How will KC Royals attack the 2024 MLB Draft? Some potential first-round options

The Kansas City Royals are gearing up for a busy All-Star week.

Four Royals players are headed to Arlington, Texas for Tuesday’s 2024 MLB All-Star Game. The quartet includes Bobby Witt Jr., Seth Lugo, Salvador Perez and Cole Ragans. Witt will also compete in the T-Mobile Home Run Derby.

The Royals will also be adding some new players to their organization. Kansas City holds the sixth overall selection in the 2024 MLB Draft, which begins Sunday. Last season, the Royals selected high school catcher Blake Mitchell in the first round.

The Royals have baseball’s fourth-highest bonus pool this season. They can allocate $15,418,300 toward the draft. The sixth overall pick is slotted at $7,213,800.

First-round draft coverage will be shown on MLB Network starting at 6 p.m. Central Time on Sunday. The 20-round draft continues through Tuesday, the same day as the All-Star Game. The Royals will select 39th overall in the Competitive Balance Round A as well.

Picks in Rounds 11-20 do not have slotted values. The first 10 rounds are slotted and there are penalties for exceeding the total bonus pool. Any money spent over $150,000 (for each player) in Rounds 11-20 will be deducted from a team’s bonus pool.

For this reason, it’s possible the Royals could draft under slot early to pursue a valued prospect in the later rounds.

So who could the Royals draft at No. 6? This year’s draft class is stocked with collegiate players and prep athletes with high upside.

Here are a few names to watch:

LHP Hagen Smith, Arkansas

The Royals need power arms. Hagen Smith fits the bill after a terrific junior season for the Arkansas Razorbacks.

He has an electric fastball that sits around 94-97 mph on a consistent basis. He has touched 100 mph on occasion and pairs that heater with a slider and developing splitter.

Smith had several viral highlights this year. He tied a school record with 17 strikeouts against Oregon State … and he did it on 78 pitches. He’s the Razorbacks’ all-time strikeouts leader and reigning SEC Pitcher of the Year.

Smith finished 9-2 with a 2.04 ERA in 16 starts in 2024. He had 11 quality starts and led the NCAA with 17.25 strikeouts per nine innings.

The list of lefty pitchers drafted previously by the Royals includes Daniel Lynch IV (2018), Asa Lacy (2020) and Frank Mozzicato (2021).

With the success of Pittsburgh Pirates rookie Paul Skenes this season, Smith could be another candidate to move quickly through a minor-league system.

SS/OF Konnor Griffin, Jackson Prep (MS)

Two highly rated high school athletes lurk atop the 2024 MLB Draft board: Konnor Griffin and Bryce Rainer. Both could also be under-slot candidates for the Royals to pursue.

Griffin has the talent to be the best player in the 2024 draft. He has five-tool ability with 60-grade power and a 70-grade arm, per MLB.com. Scouts believe he can stick at shortstop or be a Gold Glove-caliber outfielder in the big leagues.

Griffin is the Gatorade National High School Player of the Year for 2024. He posted a .559 batting average with 76 runs scored and 87 stolen bases, per MaxPreps. He added nine home runs and 39 RBIs in 118 at-bats.

Bobby Witt Jr. was the last prep shortstop taken by the Royals. He, too, was highly regarded as a high school athlete, winning the same Gatorade national award in 2019.

SS Bryce Rainer, Westlake HS (CA)

Rainer sits alongside Griffin on most draft boards. They each bring a signature trait that could translate in the minor leagues.

Rainer is a different hitter than Griffin, a talented shortstop who thrives with a good contact rate and the ability to hit the baseball to all fields.

Rainer also profiles as a stellar left-handed bat. He hit .511 with 36 runs and 17 stolen bases this season. Defensively, he has a strong arm that projects well as he continues to develop.

The Royals tend to value high-upside prep prospects. Rainer is among the best in the group this year and his consistent bat could appeal to the KC organization.

OF Braden Montgomery, Texas A&M

The Royals’ outfield production has been lacking this season. And they could address it in the MLB Draft.

Braden Montgomery profiles as a power threat at the next level. He hit 62 home runs in 187 collegiate games. After playing two seasons at Stanford, however, he really broke through at Texas A&M.

This season, Montgomery hit 27 home runs and drove in 85 RBIs. He slugged .733 and helped lead the Aggies to the College World Series.

While Montgomery must improve his hitting from the right side of the plate, he offers intriguing switch-hitting abilities that could add another element to the Royals’ system.

Montgomery is recovering from a right-ankle injury that sidelined him during the Aggies’ postseason run.

RHP Trey Yesavage, East Carolina

Trey Yesavage is an intriguing prospect — and another candidate for the Royals to take under slot. This would allow them to save money in their allotted draft pool and utilize that savings in later rounds.

Selecting Yesavage might surprise some observers. It shouldn’t: He compiled a 2.02 ERA with 145 strikeouts and 32 walks in 93 1/3 innings this past season as East Carolina qualified for the NCAA Tournament..

Yesavage attacks the strike zone with a 93-95 mph fastball and solid slider, splitter and curveball.

If the Royals miss out on some of the top collegiate pitching prospects — say, Hagen Smith or Chase Burns — there’s nothing wrong with pursuing Yesavage. He’s in the next tier of college arms and would be a solid addition to their minor-league system.

Other names to watch

The Royals are in an interesting position. It’s possible they could select one of the top-five prospects in this draft, if a team above them goes under slot in value.

Scouts believe top prospects Charlie Condon (Georgia), JJ Weatherholt (West Virginia), Travis Bazzana (Oregon State), Jac Cagliaone (Florida) and Chase Burns (Wake Forest) will be drafted early in Sunday’s first round.

Wake Forest star Nick Kurtz is also surfacing on some mock draft boards. He is a sweet-swinging power hitter who profiles as a first baseman at the professional level.

There is a chance one of those prospects slips to the Royals at No. 6. If so, the Royals would have a decision to make ... and could end up with a premier talent.