The Kansas City Royals got a little lucky during the 2026 Major League Baseball draft lottery on Tuesday night.
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The Royals — represented by manager Matt Quatraro — will select sixth in the annual MLB Draft. They made a significant jump up 10 spots after holding a 0.84% chance at the No. 1 pick heading into the lottery.
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KC will select in the draft lottery for the second time in three seasons.
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“That’s awesome,” general manager J.J. Picollo said. “We had less than a 1% chance to get the first pick. We probably should’ve been closer to 15th or 16th. To get the sixth pick feels like a little vindication. (It’s) just because we were so disappointed a couple years there with how much we fell when we had good chances and a high percentage to get the first pick.”
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The Royals were one of three American League Central teams remaining among the final six hopefuls. The Minnesota Twins earned the second pick and the Chicago White Sox won the lottery with a 27.73% chance.
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Last season, KC finished 82-80 and just missed out on the postseason. Now, the Royals have a prime opportunity to add a high-level prospect in the 2026 draft.
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“The higher you are, theoretically, the better player you should get,” Picollo said. “So, there are other meanings to that pick, too. There’s finances attached to that pick. So you are picking sixth instead of 12th or 13th or whatever. It’s a pretty significant difference. Those slots drop considerably from one to 10. So, if you’re in sixth in this case, you’re in a much better spot. The way we like to approach it is we like to take the best player available.”
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The Royals have found success with the sixth pick. The club picked Jac Caglianone with the selection in the 2024 MLB Draft. Last season, Caglianone made his MLB debut and finished with seven home runs and 18 RBIs in 62 games.
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It’s possible the Royals will start to evaluate the top MLB Draft prospects now. Given their new spot, a few higher-regarded prospects will now come into play. There is a chance the Royals could find a long-term solution while fielding a competitive team in 2026.
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“It does give you some flexibility to think about how you want to run your whole draft,” Picollo said. “How can you use that more effectively and get a deeper draft?”
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The 2026 MLB Draft is scheduled for July 12-13, 2026 in Philadelphia.
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