List of Kansas City Royals first-round draft picks

The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball franchise based in Kansas City, Missouri. The franchise, founded in 1969, plays in the American League Central division.[1] Since the institution of Major League Baseball's Rule 4 Draft, the Royals have selected 57 players in the first round. Officially known as the "First-Year Player Draft",[2] the Rule 4 Draft is Major League Baseball's primary mechanism for assigning amateur players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its franchises. The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings with the team that had the worst record receiving the first pick.[2] In addition, teams that lost free agents in the previous off-season may be awarded compensatory or supplementary picks.[3] The First-Year Player Draft is unrelated to the 1968 expansion draft in which the Royals initially filled their roster.

A young man in a blue cap and gray baseball uniform with blue lettering on the chest, including the number 23, pitches a baseball right-handed.
Zack Greinke, drafted in 2002, is the only Royals' first-round pick to win a Cy Young Award with the team.

Of the 57 players first-round draft picks, 31 have been pitchers, the most of any position; 20 of these were right-handed, while 11 were left-handed. Twelve outfielders were selected, and eight shortstops, three catchers, and two third basemen were taken. The team also selected one player at first base, but has never drafted a second baseman.[4] Fifteen of the players came from institutions in the state of California, while Florida and Texas follow with seven players each. The Royals have drafted two players, Luke Hochevar (2006) and Aaron Crow (2009), who were playing in the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball at the time of their draft.[5][6] Both had been drafted previously by other major league teams but had chosen to play for the Fort Worth Cats instead.[5][6] They have also drafted one player from Puerto Rico: Juan Lebron (1995).

Seven of their first-round picks have won World Series championships with the team. Outfielder Willie Wilson (1974) and shortstop Buddy Biancalana (1978) appeared during the Royals' 1985 World Series victory,[7] while Alex Gordon (2005), Luke Hochevar (2006), Mike Moustakas (2007), Eric Hosmer (2008) and Christian Colón (2010) were all part of the winning team in the 2015 World Series.[8] Zack Greinke (2002) is the only first-round pick of the Royals to earn a Cy Young Award with the team, winning in 2009.[9] Royals' first-round picks have never won Rookie of the Year or Most Valuable Player awards, and no pick has been elected to the Hall of Fame. The Royals have made seven selections in the supplemental round of the draft. They have made the first overall selection in the draft once, in 2006.[4][10] The club has had 13 compensatory picks since the institution of the First-Year Player Draft in 1965. These additional picks are provided when a team loses a particularly valuable free agent in the prior off-season,[3][11][V] or, more recently, if a team fails to sign a draft pick from the previous year.[12] The Royals' first-ever pick, John Simmons (1969), did not sign with the club but they received no compensatory pick.[13]

Key

Year Links to an article about that year's Major League Baseball Draft
Position Indicates the secondary/collegiate position at which the player was drafted, rather than the professional position the player may have gone on to play
Organization (Location) Indicates the previous high school, university, or other organization the player was drafted from
Pick Indicates the number of the pick
* Player did not sign with the Royals
§ Indicates a supplemental pick
'85 Player was a member of Royals' 1985 championship team
'15 Player was a member of Royals' 2015 championship team

Picks

A middle-aged man in a dark baseball cap, white pinstriped baseball uniform with "ROCKIES 13" on the chest, and a black shirt underneath walks away from a pitchers mound.
Clint Hurdle (1975) was the first player drafted by the Royals in the first round from Florida, a state which has produced seven first-rounders for the Royals overall.
A man in a gray baseball uniform with "NEW YORK" on the chest and a dark batting helmet stands in the infield dirt of a baseball diamond.
Johnny Damon was the last of four first-round picks by the Royals in 1992 and went on to win World Series championships with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.[14]
A man in a gray baseball uniform with "WASHINGTON 54" on the chest, a dark baseball cap, and a baseball glove on his left hand pitches a baseball with his right hand.
Mike MacDougal was one of two right-handed pitchers from the state of North Carolina taken by the Royals in the first round of the 1999 draft.
A man in a gray baseball uniform with "KANSAS CITY 35" on the chest and a blue batting helmet runs on the infield dirt of a baseball field.
Mitch Maier (2003) was one of three catchers ever drafted by the Royals in the first round of the First-Year Player Draft.
A man in a gray baseball uniform and blue batting helmet prepares to swing in a right-handed batting stance.
Billy Butler (2004) was one of two third basemen taken by the Royals in the first round.
A man in a blue baseball jersey and gray pants stands having pitched a baseball with his right hand.
Luke Hochevar (2006) is one of two players the Royals have drafted in the first round from the Fort Worth Cats and was selected with their only first overall pick.
Year Name Position Organization (Location) Pick Ref
1969 John Simmons* Shortstop Childersburg High School
(Childersburg, Alabama)
23 [15]
1970 Rex Goodson Catcher Pine Tree High School
(Longview, Texas)
8 [16]
1971 Roy Branch Right-handed pitcher Beaumont High School
(St. Louis, Missouri)
5 [17]
1972 Jamie Quirk '85 Shortstop St. Paul High School
(Whittier, California)
18 [18]
1973 Lew Olsen Right-handed pitcher San Ramon Valley High School
(Danville, California)
9 [19]
1974 Willie Wilson '85 Outfielder Summit High School
(Summit, New Jersey)
15 [20]
1975 Clint Hurdle Outfielder Merritt Island High School
(Merritt Island, Florida)
9 [21]
1976 Ben Grzybek Right-handed pitcher Hialeah High School
(Hialeah, Florida)
18 [22]
1977 Mike Jones Left-handed pitcher Sunderland High School
(Pittsford, New York)
21 [23]
1978 Buddy Biancalana '85 Shortstop Redwood High School
(Greenbrae, California)
25 [24]
1979 Atlee Hammaker Left-handed pitcher East Tennessee State University
(Johnson City, Tennessee)
21 [25]
1980 Frank Wills Right-handed pitcher Tulane University
(New Orleans, Louisiana)
16 [26]
1981 Dave Leeper Outfielder University of Southern California
(Los Angeles, California)
23 [27]
1982 John Morris Outfielder Seton Hall University
(South Orange, New Jersey)
10 [28]
1983 Gary Thurman Outfielder North Central High School
(Indianapolis, Indiana)
21 [29]
1984 Scott Bankhead Right-handed pitcher University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
(Chapel Hill, North Carolina)
16 [30]
1985 Brian McRae Shortstop Manatee High School
(Bradenton, Florida)
17 [31]
1986 Tony Clements Shortstop Don Antonio Lugo High School
(Chino, California)
24 [32]
1987 Kevin Appier Right-handed pitcher Antelope Valley College
(Lancaster, California)
9 [33]
1988 Hugh Walker Outfielder Jacksonville High School
(Jacksonville, Arkansas)
18 [34]
1989 Brent Mayne Catcher California State University, Fullerton
(Fullerton, California)
13 [35]
1990 no first-round pick[a] [4]
1991 Joe Vitiello Outfielder University of Alabama
(Tuscaloosa, Alabama)
7 [36]
1991 Jason Pruitt Right-handed pitcher Rockingham County High School
(Wentworth, North Carolina)
30§[b] [36]
1992 Michael Tucker Shortstop Longwood College
(Farmville, Virginia)
10 [37]
1992 Jim Pittsley Right-handed pitcher DuBois Area High School
(DuBois, Pennsylvania)
17[c] [37]
1992 Sherard Clinkscales Right-handed pitcher Purdue University
(West Lafayette, Indiana)
31§[d] [37]
1992 Johnny Damon Outfielder Dr. Phillips High School
(Orlando, Florida)
35§[e] [37]
1993 Jeff Granger Left-handed pitcher Texas A&M University
(College Station, Texas)
5 [38]
1994 Matt Smith Left-handed pitcher Grants Pass High School
(Grants Pass, Oregon)
16 [39]
1995 Juan Lebron Outfielder Carmen Bozello Huyke High School
(Arroyo, Puerto Rico)
22 [40]
1996 Dee Brown Outfielder Marlboro Central High School
(Marlboro, New York)
14 [40]
1997 Dan Reichert Right-handed pitcher University of the Pacific
(Stockton, California)
7 [41]
1998 Jeff Austin Right-handed pitcher Stanford University
(Stanford, California)
4 [42]
1998 Matt Burch Right-handed pitcher Virginia Commonwealth University
(Richmond, Virginia)
30[f] [42]
1998 Chris George Left-handed pitcher Klein High School
(Spring, Texas)
31§[g] [42]
1999 Kyle Snyder Right-handed pitcher University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
(Chapel Hill, North Carolina)
7 [43]
1999 Mike MacDougal Right-handed pitcher Wake Forest University
(Winston-Salem, North Carolina)
25[h] [43]
1999 Jay Gehrke Right-handed pitcher Pepperdine University
(Malibu, California)
32§[i] [43]
1999 Jimmy Gobble Left-handed pitcher John S. Battle High School
(Bristol, Virginia)
43§[j] [43]
2000 Mike Stodolka Left-handed pitcher Centennial High School
(Corona, California)
4 [44]
2001 Colt Griffin Right-handed pitcher Marshall High School
(Marshall, Texas)
9 [45]
2002 Zack Greinke Right-handed pitcher Apopka High School
(Apopka, Florida)
6 [46]
2003 Chris Lubanski Outfielder Kennedy–Kenrick Catholic High School
(Norristown, Pennsylvania)
5 [47]
2003 Mitch Maier Catcher University of Toledo
(Toledo, Ohio)
30[k] [47]
2004 Billy Butler Third baseman Wolfson High School
(Jacksonville, Florida)
14 [48]
2004 Matthew Campbell Left-handed pitcher University of South Carolina
(Columbia, South Carolina)
29[l] [48]
2004 J. P. Howell Left-handed pitcher University of Texas at Austin
(Austin, Texas)
31§[m] [48]
2005 Alex Gordon '15 Third baseman University of Nebraska–Lincoln
(Lincoln, Nebraska)
2 [49]
2006 Luke Hochevar '15 Right-handed pitcher Fort Worth Cats
(Fort Worth, Texas)
1 [50]
2007 Mike Moustakas '15 Shortstop Chatsworth High School
(Chatsworth, California)
2 [51]
2008 Eric Hosmer '15 First baseman American Heritage School
(Plantation, Florida)
3 [52]
2008 Mike Montgomery Left-handed pitcher Hart High School
(Newhall, California)
36[n] [52]
2009 Aaron Crow Right-handed pitcher Fort Worth Cats
(Fort Worth, Texas)
12 [53]
2010 Christian Colon '15 Shortstop California State University, Fullerton
(Fullerton, California)
4 [54]
2011 Bubba Starling Outfielder Gardner Edgerton High School
(Gardner, Kansas)
5 [55]
2012 Kyle Zimmer Right-handed pitcher University of San Francisco
(San Francisco, California)
5 [56]
2013 Hunter Dozier Shortstop Stephen F. Austin State University
(Nacogdoches, Texas)
8 [57]
2013 Sean Manaea Left-handed pitcher Indiana State University
(Terre Haute, Indiana)
34§[o] [57]
2014 Brandon Finnegan Left-handed pitcher Texas Christian University
(Fort Worth, TX)
17 [58]
2014 Foster Griffin Left-handed pitcher The First Academy
(Orlando, Florida)
28§ [58]
2014 Chase Vallot catcher St. Thomas More High School
(Lafayette, Louisiana)
40§ [58]
2015 Ashe Russell Right-handed pitcher Cathedral High School
(Indianapolis, Indiana)
21 [59]
2015 Nolan Watson Right-handed pitcher Lawrence North High School
(Indianapolis, Indiana)
33§ [59]
2016 no first-round pick[o] N/A
2017 Nick Pratto First baseman Huntington Beach High School

(Huntington Beach, California)

14 [60]
2018 Brady Singer Right-handed pitcher University of Florida

(Gainesville, Florida)

18 [61]
2018 Jackson Kowar Right-handed pitcher University of Florida

(Gainesville, Florida)

33§ [62]
2018 Daniel Lynch Left-handed pitcher University of Virginia

(Charlottesville, Virginia)

34§ [62]
2019 Bobby Witt Jr. Shortstop Colleyville Heritage High School

(Colleyville, Texas)

2
2020 Asa Lacy Left-handed pitcher Texas A&M University

(College Station, Texas)

4
2021 Frank Mozzicato Left-handed pitcher East Catholic High School

(Manchester, Connecticut)

7
2022 Gavin Cross Outfielder Virginia Tech

(Blacksburg, Virginia)

9 [63]
2023 Blake Mitchell Catcher Sinton High School

(Sinton, Texas)

8

See also

Footnotes

  • V Through the 2012 draft, free agents were evaluated by the Elias Sports Bureau and rated "Type A", "Type B", or not compensation-eligible. If a team offered arbitration to a player but that player refused and subsequently signed with another team, the original team was able to receive additional draft picks. If a "Type A" free agent left in this way, his previous team received a supplemental pick and a compensatory pick from the team with which he signed. If a "Type B" free agent left in this way, his previous team received only a supplemental pick.[12] Since the 2013 draft, free agents are no longer classified by type; instead, compensatory picks are only awarded if the team offered its free agent a contract worth at least the average of the 125 current richest MLB contracts.[64] However, if the free agent's last team acquired the player in a trade during the last year of his contract, it is ineligible to receive compensatory picks for that player.[65]
  • a The Royals lost their first-round pick in 1990 to the San Diego Padres as compensation for signing free agent Mark Davis.[66]
  • b The Royals gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1991 for losing free agent Steve Farr.[36]
  • c The Royals gained a compensatory first-round pick in 1992 from the San Diego Padres for losing free agent Kurt Stillwell.[37]
  • d The Royals gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1992 for losing free agent Danny Tartabull.[37]
  • e The Royals gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1992 for losing free agent Kurt Stillwell.[37]
  • f The Royals gained a compensatory first-round pick in 1998 from the Arizona Diamondbacks for losing free agent Jay Bell.[42]
  • g The Royals gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1998 for losing free agent Jay Bell.[42]
  • h The Royals gained a compensatory first-round pick in 1999 from the Boston Red Sox for losing free agent José Offerman.[43]
  • i The Royals gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1999 for losing free agent José Offerman.[43]
  • j The Royals gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1999 for losing free agent Dean Palmer.[43]
  • k The Royals gained a compensatory first-round pick in 2003 from the Atlanta Braves for losing free agent Paul Byrd.[47]
  • l The Royals gained a compensatory first-round pick in 2004 from the San Francisco Giants for losing free agent Michael Tucker.[48]
  • m The Royals gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2004 for losing free agent Raúl Ibañez.[48]
  • n The Royals gained a compensatory first-round pick in 2008 from the Milwaukee Brewers for losing free agent David Riske.[67]
  • o The Royals gained an extra first-round pick in 2013 as a result of the 2012 Competitive Balance Lottery.[68]

References

General references
  • "MLB First Round Draft Picks". ESPN. Retrieved December 9, 2009.
  • "Amateur Draft: Kansas City Royals 1st Round Picks in the MLB June Amateur Draft". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 9, 2009.
In-text citations
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  3. McCalvy, Adam. "Brewers offer three arbitration". Brewers.MLB.com. Milwaukee Brewers. Retrieved December 9, 2009.
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  5. White, Paul (July 5, 2006). "Royals take Hochevar No. 1". USA Today. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
  6. Kaegel, Dick (June 9, 2009). "KC brings Crow home in Round 1". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
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  12. "MLB, MLBPA reach five-year labor accord". MLB.com. Major League Baseball Players Association. October 24, 2006. Retrieved January 10, 2010.
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  61. "Royals draft pitcher Brady Singer in 1st round". MLB.com. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
  62. "Royals pick 5 college pitchers on Draft Day 1". MLB.com. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
  63. "Royals take Va. Tech OF Gavin Cross with No. 9 Pick in MLB Drat". kansascity. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
  64. "MLB players, owners sign agreement". ESPN.com. November 23, 2011. Retrieved November 23, 2011.
  65. Stark, Jayson (November 22, 2011). "How the new CBA changes baseball". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 23, 2011.
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  67. Dent, Mark (June 5, 2008). "Montgomery's rising stock attracts KC". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
  68. Nicholson-Smith, Ben (July 18, 2012). "Competitive Balance Lottery Results". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved June 17, 2013.

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