The Royals will add a potential future cornerstone player in Monday nights first round of the Major League Baseball draft.
Theyll pick second overall, the same spot where they selected outfielder Alex Gordon in 2005 and infielder Mike Moustakas in 2007. Both were key figures in the World Series championship in 2015.
Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman, Colleyville Heritage High School (Texas) shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and University of California first baseman Andrew Vaughn comprise the trio of players widely viewed as top talents in this years draft class.
Draft projections have placed Rutschman and Witt as the top two picks, while Vaughn may be the best hitting prospect of the draft class.
The Baltimore Orioles set the tone by selecting first, but whichever way they go should leave the Royals with the chance to draft a foundational type player. While it wont wipe away the 104-loss season they endured last year, it will be crucial for building toward success.
You think I went through all that crap last year not to enjoy (Monday), Royals manager Ned Yost said. Hell yeah, Im going to enjoy (Monday). Im looking at different scenarios. Were going to get a tremendous player, and Im kind of glad that Baltimore is picking first because its like which one do you go with. Theyre both really good players. Theres three of them, but all the talk is Rutschman-Witt, Witt-Rutschman.
Rutschman, a junior switch hitter, went into the NCAA regionals leading the nation in on-base percentage (.580) and was fourth in batting average (.419) to go along with a .765 slugging percentage, 17 home runs and 57 RBIs. The publication Collegiate Baseball named him their player of the year and hes a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award. The Pac-12 Conference named him both player of the year and co-defensive player of the year.
Witt Jr., who graduated from high school this past week, is in the middle of the state playoffs in Texas. Hell turn 19 later this month. The son of former major league pitcher Bobby Witt Sr. and a Colleyville resident, Witt Jr. was selected as the 2018-19 Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year. He went into this past weekend with a .515 batting average with 15 home runs, 15 doubles, eight triples and 54 RBIs. He also had a .579 on-base percentage and 17 stolen bases.
While Witt plays shortstop, and the Royals appear set at the position for years to come with Adalberto Mondesi, Witts athleticism and five-tool profile would mean he would almost certainly be the Royals pick if the Orioles choose Rutschman.
I woke up the middle of the night its crazy what goes through your mind and Im like what if Baltimore takes Vaughn, Yost said. What do we do there? Will I be in the draft room tomorrow? Probably. Im probably going to go and sit and watch the progress. We went through all that last year for (Monday).
Its going to be your payback for all the stuff we went through last year. Were going to get an impactful player, one of the best players in the country thats going to impact our organization for years to come.
Vaughn won the 2018 Golden Spikes Award as college baseballs player of the year as a sophomore, and he also won national player of the year honors from Perfect Game, Rawlings and the American Baseball Coaches Association last year.
This season, Vaughn went into the postseason batting .387 with 15 homers and 49 RBIs in 50 games as well as a .549 on-base percentage.
The Royals have reportedly been at every one of Witts games, and they had Rutschman over to watch a team workout in spring training while Oregon State was playing games in Surprise, Arizona.
Theres certainly more scrutiny on it, Royals general manager Dayton Moore said of picking so high in the draft. What you have to analyze is, its not the pressure on the club. Its the pressure on the player. Can this player handle the pressure?
