales put up insane stats at New Mexico State and followed that up with hitting .351 at the Cape Cod league last year, garnering MVP honors, all according to Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com.

More of a gap power hitter -r especially in Kansas City – than perhaps a home run hitter, Gonazales will survive in the majors depending on how his bat fares. Mayo does mention concerns over his arm strength and range to survive at short, meaning he likely ends up at second, where his defensive is described as ‘average.’ He does possess a short, compact swing with the ability to hit the ball to all fields.

Gonzales is often compared with Brewers second baseman Keston Hiura, a hit first second baseman that went early in the draft. While it appears he could lack ‘star ability potential’ due to his lack of power, his ability to get on base and hit for average are enticing and is another player that could move quickly, especially through the lower levels of the minors.

ASA LACEY – PITCHER (TEXAS A&M)

Of the names mentioned, Lacey is beginning to appear as the least likely to be on the board for the Kansas City Royals at pick number four. If the Royals do find Lacey as an option, it is a prospect they would and should consider.

Starting pitchers that can bring the heat in the mid 90’s from the left side are always coveted, and Lacey is no exception. With four pitches in his arsenal, the Aggie has shown a consistent ability to get the swing and miss. As Mayo points out, Lacey needs to harness command of his pitches to really raise his game from good to amazing.