Kansas City Royals: 2020 MLB Mock Draft 2.0

Kansas City Royals Mock Draft 2.0

Round 1, Pick 4: Asa Lacy, Starting Pitcher (LHP)

Asa Lacy is a 6’4”, 215 pound, left-handed starting pitcher out of Texas A&M University. Lacy is quite possibly the best pitcher available in the 2020 MLB Draft and he will just be turning 21-years-old for the draft.

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• 2019 (NCAA): 2.13 ERA, 1.038 WHIP, 130 K, 43 BB, 6 HR allowed in 88.2 innings
• 2020 (NCAA): 0.75 ERA, 0.708 WHIP, 46 K, 8 BB, 0 HR allowed in 24.0 innings

According to the Draft Prospect Rankings at mlb.com, Lacy has the following future tool grades:

• Overall: 60
• Fastball: 60 (92 – 97 mph)
• Curveball: 55 (upper 70s mph)
• Slider: 60 (low 80s mph)
• Changeup: 60 (mid 80s mph)
• Control: 50

According to the scouting report on Lacy at mlb.com;

"“Lacy has boosted his fastball from 87-91 mph in high school to 92-97 these days, using his 6-foot-4 frame to create downhill plane, and hitters just don’t seem to get good swings against it. He employs two distinct breaking balls, a downer curveball and a harder slider in the low 80s, with the slider surpassing his curve this spring and becoming a plus pitch. His changeup fades and sinks and grades as a well above-average pitch at its best, and it should become more consistently plus as he uses it more often."

Lacy has four above-average pitch offerings with his fastball, slider, and change-up all grading as plus pitches. His 11 to 5 curveball and sinking/fading change-up work well tunneling off of his fastball velocity (92 – 97 mph).

His wipeout slider is his best secondary offering and is a strikeout pitch to both left-handed and right-handed batters. He has downhill mechanics and works well through his critical check points. Lacy has slightly above-average control and command, when his release and feel for his arsenal is on, he has the ability to be dominant.

There is a good chance the first three picks of the draft are all bats (Spencer Torkelson, Austin Martin, and Nick Gonzales). The Royals get a nice consolation prize of taking the best pitcher available in the draft.

Asa Lacy excelled in one of the best college baseball conferences (SEC) in the NCAA. He’s a high ceiling/high floor type prospect to be a number three type starter (3.30 FIP) with the potential to be an ace. Lacy would become the Royals best prospect in the system after the draft and has a chance to progress quickly through the system.

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I’d be ecstatic if the Kansas City Royals drafted all of these players in 2020.

Asa Lacy is the best pitcher available in the draft and would become the top prospect in the Royals farm system. Masyn Winn is high ceiling two-way player who can exceed projections at both. J.T. Ginn is another high ceiling pitcher, who only slips to the second round due to injury and has top-10 talent.

Ian Bedell is a high floor pitcher able to exceed his scouting grades with more experience in a starting pitching role. Freddy Zamora has shown promise with the bat to go along with excellent glove in the field making him a high floor infielder. Marquis Grissom Jr. is a lottery ticket with the mentality, work ethic, and family ties to cash in on his potential.

In a draft with only five rounds, the best available is the best approach.