Royals biggest win and most questionable decision during Day 1 of MLB Draft

Day 1 of the MLB Draft has come and gone for the Kansas City Royals and the first four rounds brought plenty of emotions. There were some shocking selections among the Royals first five picks and there were some real calculated choices to come out of Kansas City’s war room.

While we’re nowhere near crowning this over draft as win or loss for the Royals yet, it’s certainly time to start looking at trends and grading the all-important Day 1 of the draft.

So let’s analyze the biggest win and biggest mistake from Saturday’s draft action.

Right-hander Taylor Rabe might be a diamond in the rough for Royals

While fans might’ve been disappointed with how far the Royals reached at pick No. 6 with Zion Rose, they seemed to make up for that a bit with their 30th overall selection in Taylor Rabe.

Was Rabe someone who’ll likely demand an over slot like a reach a No. 6 would’ve alluded to? No, he’s a four year college junior that was ranked 10 places lower in MLB Pipeline’s rankings than the slot he was drafted. However, the talent and fit in the grand scheme of this Royals system cannot be ignored.

Rabe is coming off a sensational season at Ole Miss where he was blowing hitters away in arguably the strongest conference in the NCAA. His 105 strikeouts this season led him to a sensational 12.43 K/9. On top of that, his equally as impressive control gave him saw him sport a sterling 7.00 K/BB, which again in a division like the SEC has to be admired.

He has all the makings of an arm that could contribute sooner than some of the teenaged prospects they have in their system and between him a Justin Lamkin, perhaps they have duo to be reckoned with to occupy middle-of-the-rotation spots in Kansas City’s rotation during their competitive window while Bobby Witt Jr. and Maikel Garcia are guarnateed under contract through 2030.

If it wasn’t a high school talent like Brody Bumila, Cole Prosek or Aiden Ruiz, why not nab a safer electrifying name like Rabe with your second Top 30 selection.

Royals didn’t capitailize on over slot opportunity when it mattered most

Staying on the topic of strong high school talents, while the Royals may not have leaned into the over slot narrative with their 30th overall selection, they still had another Top 60 pick to really make an impact. And while they did draft a high school talent in Jack Slightom that perhaps may need some additional funds to pull him away from his commitment to Cincinnati, with names like Brody Bumila still on the board, it seems like this was a miss for the Royals.

Bumila, the MLB Pipeline’s 23rd overall prospect eventually landed with the Rangers at pick 89, but had all the makings of a strong arm to add to a system that has excelled with teenaged pitching talent of late with Kendry Chourio and David Shields being prime examples. A fastball that can touch over 100 mph alone was enough to make him a desired target.

Then, with a farm system that could’ve used some more infield depth, hence why they may’ve been interested in names like Jacob Lombard in the first round, perhaps the aforementioned names of Cody Prosek or Aiden Ruiz could’ve done wonders.

Ruiz, Pipeline’s No. 32 overall prospect and drafted at pick No. 44 by the Pirates, is a strong defender with a 65-grade field tool and 60 grade arm. But his bat isn’t anything to ignore either with a decent 50-grade as well, showing he can hold his own at the dish even if there’s not a ton of power. Plus there’s the 55-grade speed too which is always a plus.

Then there’s Prosek, ranked 27th overall in Pipeline’s rankings and drafted by the rival Chicago White Sox at pick No. 41, who may not be the elite defender a premium position like Ruiz, but the second base prospect was dubbed “one of the most advanced bats in the entire high school class” by Pipeline’s scouting team.

This isn’t to say the Royals got their 59th selection wrong with Slightom. He has a strong fastball and has the makings of a decent changeup with a 55-grade. However his 45-grade control shows there’s plenty of work to be done and again, he was a bit of reach himself as the 89th overall ranked prospect.

If they weren’t going to look over slot at pick No. 30, it seemed only logical they did so at No. 59 and they simply didn’t do that. Perhaps they could find some over slot gems later, but with how much they reached at pick No. 6 with Rose, this seemed like a prime opportunity to grab a strong high school talent falling down the draft board and pull them away from their college commitment.