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While the initial celebration for the Kansas City Royals\u2019 draft lottery luck<\/a> has subsided, it will swell again once the 2026 MLB Draft creeps closer on the calendar. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Kansas City hadn\u2019t met or exceeded its lottery odds in its previous two trips<\/a>, but jumping to picking sixth overall after a winning season was a great note for the organization. That slot comes with more than $2.7 million in additional bonus pool money and gives Kansas City four picks in the top 100.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n One KC Royals Reddit user aptly described 2026 mock drafts as kin to fan fiction<\/a>, and it\u2019s hard not to chuckle at that. There is a whole collegiate season and showcase schedule ahead that will certainly shuffle how prospects stack up, and any list right now is written in pencil, not ink. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Still, the Royals are surely thinking about that draft, and there is no reason fans shouldn\u2019t be either, especially while the winter doldrums waft in the air.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n So, let\u2019s say the draft was next week or next month. Who could the AL Central club take? Where do some outlets have the Royals going with such a high pick? Let\u2019s take a look.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Bolemon has four quality pitches with control, physicality and makeup to match, which is why he ranks as this Draft’s best pitcher — high school or college.”<\/p>\n Jim Callis, MLB Pipeline<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n “The Kansas City Royals and Brian Bridges have no issue shooting for the moon in any given draft. They targeted high school players in the 2025 draft and we expect that’ll be the case again in 2026 — an even stronger class for high school pitching than the year prior. Take your pick. Be it Bolemon, Schmidt or Rojas, there will be a high school hurler in this range that the Royals like. Lock it in.”<\/p>\n Joe Doyle, OverSlot Baseball<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n Two very emphatic statements from Callis<\/a> and Doyle here regarding the Royals<\/a> and drafting Bolemon. Taking a prep southpaw will not be a popular move at the time, but there is a reason Callis and his peers ranked Bolemon as the class\u2019s top pitcher<\/a>. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Wake Forest commit has an expanded pitch arsenal with plus control and the kind of polish that makes evaluators comfortable betting on his upside. He shined brightly in this past year\u2019s 18U World Cup with two dominant starts. He will be older than most prep players in this draft, as he turns 19 next April.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Peterson is the SP1 leader in the clubhouse to start the season. He\u2019s been a high-upside, power-armed righty since his high school days and began making strides in the command department as a sophomore this spring. With Florida, Peterson owns a 5.18 ERA over 132 innings with a 28.6% strikeout rate and 12% walk rate on the back of a loud fastball-slider combo. “<\/p>\n Baseball America <\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n “Peterson struck out 77 hitters in 63 innings as a freshman while getting hit around a bit with a 6.43 ERA and 15 home runs allowed. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound right-hander took a significant step forward as a sophomore, finishing 8-4 with a 4.28 ERA and 96 strikeouts in 69.1 innings, Another step forward with his command after he trimmed his walk rate from 14.6 to 10.5 percent would solidify his frontline upside and top prospect status.”<\/p>\n Joel Reuter, Bleacher Report<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n Royals fans may not be overjoyed at the idea of drafting another upside-centric Florida pitcher<\/a> after the results from the 2018 draft class. <\/p>\n <\/p>\nHow the prospect industry sees the Royals drafting at pick No. 6<\/h2>\n
MLB Pipeline and OverSlot Baseball: Carson Bolemon, LHP, Southside Christian HS <\/h3>\n
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Bleacher Report and Baseball America: Liam Peterson, RHP, Florida<\/h3>\n
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