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. 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", 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. In addition, teams that lost free agents in the previous off-season may be awarded compensatory or supplementary picks. The First-Year Player Draft is unrelated to the 1968 expansion draft in which the Royals initially filled their roster.

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. 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 draft. Both had been drafted previously by other major league teams but had chosen to play for the Fort Worth Cats instead. 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, 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. Zack Greinke (2002) is the only first-round pick of the Royals to earn a Cy Young Award with the team, winning in 2009. 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. 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, or, more recently, if a team fails to sign a draft pick from the previous year. The Royals' first-ever pick, John Simmons (1969), did not sign with the club but they received no compensatory pick.

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

Year Name Position Organization (Location) Pick Ref 1969 * Shortstop Childersburg High School(Childersburg, Alabama) 23 1970 Catcher Pine Tree High School(Longview, Texas) 1971 Right-handed pitcher Beaumont High School(St. Louis, Missouri) 1972 '85 Shortstop St. Paul High School(Whittier, California) 18 1973 Right-handed pitcher San Ramon Valley High School(Danville, California) 1974 '85 Outfielder Summit High School(Summit, New Jersey) 15 1975 Outfielder Merritt Island High School(Merritt Island, Florida) 1976 Right-handed pitcher Hialeah High School(Hialeah, Florida) 18 1977 Left-handed pitcher Sunderland High School(Pittsford, New York) 21 1978 '85 Shortstop Redwood High School(Greenbrae, California) 25 1979 Left-handed pitcher East Tennessee State University(Johnson City, Tennessee) 21 1980 Right-handed pitcher Tulane University(New Orleans, Louisiana) 16 1981 Outfielder University of Southern California(Los Angeles, California) 23 1982 Outfielder Seton Hall University(South Orange, New Jersey) 10 1983 Outfielder North Central High School(Indianapolis, Indiana) 21 1984 Right-handed pitcher University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill(Chapel Hill, North Carolina) 16 1985 Shortstop Manatee High School(Bradenton, Florida) 17 1986 Shortstop Don Antonio Lugo High School(Chino, California) 24 1987 Right-handed pitcher Antelope Valley College(Lancaster, California) 1988 Outfielder Jacksonville High School(Jacksonville, Arkansas) 18 1989 Catcher California State University, Fullerton(Fullerton, California) 13 1990 1991 Outfielder University of Alabama(Tuscaloosa, Alabama) Right-handed pitcher Rockingham County High School(Wentworth, North Carolina)30§ 1992 Shortstop Longwood College(Farmville, Virginia) 10 Right-handed pitcher DuBois Area High School(DuBois, Pennsylvania) 17 Right-handed pitcher Purdue University(West Lafayette, Indiana) 31§ Outfielder Dr. Phillips High School(Orlando, Florida) 35§ 1993 Left-handed pitcher Texas A&M University(College Station, Texas) 1994 Left-handed pitcher Grants Pass High School(Grants Pass, Oregon) 16 1995 Outfielder Carmen Bozello Huyke High School(Arroyo, Puerto Rico) 22 1996 Outfielder Marlboro Central High School(Marlboro, New York) 14 1997 Right-handed pitcher University of the Pacific(Stockton, California) 1998 Right-handed pitcher Stanford University(Stanford, California) Right-handed pitcher Virginia Commonwealth University(Richmond, Virginia) 30 Left-handed pitcher Klein High School(Spring, Texas) 31§ 1999 Right-handed pitcher University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill(Chapel Hill, North Carolina) Right-handed pitcher Wake Forest University(Winston-Salem, North Carolina) 25 Right-handed pitcher Pepperdine University(Malibu, California) 32§ Left-handed pitcher John S. Battle High School(Bristol, Virginia) 43§ 2000 Left-handed pitcher Centennial High School(Corona, California) 2001 Right-handed pitcher Marshall High School(Marshall, Texas) 2002 Right-handed pitcher Apopka High School(Apopka, Florida) 2003 Outfielder Kennedy–Kenrick Catholic High School(Norristown, Pennsylvania) Catcher University of Toledo(Toledo, Ohio) 30 2004 Third baseman Wolfson High School(Jacksonville, Florida) 14 Left-handed pitcher University of South Carolina(Columbia, South Carolina) 29 Left-handed pitcher University of Texas at Austin(Austin, Texas) 31§ 2005 '15 Third baseman University of Nebraska–Lincoln(Lincoln, Nebraska) 2006 '15 Right-handed pitcher Fort Worth Cats(Fort Worth, Texas) 2007 '15 Shortstop Chatsworth High School(Chatsworth, California) 2008 '15 First baseman American Heritage School(Plantation, Florida) Left-handed pitcher Hart High School(Newhall, California) 36 2009 Right-handed pitcher Fort Worth Cats(Fort Worth, Texas) 12 2010 '15 Shortstop California State University, Fullerton(Fullerton, California) 4 2011 Outfielder Gardner Edgerton High School(Gardner, Kansas) 5 2012 Right-handed pitcher University of San Francisco(San Francisco, California) 5 2013 Shortstop Stephen F. Austin State University(Nacogdoches, Texas) 8 Left-handed pitcher Indiana State University(Terre Haute, Indiana) 34§ 2014 Left-handed pitcher Texas Christian University(Fort Worth, TX) 17 Left-handed pitcher The First Academy(Orlando, Florida) 28§ catcher St. Thomas More High School(Lafayette, Louisiana) 40§ 2015 Right-handed pitcher Cathedral High School(Indianapolis, Indiana) 21 Right-handed pitcher Lawrence North High School(Indianapolis, Indiana) 33§2016N/A2017Nick PrattoFirst basemanHuntington Beach High School (Huntington Beach, California)142018Brady SingerRight-handed pitcherUniversity of Florida (Gainesville, Florida)18Jackson KowarRight-handed pitcherUniversity of Florida

(Gainesville, Florida) 33§Daniel LynchLeft-handed pitcherUniversity of Virginia

(Charlottesville, Virginia) 34§2019Bobby Witt Jr.ShortstopColleyville Heritage High School (Colleyville, Texas)22020Asa LacyLeft-handed pitcherTexas A&M University (College Station, Texas)42021Frank MozzicatoLeft-handed pitcherEast Catholic High School (Manchester, Connecticut)72022Gavin CrossOutfielderVirginia Tech (Blacksburg, Virginia)92023Blake MitchellCatcherSinton High School (Sinton, Texas)82024Jac CaglianoneLeft-handed pitcher / First basemanUniversity of Florida (Gainesville, Florida)62025Sean GambleOutfielderIMG Academy (Bradenton, Florida)23Josh HammondThird basemanWesleyan Christian Academy (High Point, North Carolina) 28§2026Zion RoseOutfielderLouisville (Louisville, Kentucky)6Taylor RabeRight-handed pitcherOle Miss (Oxford, Mississippi) 30§

See also Kansas City Royals minor league players

Footnotes 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. 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. 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. The Royals lost their first-round pick in 1990 to the San Diego Padres as compensation for signing free agent Mark Davis. The Royals gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1991 for losing free agent Steve Farr. The Royals gained a compensatory first-round pick in 1992 from the San Diego Padres for losing free agent Kurt Stillwell. The Royals gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1992 for losing free agent Danny Tartabull. The Royals gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1992 for losing free agent Kurt Stillwell. The Royals gained a compensatory first-round pick in 1998 from the Arizona Diamondbacks for losing free agent Jay Bell. The Royals gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1998 for losing free agent Jay Bell. The Royals gained a compensatory first-round pick in 1999 from the Boston Red Sox for losing free agent José Offerman. The Royals gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1999 for losing free agent José Offerman. The Royals gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1999 for losing free agent Dean Palmer. The Royals gained a compensatory first-round pick in 2003 from the Atlanta Braves for losing free agent Paul Byrd. The Royals gained a compensatory first-round pick in 2004 from the San Francisco Giants for losing free agent Michael Tucker. The Royals gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2004 for losing free agent Raúl Ibañez. The Royals gained a compensatory first-round pick in 2008 from the Milwaukee Brewers for losing free agent David Riske. The Royals gained an extra first-round pick in 2013 as a result of the 2012 Competitive Balance Lottery.

References General references

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