Analyst sets stage for Royals to draft first pitcher off the board with pick No. 6

Analyst sets stage for Royals to draft first pitcher off the board with pick No. 6 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

If you are a Kansas City Royals fan, this season has not turned out how you would have liked. And while there is still some time to turn things around, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of hope.

Going into Friday’s games, the Royals sit in last place in the American League Central with their 35-53 record and sit 11 games behind the division-leading Chicago White Sox.

For fans looking for something to look forward to, they may have to turn their attention to the MLB Draft, which takes place next weekend in Philadelphia, and the Royals will be picking sixth overall in the first round.

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Analyst sets stage for Royals to draft first pitcher off the board with pick No. 6

The Royals held the No. 6 pick back in 2024 when they selected Jac Caglianone. He fast-tracked through the minor leagues and is already with the big-league club, so the front office would love to hit on another early first-round pick.

They will have a handful of players to choose from and will need to have a few options in mind just in case there are any surprises before them.

However, MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo believes they are in the perfect spot to take the first arm off the board, UC Santa Barbara’s ace, Jackson Flora.

“If the Pittsburgh Pirates take Flora, then the Royals could opt to nap [Eric] Booth. But they really like the Santa Barbara ace in this spot. This could be the first team to consider a high school arm — Gio Rojas — and, never afraid to go ‘off the board’ a little, they could consider reclassified high schooler Jared Grindlinger, and let him start his career as a two-way player.”

Flora has been dominant, and that continued this year. He’s a true top-of-the-line arm that could be a frontline starter for the Royals sooner rather than later.

But Mayo also has some backup options if Flora is taken before them, like taking a chance on prep arm Gio Rojas, grabbing prep outfielder Eric Booth Jr., or taking a gamble on two-way prep star Jared Grindlinger.