Kansas City Royals had a Day 3 MLB Draft strategy. Here’s how it went & who they picked
The Kansas City Royals selected 11 players on Day 1 and Day 2 of the MLB Draft and 10 more in Rounds 11-20 on Tuesday — which was the final day of the event.
The draft began on Sunday, when the Royals made their first pick with high school catcher Blake Mitchell at No. 8. After that selection, KC began to load up on pitchers, a trend that was evident on Monday’s Day 2. Day 3 started with an impact hitter and finished with more arms and promising high school prospects.
“Right off the first pick, we felt like, ‘OK, we got the bat that we wanted to get on Day 3,” Royals scouting director Danny Ontiveros said of the final day’s approach, which began with selecting Tennessee outfielder Jared Dickey in the 11th round.
“So from that point, I think we just really wanted to focus on getting some arms. I thought that was kind of where the depth was. As a group, we thought that’s where the depth was. We had some outlier pitchers kind of in the middle where their metrics really played well and our scouts really liked them. And I think we got a couple of high school guys toward the end as well. So it was kind of a similar pattern that we did last year. Kind of stuck to kind of the same script.”
Here’s who the Royals selected Tuesday on Day 3 of the three-day MLB Draft, and Ontiveros’ comments on the picks:
Round 11: Tennessee outfielder Jared Dickey (No. 319 overall)
Standing 6-foot-1, Dickey was MLB’s 115th overall prospect entering the draft, but he fell to the Royals more than 200 selections later.
The redshirt-sophomore was an All-SEC second-team honoree this past season, batting .328 over 244 at-bats. He led the team in batting average, playing all three outfield positions and spending time at catcher after a hand injury in the fall.
“He played on our scout team in high school — we have history with him,” Ontiveros said. “We really feel like there’s an impactful bat there. Corner outfield, he’s caught, he’s played first base, so there’s versatility but we were really attracted to the bat and we wanted to add another bat into our system.”
Round 12: Kentucky RHP Logan Martin (No. 349 overall)
The 6-foot-1, 185-pound senior made eight starts for the Kentucky Wildcats in 2023. In 26 1/3 innings, he had an ERA of 4.44, allowing 13 earned runs while striking out 30 batters.
Martin was limited by injuries in his lone season in Lexington after transferring from the University of the South (which is in Sewanee, Tennessee).
“His innings were low this year — he had a non-baseball-related injury that kind of pushed him back,” Ontiveros said. “But if this kid pitched the full year in the SEC, doing what we think he’s capable of, there’s no chance he would have got to Day 3. He might have not got out of Day 1, the way we feel about him.”
Round 13: Xavier RHP Ethan Bosacker (No. 379 overall pick)
After missing the 2022 season due to injury, Bosacker bounced back in 2023, leading Xavier’s starting pitching staff in ERA (3.49 across 98 innings).
The 6-foot-2 right-hander announced that he was transferring to Oklahoma State on July 5 to finish out his college career, which could mean he plans to remain in college.
Round 14: Florida Gulf Coast LHP Mason Miller (No. 409 overall)
At 6-foot-3, Miller started in all seven of his 2023 appearances on the mound before his season was cut short in early April because of an arm injury.
He posted a 5.68 ERA but did strike out 35 of the 111 batters he faced.
“We actually spent a lot of time Zooming and watching him the summer prior to the pandemic,” Ontiveros said. “He ended up having Tommy John — he’ll be ready to throw by next spring training. But, very similar to Noah Cameron, who we got in the seventh round in the same situation. I mean, this kid can really spin the ball.
“There’s riding life to his fastball, he’s got size, and we were lucky enough to see him before he got injured, where I think a lot of teams didn’t get a chance to see him.”
Round 15: Auburn RHP Chase Isbell (No. 439 overall)
The 6-foot-3, 210-pound senior posted a 5.94 ERA through 33 1/3 innings of relief in 2023. He gave up 34 hits and 22 runs while walking 17 and striking out 42 out of the bullpen.
The Springville, Alabama native transferred to Auburn in 2022 after two seasons at Samford. He came back from partial Tommy John surgery during his junior year at Auburn.
“He’s somebody we targeted, and we’re fortunate to get him, but he’s pitched in high leverage situations,” Ontiveros said. “When those guys present themselves and the metrics and the scout evaluations kind of team up together, and the makeup’s there as well, it makes it an easy selection.”
Round 16: Arizona State RHP Josh Hansell (No. 469 overall)
The 6-foot-3 junior came out of the bullpen for the Sun Devils during his two years in Tempe, starting four games over 17 appearances. Hansell pitched 31 1/3 innings this past season, recording 30 strikeouts.
A native of Chandler, Arizona, Hansell spent his first year of college at Wichita State before transferring to Arizona State.
“It’s just a kid that hasn’t got a lot of innings,” Ontiveros said. “I got a chance to see him throw at the Pac-12 tournament, and it wasn’t probably his best start, but the way his body works and the way the ball was coming out of his hand, and the limited amount of innings, it’s kind of a lottery ticket type pick. All the ingredients are there. I just think he needs innings.
“And we’ve seen him up to 97 (mph) in the past. There’s a really good slider. The metrics are good on his slider and changeup, and he’s just a big-bodied athlete with a fresh arm.”
Round 17: Miami (OH) LHP Connor Oliver (No. 499 overall)
The 6-foot-2, 170-pounder from Oak Forest, Illinois started his college career at Wichita State in 2020 before transferring to Wabash Valley Community College, then TCU and finally Miami of Ohio.
Oliver was a second-team All-Mid-American Conference honoree in 2023. He started 14 games and posted a team-best 3.89 ERA in 78.2 innings. His 102 strikeouts ranked second in the MAC and 28th nationally.
Round 18: IMG Academy (Florida) catcher Stone Russell (No. 529 overall)
The 19-year-old Florida commit is the No. 25 overall prospect from Florida according to Prep Baseball Report and ranked 191st nationally.
Though the Royals listed Russell as a catcher, Ontiveros clarified that they view Russell as a shortstop and believe he can be a “Swiss Army knife” who can also play second and third base.
“He’s just a baseball player,” Ontiveros said. “He’s got bloodlines. His father played in the big leagues 10 seasons with the Phillies, Braves (and) Rangers. And he came to our workout. He caught some bullpens. You’re always looking for some conversion guys, and he showed some aptitude to catch, but he also has got really good hands at short, can play second base, can play third base. He’s got a sound swing.”
Round 19: Barbe HS (Louisiana) OF Donovan LaSalle (No. 559 overall)
LaSalle hit .510 with 10 home runs, 43 RBIs, 57 runs and 33 stolen bases during his senior season in Lake Charles, Louisiana. The Louisiana Sports Writers Association named him Mr. Baseball for 2023.
The Oklahoma State signee, standing 6-foot-2, 190 pounds, was ranked the No. 1 outfielder and No. 7 high school player in Louisiana by Perfect Game.
“Just an athlete,” Ontiveros said. “Donovan’s got high upside. He’s somebody that has a chance to be an impactful player in the big leagues. He’s still raw in certain areas of his game, but ... he’s got a plus arm, there’s raw power, he’s an athlete. When I’d first seen him, it reminded me a little bit of (former Dodgers outfielder) Matt Kemp. Just the body — maybe a little bit more raw at the time in high school — but a guy that you take a flyer on that has a really big upside.”
Round 20: Fort Scott Community College SS Blake Wilson (No. 589 overall)
Wilson played all 61 games during his sophomore season at Fort Scott CC, batting .352 with 70 hits and 55 RBIs. Additionally, he was named an All-Conference honorable mention. He is currently committed to Kansas State.
