Kansas City Royals scouting director Brian Bridges stood firm with his first-round decision in the 2026 Major League Baseball Draft.
On Saturday, the Royals selected Louisville Cardinals outfielder Zion Rose with the No. 6 overall selection. The pick raised some eyebrows because higher-rated outfielders were available.
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Bridges believes Rose has special tools. He likes Rose’s intangibles and physical makeup, which has drawn comparisons to a longtime MLB All-Star.
“Ron Gant came up …” Bridges said. “There was another one that was thrown around the room, but Ron Gant seems to stand out more than any of the others.”
The Royals would love to see Rose mimic the productivity of Gant’s lengthy career. The latter spent 16 big-league seasons with eight different teams, belting 321 home runs and winning a Silver Slugger Award in 1991.
Rose hit .417 with six home runs and 47 RBIs in college this past season. He played with a few injuries — most notably a hamstring strain and ankle sprain — for Louisville of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
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Bridges indicated Rose has more layers to his game. His competitiveness stood out when the Royals first met with him. And his ability to lead — as a former catcher — also carried a lot of weight in the team’s decision to pick him sixth overall.
“He’s a winner,” Bridges said, “and he’s a warrior. He’ll give you everything he’s got.”
The Royals remained aggressive as Saturday played out. They also selected Mississippi pitcher Taylor Rabe (No. 30), high school pitcher Jack Slightom (No. 56), West Virginia pitcher Maxx Yehl (No. 91) and prep outfielder Dominic Battista (No. 119).
Bridges hinted that Rose would sign an under-slot deal. The Royals entered this year’s two-day selection process with $15,954,000 in bonus-pool money.
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“Well, there was some influence there,” Bridges said. “I mean, to be honest with you, I was trying to be bullish in some other spots, too.”
Teams allocate funds for each draft selection. A value is assigned to picks in the first 10 rounds. If a club goes under slot, or under the approximated value of that particular spot in the draft order, it can potentially offer more money to a later draftee.
It’s possible the Royals did this on Saturday. And that it led to the organization subsequently acquiring Rabe, Slightom, Yehl and Battista.
“We’re trying to be aggressive and staying within our pool of money,” Bridges said. “We are capable of going outside that, but there’s no need. We have enough money to try to move it around and make some better selections.”
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The Royals are excited about their new pitching trio. Rabe has an electric fastball that averages 96 mph and can touch triple digits. He was a dynamic starter for Ole Miss.
Rabe will pound the strike zone with control. He posted a 7.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio, which ranked fourth in the nation. In 76 innings, he registered 105 strikeouts and just 15 walks while compiling a 3.55 ERA.
“When you hear conviction in the room, I can just ‘star’ the guys that I know the room wants …” Royals general manager J.J. Picollo said. “It was really clear that we wanted both of these guys (Rabe and Rose), and we’d be really happy with their selection.
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“What stood out to me with Rabe was it just seems like there’s guys that kind of flatten out. He just seems like he is getting better and better. And as the year went on, he really pitched well and really took over that pitching staff.”
Slightom brings impressive size as a teenager. He stands 6-foot-5 and is committed to the University of Cincinnati. He has some traits that could help him develop into a high-level pitcher in the majors.
As for Yehl, he could find a spot as a starter. A left-handed specialist, he was the Big 12’s pitcher of the year. There is a little cross-fire to his delivery, but it shouldn’t limit him in Kansas City.
“He could come out of the (bullpen) and not be fazed,” Bridges said of Yehl. “I mean, he’s really tough. Being left-handed from that angle can be very beneficial for us, for sure. Definitely in a short stint out of the bullpen, he’s been up to 97 mph. So yeah, he could do that.”
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The Royals expect to sign Yehl — and hopefully the remainder of their 2026 draft class.
“They’ll be in Arizona next week,” Bridges said of players selected this weekend.
Battista is a young talent. He had been bothered by a hamate injury but offers some impressive tools.
The Royals are aware that he has pledged to Illinois-Chicago.
“We know what we have in those two guys,” Picollo said of the Royals’ high school selections. “They’re obviously high-ceiling plays. Big arm and big tools.
“For us to get to their ceiling, the makeup’s got to be right. And they’ve got to be mature. These two guys are mature guys.”
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The Royals will make 16 more selections on Day 2 of the MLB Draft. Rounds 5-20 will take place Sunday in Philadelphia, the site of Rounds 1-4 on Saturday.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source sports.yahoo.com ’
