Pick 18 Royals Select Brady Singer
Scoles Selection: IF Nolan Gorman Signed slot value $3.349M St. Louis made pick

The Royals selected the Florida Gator and paid him like the 12th best player in the draft which coming into the draft made sense on paper considering some outlets had him as a Top 5 talent. Still with the selection of Gorman, the Royals would add what some believe is the most powerful player in the draft while also saving $900,700 for a another prep selection a couple of picks later.

Pick 33 Royals Select Jackson Kowar
Scoles Selection: P Jackson Kowar $2.147M

Pick 34 Royals Select Daniel Lynch $1.6975M
Scoles Selection: P Adam Kloffenstein $2.45M; Toronto made pick

With the savings on Singer versus Gorman I decide to go with a high end prep arm that should fill out and add even more velocity while using his downhill plane.

Pick 40 Royals Select Kris Bubic $1.5975M
Scoles Selection: P Griffin Roberts $1.7863M; St. Louis made pick

The current game is built around getting strikeouts and there isn’t a college starting pitcher in the draft that has a better swing and miss pitcher than Roberts’ slider while being another Cardinals selection that I love.

Pick 58 Royals Select Jonathan Bowlan $697,500
Scoles Selection: OF Joe Gray $1.1683K

The Royals with this selection get an athletic defender with a bat that exhibits good loft. Scouts having seen Gray Jr. for many years started to pick him over quite a bit this year and an adjustment to his swing probably helped with that, still he possesses athleticism, loft and a feel for the game that should help him in the future.

Pick 94 Royals Select Kyle Isbel $592,300
Scoles Selection: Kyle Isbel $592,300

Pick 122 Royals Select Eric Cole $497,500
Scoles Selection: Robert Neustrom $450,000; Baltimore

The Orioles selected an outfielder who may have to move to 1B over time but already possesses elite hand-eye coordination and can play in a corner while he’s still young. There should be more power in the future to be had for Neustrom over what he has exhibited.

Pick 152 Royals Select Austin Cox $447,500
Scoles Selection: Austin Cox $447,500

Pick 182 Royals Zach Haake $297,500
Scoles Selection: Zach Haake $297,500

Pick 212 Royals Tyler Gray $2,500
Scoles Selection: Cason Sherrod, Texas A&M $20,000

The Royals drafted Sherrod last year before the hard-throwing right-hander chose to go back to A&M for his final year. He has a shot to make a bullpen in the future with 94-97 mph velocity should he refine his secondary pitches. Again, savings for the college senior here to add other players.

Pick 242 Royals Jackson Lueck $161,300
Scoles Selection: C Chris Williams Clemson $10,000

He’s a quality catcher for one of the top programs in college baseball while holding down the cleanup spot behind Seth Beer for a couple of seasons. There is power in the bat and decent enough catching feel to believe he can stick back there. In addition the bonus savings helps towards Kloffenstein and Gray bonuses.

Pick 272 Royals Kevon Jackson
Scoles Selection: Kevon Jackson $144,600

Pick 302 Royals Austin Lambright $2,500
Scoles Selection: Austin Lambright $2,500

With this scenario the Royals would have spent all of their draft allotment money and had been left with just about $600k in overages to sign any additional players meaning they may lose out on Rylan Kaufman in the 12th round should someone’s bonus ride higher than what I suspect here. Still I think the talent added in Adam Kloffenstein and Joe Gray Jr. would more than make up that loss. While I like what the Royals did in the middle rounds with Kyle Isbel, Austin Cox and Zach Haake, I think the addition of Robert Neustrom gives the Royals a strong bat for the future that even if he should have to move to 1b could have enough power to carry the position. Overall the Royals would have added quite a few pitchers with major upside from the prep and college ranks while adding a pair of plus bats in Gorman and Neustrom if they went with my shadow draft which could make this fun to monitor.

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This player checks plenty of boxes in his evaluation as a third baseman with big-time future and present power. Despite not turning 18 years old until May, the body already looks well developed and should gets stronger as he ages and matures further down the line. The power is near the top of the scale in this draft among his peers, grading as a high as a 70 among scouts. As you can see with this swing on a 96 MPH fastball on the inner half against Mason Denaburg, the swing isn’t big or jerky, he can keep it smooth while bringing his hands in.

There is some swing and miss with the hit tool which one would expect from a power hitter with an uphill swing at an early age, but the swing is compact enough that contact shouldn’t be a problem as he gets more reps into his development. Defensively he has soft hands which should work at third base no problem and while his arm isn’t quite what Moustakas brings to the yard, it should be more than enough for the position considering his hands and movement. The speed is average and will likely be a tick below when all is said and done. All told, it will be the bat that carries Gorman to the big leagues should he get there with a potential 50-60 hit tool and 70 power tool making him a potential middle of the order bat.

Who the Royals may like – While I’m a Gorman, fan I could see Lonnie Goldberg being more interested in Jordan Groshans of Magnolia, Texas. The tools are similar with Groshans possessing a little more athleticism and arm strength while the power lags behind a tick despite his 6’4 190 lbs. frame. The age difference is a slight checkmark against him in my book with Groshans being six months older than Gorman. Currently, Jordan’s brother plays baseball at Kansas, so the family is familiar with the area even if he wouldn’t arrive in Kansas City for another four to five years. The attractive part to the Royals that would fit in well with others in the organization is the off the field activity where Groshans is a 4.0 student with a high level of maturity. This isn’t to say that Gorman doesn’t possess that as well, but it stands out to evaluators when discussing Groshans. I personally lean to the ultimate upside, and I see more in Gorman’s big power game than the average tools across the board in this Kansas commit.

Previous Draft Articles
Logan Gilbert, Jordyn Adams, Joe Gray Jr.
Alec Bohm, Greyson Jenista, Isaiah Campbell, Blaine Knight
Griffin Roberts
Mason Denaburg, Carter Stewart
Jarred Kelenic
Bryce Montes De Oca, Cam McMillan
Tristan Beck
Jimmy Herron
Ryan Weathers
Brice Turang
Griffin Conine
Kumar Rocker
Travis Swaggerty