How the Royals’ 19th-round pick doubles as key potential draft insurance policy

Die-hard baseball draft followers know the song and dance when it comes to some late-round selections. All draft picks are a dart throw, but that applies even more when a strongly committed prospect slides down the board due to signability concerns and a team takes a late-round flier on him anyway.

For the Kansas City Royals and their seemingly underslot approach, that puts a lens on their 19th-round selection, right-handed pitcher Hudson DeVaughan. Signing the prep pitcher feels like a long shot, but it is a worthy gamble and a smart insurance policy.

Kansas City’s underslot approach centers on the first four rounds, with presumptive savings from sixth overall pick Zion Rose and third-rounder Maxx Yehl being redirected toward signing prep players like Jack Slightom and Dominic Battista.

With Slightom and Battista being two of the four high school players Kansas City selected, most of the attention will naturally land on them. South Carolina backstop Banks Wickersham does not present many signability concerns, but the same cannot be said for DeVaughan.

The Royals have a Plan B in the 2026 MLB Draft with Hudson DeVaughan

The Alabama commit was one of the fastest risers in this past draft cycle after standing out at a Prep Baseball showcase in February. More eyes and higher expectations have followed DeVaughan since then, and his 6-foot-4 frame is a hard one to miss in any draft pool. He lights up the radar gun with a mid-90s fastball that Baseball America called “one of the better heaters among the prep ranks,” pairs it with a low-90s cutter and a looping curveball, and flashes a slider that is still a work in progress but shows elite potential when it is on.

All of that said, the Indiana native carried enough signability concerns to slide down most boards. He is also older for a prep draft prospect and will be 20 years old on Opening Day 2027. But the Royals still took a flier on him late, and now they hold the edge if those signability concerns turn out to be overblown.

The Royals would have to pull some extreme negotiation magic to sign all 21 of the players they selected, and DeVaughan seems the most unlikely to put pen to paper. But if the class produces more savings than expected or one of the higher-picked prep players passes on signing, then landing DeVaughan becomes an unexpected bonus that genuinely elevates the perception of this draft class.

Is signing DeVaughan probable? No. Is it possible? Yes. If the Royals want fans to believe in the possible over the probable when it comes to their draft selections, one way to start the ball rolling is getting DeVaughan to sign on the dotted line.