The Royals were awarded a selection after the first round of the 2026 draft, part of MLB’s program to help lower revenue clubs. The Competitive Balance rounds award extra draft picks to lower revenue clubs after the first and second rounds. As of right now, this would be the #30 pick overall, although free agent compensation and the draft lottery could affect that order. You can see the current full order here.
Since 2017, Major League Baseball has used a formula that combines revenue, winning percentage, and market score to award Draft picks to teams that fall in the bottom 10 in revenue or market size. Of those ten clubs, five select in Competitive Balance Round A, which takes place after the first round, and five select in Competitive Balance Round B, after the second round. Teams alternate between rounds each year, so the Royals this year will select in Round A. The order in Round A is determined by the reverse order of win-loss record, so the Royals will have the second pick in Round A, after the Cleveland Guardians. The first round pick will be determined by a draft lottery to be held next week. The Royals have less than a one percent chance of getting the #1 pick.
Competitive Balance draft picks are the only draft picks MLB permits teams to trade, for some reason. The Royals have traded their pick twice in the past. In 2022, the Royals traded their competitive balance pick to the Braves for CJ Alexander, Drew Waters, and Andrew Hoffmann. In 2024, they traded Cayden Wallace and their competitive balance pick to the Nationals for reliever Hunter Harvey.
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