MLB Draft 2011: Kansas City Royals Begin Process Of Signing Players

Well now that the Major League Baseball Draft is over, the Royals have begun the process of working on contracts to bring the young players into the fold with the organization. Kansas City has been quite busy, signing 21 draft choices so far over the past few days, in addition to six undrafted prospects.

Thus far, the highest draft pick signed is seventh round selection, pitcher Kellen Moen from the University of Oregon. The full list of players who have signed on the dotted line can be found here and here.

In addition to the players who were drafted, the Royals have also signed the following-

Nick DelGuidice - SS Florida Atlantic

Brian Gaylord - 1B Lewis and Clark State

Tyler Smith - C Arkansas State

Cody Fassold - RHP Lewis and Clark State

Nathan Johnson - RHP Whitworth University

Andrew Stueve - RHP Cal State-Stanislaus

Kansas City had drafted Smith's college teammate, pitcher Andrew Ferguson in the 18th round last Tuesday. Ferguson is one of the prospects who has since signed.

Interesting that the Royals also pulled two teammates from Lewis and Clark State College in Idaho. In 2008, the Royals drafted LHP Blaine Hardy from Lewis and Clark in the 22nd round. Hardy has struggled at AAA Omaha, but has been quite the find for the Royals coming into this season.

In his recent AL Central wrap-up of the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft, Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus had some interesting quotes concerning the picks of the Kansas City Royals. Specifically his interview with a scout concerning No. 5 overall selection Bubba Starling brought the greatest range possible with any single prospect in the draft:

One scout put it best, saying, “In 10 years, we could be taking about Mickey Mantle, or talking about that Starling guy who never got out of Double-A.”

Suffice to say, Starling needed to have that kind of impact potential for the Royals to stray from their draft board that so many believed was focused on safe, polished pitchers who could move quickly through the minor league system. Possible names like Trevor Bauer (who went third), Dylan Bundy (fourth) and even Matt Barnes (19th) were predicted, but the Royals ended up taking Starling because of the incredible athleticism and tools that every single scout has raved about for months.

Consider the pressure on both sides to take or avoid Starling. He’s never faced any top notch competition on a regular basis as a Kansas-area high school student. He’s a Scott Boras client. He’s already committed to play quarterback for the University of Nebraska. It’s all projection at this point, which hasn’t worked so well for other recent high toolsy draft choices (a la San Diego Padres No. 3 selection of Donovan Tate).

Yet he’s also a local product and someone who fans will follow through the minor league system from bottom to top. And the ability to be such an impact centerfielder despite all of the aforementioned negatives just show how great some believe Starling can be — as in the Mickey Mantle comparisons. It might be a stretch to speak such things yet the reality is that Starling is among the rarest of talents.

Perhaps that’s the greatest thing about the Royals farm system. While some talents like Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer are already making their presence felt in Kansas City, the pressure is off of Dayton Moore to grab the sure thing in this year’s draft. And that ability to swing for the fences allows Moore to hope and pray that anything close to Starling’s projections come true.

As we brought to you yesterday, we have linked any available videos of picks made today. Go ahead and click on the players name for video-

Chris Serritella 1B Southern Illinois University

Tyler Chism CF Gonzaga

Matthew Beaty C Desden HS (TN)

Adrian Morales 3B South Carolina

Kash Kalkowski  3B Nebraska

It's interesting that Serritella missed the entire 2011 season due to a broken bone in his wrist, however he was first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference as he batted .374 with 13 home runs for the Salukis. Kansas City must have thought highly of him to draft a player who missed this past season.

Kash Kalkowski of Nebraska has a similar story in that because of injuries, he had only played in two games at Nebraska before this season, in the field. He actually was a pitcher for the Huskers his freshman season, before missing 2010 because of shoulder surgery. This season he came back to bat .299 for Nebraska while collecting 5 home runs and 42 RBI. He will likely be a hard sign as he is just a sophomore, but the fact he is already 22 years old gives me some hope Kansas City might be able to sign him.

As we have stated before, second round selection Cameron Gallagher appears like to sign with the Kansas City Royals, and among the others that are confirmed to likely join the Royals are Texas outfielder Lee Clubb, and Missippi outfielder Gabriel Gray.

Clubb is committed to play football at Colorado State University in the fall, but the speedy centerfielder appears headed for the Royals. This season he hit .533 with 11 double, four triples, and 31 stolen bases. He was also the defensive player of the year in his area.

"I'm probably going to go baseball. This is going to be a great experience and I'm looking forward to it," he said.

Jordan Ramsey, a pitcher from North Carolina was taken the round after Clubb (28th), actually got the call from a Royals scout telling him of the organization's intentions while he was sitting in Spanish class. While he was excited about the chance to join the Royals, he is still unsure if he will be joining the Royals or heading to UNC-Wilmington:

"I have no idea right now," Ramsey said. "We'll talk about the money and see if we can come to an agreement. I know I'm going out to Kansas City probably June 16-17 for a workout/meeting. Maybe I can sign quickly but I don't know. I can still go to Wilmington."

Mark Binford is a prep pitcher form Massachusetts who will be heading to one of the premiere programs in the country next season, playing for Virginia. That hasn't stopped Binford from thinking about joining the Royals, who brought the big 6'6" lefty in for a workout at Kauffman Stadium last week. However, it will likely take a good amount of money to steer him toward pro baseball, I imagine.

"I talked to UV's pitchng coach (Karl Kuhn) to let him know I was drafted and they were very excited," said Binford. "We'll talk to (the Royals) and see where we go from here."

Travis Recek of Fox 40 News in Jackson, Mississippi caught up with 35th round prospect, Gabriel Gray, a talented mult-sport athlete who appears headed to the Royals.

We'll follow up with more signing coverage as it becomes available.

Well the Kansas City Royals wrapped up this year's addition of the Major League Baseball Draft. In all Kansas City chose 30 college athletes and 20 high school players. Looking over the list it appears that second round selection Cameron Gallagher should be able to sign quickly as he wants to get started with pro baseball.

Among other things we know is that we can expect 11 additional selections to sign quickly as well, because they are college seniors and have completed their eligibility. 

That group includes seventh round pick Kellen Moen of Oregon, and 18th rounder Andrew Ferguson of Arkansas State. Others who should sign quickly are Swab, Middendorf, and Patton from the second day of the draft. Third day selections who should sign soon are Gonzales, Witt, Durden, Chism, and both Julio and Adrian Morales. 

With the NCAA Super Regionals coming up this weekend and the College World Series to follow soon after that, I always put a vested interest into following any Royals draft picks, and this year there will be the opportunity to see three of the selections play possibly their last games in college, should they sign with Kansas City. Those three are Flemer from California, the 19th round selection, along with Swab (21st Virginia), and Adrian Morales (49th South Carolina).

In this draft Kansas City seemingly went pitching early, though the first two picks were position players. Among the first 13 rounds, the Royals went with a pitcher in nine of the rounds.

The third day and final day of the 2011 MLB Draft got underway at 11:00 am on Wednesday. Continue to check back as we add to the list of selections for the Royals, with more content to be added throughout the day.

31st Rd (936) - Chris Serritella 6'3" 205 lbs 1B Southern Illinois University

32nd Rd (966) - Nick Piscotty 6'3" 185 lbs RHP Amador Valley HS (CA)

33rd Rd (996) - Abel Gonzales 6'1' 185 lbs RHP Rice

34th Rd (1026) - Ali Williams 6'2" 185 lbs RHP Charleston Southern

35th Rd (1056) - Gabriel Gray 6'1" 190 lbs OF Hazelhurst HS (MS)

36th Rd (1086) - Christian Witt 6'4" 245 lbs RHP Truman State

37th Rd (1116) - Matt Wessinger 6'0" 185 lbs 2B St John's

38th Rd (1146) - Andrew Durden 6'0" 200 lbs RHP Nova Souteastern University

39th Rd (1176) - Garrett Mattlage 5'10" 175 lbs SS West HS (TX)

40th Rd (1206) - Ben Waldrip 6'6" 245 lbs 1B Jacksonville State

41st Rd(1236) - Travis Lane 6'2" 215 lbs C Central Arizona College

42nd Rd (1266) - Joe Hawkins 5'11" 170 lbs 2B Sinclair (Canada)

43rd Rd (1296) - Tyler Chism 6'0" 205 lbs CF Gonzaga

44th Rd (1326) - Andrew Vasquez 6'5" 210 lbs LHP Los Osos HS (CA)

45th Rd (1356) - Julio Morales 6'1" 190 lbs RHP Bethune-Cookman

46th Rd (1386) - Adrian Bringas 5'10" 185 lbs 3B Cal State-Chico

47th Rd (1416) - Patrick Corbett 6'4" RHP Tabb HS (VA)

48th Rd (1446) - Matthew Beaty 6'0" 195 lbs C Desden HS (TN)

49th Rd (1476) - Adrian Morales 5'10" 190 lbs 3B South Carolina

50th Rd (1506) - Kash Kalkowski 6'1" 200 lbs 3B Nebraska

Known Current High School Commitments

Piscotty - Duke

Gray - Football offers from Memphis,  Mississippi State, and Southern Miss

Mattlage - Texas State

Vasquez - UC-Santa Barbara

Corbett - Coastal Carolina

Beaty -Belmont

I was reading an article at MLB.com this morning about some the best players taken at pick 500 or later in the major league draft. While only one is in the Hall of Fame (Ryne Sandberg No. 511 1978), there are still plenty of good players who could potentially make it.

The most famous late round story is probably that of Mike Piazza, who was drafted with the 1,390 pick in 1988 by the Dodgers. Piazza was selected as a favor to then manager Tommy Lasorda, and both families were close. Seemed to work out well for Piazza.

Another great example I noticed was Jeff Conine. When Coninie came up with the Royals, he was one of my favorite Royals players at the time. All he ended up doing was winning two World Series rings with the Florida Marlins, over the course of a 17 year major league career. Again, not bad for the 1,226th pick in the 1987 draft.

How about Mark Buehrle? Two no hitters and a perfect game? Yes, that Mark Buehrle. He was just a lowly 38th round pick in 1988.

Yesterday the Royals made 29 picks in Rounds 2 thorugh 29 off the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft. While many of the players drafted today will likely never reach the majors, there are still plenty of players drafted on this day who will be wearing a big league uniform.

As an example, Royals player Jarrod (it's what speed do) Dyson, was drafted in the 50th round of the 2006 major league draft. So stay tuned as we'll post the selections of the Royals and other area players, and them come back this afternoon as well provide more insight into the selections.

(click on all linked players to view videos)

The first 30 rounds of the 2011 MLB Draft are now history for the Royals as on the day Kansas City chose 29 players in addition to last night's selection of outfielder Bubba Starling in the first round. So far, Kansas City has chosen 17 college players, while 13 are high school players. The first five picks the Royals made in this draft were high schoolers, which shows plenty of upside as the organization tries to add to that second wave of prospects that are in the lower minor leagues. Kansas City also took 17 pitchers, of which six are left-handed. For position players, the most Kansas City selected was three catchers on the day.

One of those catchers came in the second round, in the form of high schooler Cameron Gallagher of Manheim Township High School in Pennsylvania. Gallagher has already made his intentions known, as he will be signing with the Royals, instead of attending East Carolina University. Gallagher spoke with Fox 43 News after being selected as the newest member of the Royals family.

With the third round choice, Kansas City took 6'0" right handed pitcher Bryan Brickhouse from The Woodlands High School in Texas. The Woodlands is a prominent high school program, having produced Jameson Taillon (last years #2 over pick by the Pirates), and current Blue Jay Kyle Drabek. Royals minor leaguer Brett Eibner (Class A Kane County), also hails from there. Brickhouse, who is committed to North Carolina, is a power arm who can run it up there near the mid 90's with his fastball.

Kansas City took another high school arm in the fourth round, this time being Kyle Smith another 6'0" righty from Santaluces High School in Florida. Smith is committed to the instate Gators, and is expected to be a tough sign.

The run of high school players lasted until the fifth inning, where Kansas City selected shortstop Patrick Leonard, of St. Thomas High School in Texas. His baseball coach there was none other than Craig Biggio. At 6'4" 200 lbs, Leonard has a lot of size and potentially could end up at a corner infield spot. Leonard is committed to play baseball at Georgia.

Finally in the sixth inning, Kansas City selected a college player in 6'3" left handed pitcher Cesar Ogando from Carribean University. He's only 18 and already throws in the 90's.

Oregon's Kellen Moen, a 6'2" righty was selected in the seventh. A reliever for the Ducks, he put up solid numbers this season. 

Kansas City went back to the high school ranks in the eighth round, choosing 6'5" RHP Evan Beal from South County HS in Virginia. Beal is committed to South Carolina, a school that has been very good to the Royals in recent years. And with his size, he should be able to add velocity as he grows older.

Pitchers were again taken in the ninth and 10th rounds, both right-handed college pitchers in the 6'4" Aaron Brooks from Cal State-San Bernadino and 6'4 Matt Murray from Georgia Southern. Murray is from the same college as current Royals reliever Everett Teaford.

Of the other high school players taken on Tuesday, below is a list of known schools they are commited to play for next year-

Rell Allen CF - ?

Adam Schemenauer LHP - Louisville

Jack Lopez SS - Miami

Lee Clubb OF - Colorado State (football)

Jordan Ramsey RHP - UNC-Wilmington

Jakob Junis RHP - North Carolina State

Mark Binford LHP - Virginia

Below you can find a recap of all the players selected on Tuesday. Continue to check back on Wednesday for more coverage.

The second day of the 2011 MLB Draft has begun and the Kansas City Royals have just made their first selection on Tuesday. Please continue to check back as we will be adding more content throughout the day.

2nd Rd (65) - Cameron Gallagher 6'3" 210 lbs Catcher Manheim Township HS (PA)

3rd Rd (95) - Bryan Brickhouse 6'0" 195 lbs RHP The Woodlands HS (TX)

4th Rd (126) - Kyle Smith 6'0" 167 lbs RHP Santaluces HS (FL)

5th Rd (156) - Patrick Leonard 6'4" 200 lbs SS St. Thomas HS (TX)

6th Rd (186) - Cesar Ogando 6'3' 210 lbs LHP Carribean University

7th Rd (216) - Kellen Moen 6'2" 185 lbs RHP Oregon

8th Rd (246) - Evan Beal 6'5" RHP South County HS (VA)

9th Rd (276) - Aaron Brooks 6'4" 220 lbs RHP Cal State-San Bernadino

10th Rd (306) - Matt Murray 6'4" 225 lbs RHP Georgia Southern

11th Rd (336) - Rell Allen 6'2" CF Milford HS (DE)

12th Rd (366) - Adam Schemenouer 6'9" 215 lbs LHP Park Hill South HS (MO)

13th Rd (396) - Stephen Lumpkins 6'8" 220 lbs LHP American University

14th Rd (426) - D'Andre Toney 5'10" 170 lbs CF Gulf Coast CC

15th Rd (456) - Richard Espy 6'1" 210 lbs 1B UCLA

16th Rd (486) - Jack Lopez 5'10" 160 lbs SS Deltona HS (FL)

17th Rd (516) - Nick Cuckovich 6'2" 200 lbs 2B Riverside CC

18th Rd (546) - Andrew Ferguson 6'1" RHP Arkansas State

19th Rd (576) - Matt Flemer 6'3" 210 lbs RHP UC-Berkeley

20th Rd (606) - Terrance Gore 5'7" 165 lbs RF Gulf Coast CC

21st Rd (636) - Kenneth Swab 6'2" 215 lbs C Virginia

22nd Rd (666) - David Middendorf 6'3" 235 lbs LHP Northern Kentucky

23rd Rd (696) - Lance Harper 6'2" 195 lbs C Scottsdale CC

24th Rd (726) - Spencer Patton 6'1" 185 lbs RHP Southern Illinois-Edwardsville

25th Rd (756) - Mark Threlkeld 6'3" 210 lbs 3B Louisiana Tech

26th Rd (786) - Joe Moorefield 6'1" 205 lbs LHP Clemson

27th Rd (816) - Lee Clubb 5'10" 185 CF Iowa Park HS (TX)

28th Rd (846) - Jordan Ramsey 6'3" 185 lbs RHP North Davidson HS (NC)

29th Rd (876) - Jakob Junis 6'3' RHP Rock Falls HS (IL)

30th Rd (906) - Mark Binford 6'6" 208 LHP Mercersburg Academy HS (MD)

Area Players Drafted

3rd Rd (110) - Chicago White Sox Jeff Soptic RHP Johnson County CC (KS)

3rd Rd (119) - Tampa Bay Rays Johnny Eierman SS Warsaw HS (MO)

4th Rd (124) - Arizona Diamondbacks Evan Marshall RHP Kansas State

4th Rd (137) - Detroit Tigers Jason King 3B Kansas State

5th Rd (178) - Minnesota Twins Tyler Grims SS Wichita State

6th Rd (193) - Florida Marlins Charlie Lowell LHP Wichita State

7th Rd (227) - Detroit Tigers Bryan Flynn LHP Wichita State

7th Rd (230) - St Louis Cardinals Nick Martini OF Kansas State

7th Rd (232) Boston Red Sox Cody Kukuk LHP Lawrence Free State HS (KS)

7th Rd (235) Cincinnati Reds James Allen RHP Kansas State

13th Rd (421) Philadelphia Phillies Colton Murray RHP Kansas

13th Rd (440) St Louis Cardinals Kevin Medrano 2B Missouri State

14th Rd (466) Oakland Athletics Thomas Walz RHP Kansas

17th Rd (533) San Diego Padres Matthew Stites RHP Missouri

18th Rd (554) Los Angeles Dodgers Chris O'Brien C Wichita State

20th Rd (603) Seattle Mariners Dilion Hazlett 2B Emporia State

20th Rd (614) Los Angeles Dodgers Vince Spiker RHP Johnson County CC

21st Rd (654) Texas Rangers Chance Sossamon RHP Wichita State

25th Rd (767) Detroit Tigers Mitchell Mormann RHP Wichita State

26th Rd (791) Milwaukee Brewers Joshua Smith LHP Wichita State

Right-handed junior starter Taylor Jungmann of NCAA Super Regional-bound Texas was the lone player from the Big 12 Conference selected in the first round of the 2011 MLB amateur draft. Representative of the National League Milwaukee Brewers called his name as the Brewers top pick in this year’s draft and the the 12th player selected overall.

The Longhorn staff ace appeared in 17 games this season, 16 of them starts, and has compiled a 13-1 record with 120 strikeouts and a 1.39 earned run average for the season. Opponents are hitting just .167 off Jungmann, who has given up only 75 hits and yielded just 29 bases on balls in 129 1/3 innings pitched. For his career, Jungmann has a record of 32-7 and a 1.65 ERA.

Jungmann and his Texas Teammates are one of 16 teams across the country who are headed to second-round NCAA Championship action this week. The Longhorns, ranked fifth nationally in the most recent USA Today/ESPN coaches’ poll will host one of the Super Regionals this weekend, taking on Arizona State (42-16). This will be Texas’ eighth appearance in the baseball Super Regionals.

The winners at the eight Super Regional sites will advance to the 2011 College World Series. The Longhorns took the Big 12 regular-season championship this year, putting together an overall season record of 47-16.

The Big 12 has had at least one player selected in the opening round of the MLB annual draft the past nine consecutive seasons and 12 times in the 15-year history of the conference. Over the past five years, 50 or more Big 12 ballplayers have been taken in the first round.

The 2011 MLB draft continues today, beginning at 11 a.m., with rounds 2-30. Rounds 31-50 will commence at 11 a.m. on Wednesday.

Though Kansas City really wanted to draft a pitcher in the first round of the baseball draft, the selection of local kid Bubba Starling means the Royals are commited to keeping top local talent in the area. This is something of a change from recent years.

It really began last year when the Royals took another talent Kansas high school pitcher by the name of Jason Adam. Said to be asking a lot of money, Kansas City selected him anyway and worked him into the fold. Selected in the 5th round last season, all Adam has done is get off to a 2-0 start with a 1.85 ERA and .90 WHIP through his first four games at Class A Kane County.

Though they are different players, Starling being selected by the Royals reminds me in many ways of the Atlanta Braves taking slugger Jason Heyward a few years ago. Heyward was a local high school kid from Georgia, and the Braves orginization has scouted and drafted local high school players for a long time.

Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star believes that the Royals drafting Starling is a potentially huge deal. And it certainly is. Mellinger speaks of movie script endings and Starling possibly being the greatest Royals player since George Brett. Of course many of us read the same things six seasons ago when Kansas City plucked Alex Gordon out of Nebraska, and though Gordon has turned out to be a decent major league player, he has never lived up to the hype surrounding his draft selection.

For now I'm just going to go with what I know, Starling is a great baseball player and hopefully becomes even better as he evolves out of his teenage years. But unlike what happened with Gordon, I'm not going to crown Starling as anything yet. Let's have the story play out on the field, and hopefully it will have us all smiling in the end.

However I will pass along a quote from Royals Scouting Director Lonnie Goldberg, when he spoke of Starling last evening after the selection, courtesy of Baseball America-

"We got the player we wanted, we got the most electric athlete and player in the draft, and it just happened to be in our backyard as well," Royals scouting director Lonnie Goldberg said in a conference call. "Obviously, his athleticism and probably his competitiveness and his desire to be a Royal as well, so it fit all of our needs. He's got raw power, he's got speed, he's got a plus arm. You name it, pick one. He's got a lot of them."

You can view Starling's full scouting report and video on MLB.com.

Look for more information on Royals draft coverage throughout the day.

Winners – Arizona, Washington and Boston

The Arizona Diamondbacks took UCLA right hander Trevor Bauer with the No. 3 pick in the first round, they followed that pick-up with another right hander, Archie Bradley at No. 7, a big-bodied Oklahoma high schooler that has signed to play football with the Sooners. Although Arizona is confident that they’ll be able to sign him. These two guys replenish a farm system in Arizona that could use a influx of talent on the hill and these two pitchers instantly upgrade the position. Bauer went 13-2 with a 1.25 ERA this past season for UCLA as he is widely considered a more developed pitcher than fellow Bruin, and No. 1 pick Gerrit Cole.

The Washington Nationals had another top-rated pick fall to them at No. 6 in Anthony Rendon, the Rice third-baseman that fell mainly due to injury concerns, but the Nationals get “Baseball America’s” top-rated player for the third year in a row after drafting Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper the past two years. The Nationals could not have been happier to see Rendon fall all the way to their pick. The Nationals then had the pleasure of seeing 6’9 Kentucky right-hander Alex Meyer sitting for them at No. 23. Meyer is a bit of a project, but at his size and the live arm that he brings with him, he has all the makings of being a big-time steal in this draft.

The Boston Red Sox walked away with the #9 prospect on ESPN’s Keith Laws’ top 100 with their No. 19 pick in Matt Barnes. The UConn right-hander that was once-considered a top 10 pick fell to a Red Sox team that was waiting with open arms to nab the Big East Pitcher of The Year. The Red Sox were also able to grab the top catching prospect in the entire draft in New Mexico high schooler, Blake Swihart with the No. 26 selection.

Losers – Los Angeles and The University of Nebraska

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been making plenty of headlines over the last few weeks, and it’s not for the right reasons. The ownership situation that has plagued this season and this team since spring training and is constantly giving the team reasons to answer questions not related to baseball. Now the team is going to have to answer why they took Chris Reed, the Stanford left-hander with the No. 16 selection. The hard-throwing lefty had a good year for Stanford out of the bullpen but prior to this season he had appeared in just 25 games for Stanford and carried a 7.05 ERA with 15 strikeouts and 17 walks. Reed may turn out to be a solid player for the Dodgers but the ceiling seems limited and nothing more than a set-up man, or at best, closer in the next few years. They could have done more with this selection.

The University of Nebraska was not happy with the Kansas City Royals selecting local phenom Bubba Starling with the No. 5 pick. They know he is a Royals fan and he’s been reported as saying that he would go to Nebraska, only if he wasn’t drafted by the Royals. The 6’4 200lb center-fielder is one of the rare 5-tool players that you hear referenced so often, but rarely does anyone actually fit that bill. Bubba Starling is that player. With a multi-million dollar offer on the way to Starling and agent, Scott Boras, Bo Pelini might have to find another quarterback for the future at Nebraska.

Well the first round of the 2011 Major League Baseball is in the draft, but settle in folks because we still have 49 more rounds tow go over the next two afternoons. This draft was said to be deep in pitching and the amount of pitchers taken in the first round proved that Monday evening. The results of the first round went as follows-

1. Pirates - Gerrit Cole RHP UCLA

2. Mariners- Danny Hutlzen LHP Virginia

3. Diamondbacks- Trevor Bauer RHP UCLA

4. Orioles- Dylan Bundy RHP Owasso HS (OK)

5. Royals- Bubba Starling OF Gardner-Edgerton HS (KS)

6. Nationals- Anthony Rendon 3B Rice

7. Diamondbacks- Archie Bradley RHP Broken Arrow HS (OK)

8. Indians- Francisco Lindor SS Montverde Academy HS (FL)

9. Cubs- Javier Baez SS Arlington Country Day School HS (FL)

10. Padres- Cory Spangenberg 2B Indian River State

11. Astros- George Springer OF Connecticut

12. Brewers- Taylor Junggman RHP Texas

13. Mets- Brandon Nimmo OF Cheyenne East HS (WY)

14. Marlins- Jose Fernandez RHP Braulio Alonso HS (FL)

15. Brewers- Jed Bradley LHP Georgia Tech

16. Dodgers- Chris Reed LHP Stanford

17. Angels- C.J. Cron 1B Utah

18. Athletics- Sonny Gray RHP Vanderbilt

19. Red Sox- Matt Barnes RHP Connecticut

20. Rockies- Taylor Anderson LHP Oregon

21. Blue Jays- Tyler Beede RHP Lawrence Academy HS (MA)

22. Cardinals- Kolten Wang 2B Hawaii

23. Nationals- Alex Meyer RHP Kentucky

24. Rays- Taylor Guerrieri RHP Spring Valley HS (SC)

25. Padres- Joe Ross RHP Bishop O'Dowd HS (CA)

26. Red Sox- Blake Swihart C Cleveland HS (NM)

27. Reds- Robert Stephenson RHP Alhambra HS (CA)

28. Braves- Sean Gilmartin RHP Florida State

29. Giants- Joe Panik SS St John's

30. Twins- Levi Michael SS North Carolina

31. Rays- Mike Mahtook OF LSU

32. Rays- Jake Hager SS Sierra Vista HS (NV)

33. Rangers- Kevin Matthews LHP Richmond Hill HS (GA)

After the Pirates made the pick we all selected, taking UCLA pitcher Gerrit Cole first overall, there was a surprise at number two as the Mariners, who many penciled in to take Anthony Rendon of Rice, Seattle surprisingly selected University of Virginia pitcher Danny Hutlzen second overall.

All of that seemingly shuffled the deck a bit, and in the end Kansas City selected the local boy, high schooler Bubba Starling of Gardner, Kansas. The 6'4" 180 lb outfielder now becomes the talk of the town. Look for more info to come.

It’s definitely the least of the major sports drafts when compared to the NFL or the NBA, but the 2011 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft has been garnering more attention than ever, a sign that even baseball fans are wanting to know as much as possible about the future of their team.

This year, Pittsburgh Pirates fans have to be excited gaining the No. 1 overall selection and sitting around .500 at the major league level, a sign that things might finally be getting better. The Kansas City Royals sit at No. 5 and then have to wait until No. 65, so the pressure is on Dayton Moore to deliver a sure thing with that first selection. Then again, there’s not nearly as much pressure as years past given the current state of the farm system.

This year, the MLB Network will playing the first round in its entirety, kicking things off on Monday at 6:00pm ET with a live preview, followed by the entire first round and sandwich round between rounds 1 and 2 for all compensation selections. Tuesday continues the coverage online at MLB.com for a live stream of rounds 2-30. Rounds 31-50 wrap up on Wednesday, again starting at noon with the live stream from MLB.com.

Also make sure to check out MLB Bonus Baby for more MLB Draft coverage.

It’s definitely the least of the major sports drafts when compared to the NFL or the NBA, but the 2011 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft has been garnering more attention than ever, a sign that even baseball fans are wanting to know as much as possible about the future of their team.

This year, Pittsburgh Pirates fans have to be excited gaining the No. 1 overall selection and sitting around .500 at the major league level, a sign that things might finally be getting better. The Kansas City Royals sit at No. 5 and then have to wait until No. 65, so the pressure is on Dayton Moore to deliver a sure thing with that first selection. Then again, there’s not nearly as much pressure as years past given the current state of the farm system.

This year, the MLB Network will playing the first round in its entirety, kicking things off on Monday at 6:00pm ET with a live preview, followed by the entire first round and sandwich round between rounds 1 and 2 for all compensation selections. Tuesday continues the coverage online at MLB.com for a live stream of rounds 2-30. Rounds 31-50 wrap up on Wednesday, again starting at noon with the live stream from MLB.com.

Also make sure to check out MLB Bonus Baby for more MLB Draft coverage.

There are basically only two known things surrounding the draft approach of the Kansas City Royals when it comes this year's draft. We know the Royals are intent on drafting a pitcher in a year that the talent pool for pitching is deep, and the other known is as fans we really have no idea who they are going to select at this point.

One player we haven't profiled much that is seemingly shooting up draft charts recently is University of Connecticut pitcher Matt Barnes. Barnes is a 6'4" 203-lb right hander that was the 2011 Big East Conference Pitcher of the Year, in which he has gone 11-3 with a sparkling 1.12 ERA. He features a fastball that sits in the mid 90's, while also featuring a curve, slider, and changeup.

Barnes may not get the notoriety of the other college pitchers in the draft because the Big East isn't traditionally known as a power baseball conference, nor is UCONN known for it's baseball tradition, but that shouldn't discount how good a pitcher Barnes is.

The 20-year old who is admittedly a lifelong Yankees fan was quoted in today's Houston Examiner talking about his pitching repertoire-

"I have a fastball, curveball, slider and changeup," he said. "The fastball is my best pitch. I try to use it to get ahead and I can throw it in any count. My other pitches have gotten better since high school. I've developed a pretty good slider. I try to attack hitters and make them beat my stuff while sticking to the game plan. I try to make them beat me rather than make myself lose.

Here are some videos of Matt Barnes in action.

One of the most underrated baseball sites on the web is Hardball Times, so a look at their latest mock draft is essential pre-draft reading for me. And a closer look at the Kansas City Royals selection at No. 5 in the 2011 MLB Draft brings a new name alongside a familiar one for KC fans to consider in Matt Barnes.

Barnes is a 6-3, 203 lb. righty for UConner who has a nasty curve and is considered one of the top college pitchers in the draft. ESPN's Keith Law has him at No. 9 in his Top 100 prospects for the draft, and he'd also match that fast rising college pitcher the Royals have been rumored to be looking for. Then again, Hardball Times also can't let go of the Bubba Starling rumors either.

After some consideration, HT's Vince Caramela goes with Starling. He writes:

If Seattle decides to pass on Rendon, then this choice is simple. The team has also flirted with Trevor Bauer from UCLA as well as Lindor. With no other picks until after the compensation round, I’m guessing it will come down to either Barnes or a high-end bat. I’m guessing offense wins out. Scouts drool at Starling's 6-foot-4 frame and unlimited athleticism but do know that he is very raw and there is no guarantee that he will develop into the all-star caliber bat many are hoping as he "learns" against advanced pitching.

At least Barnes is a new name to the conversation that already includes Starling, Gerritt Cole (if he falls), Trevor Bauer and others. The Royals have their pick of several strong talents, so this is hopefully going to be a good choice any way they go.

On Saturday afternoon, Trevor Bauer tossed a 133-pitch complete game for the UCLA Bruins as they picked up another win in the NCAA Tournament, with a 3-1 win over Fresno State. Bauer notched his 10th complete game of the season, and ninth in a row.

Bauer finished the game with 14 strikeouts, and now has 203 on the season, breaking the Pac-10 Conference record previously held by USC's Mark Prior. The righty scattered just six hits, while allowing just one run, and walking two. His record sits at 13-2 on the season.

Baseball America's Aaron Fitt was tracking the game, and Bauer appeared to be flat out dominant Saturday. He was reaching 96 miles per hour on his fastball, and was still reaching 95 on the radar guns in the ninth inning. He was striking out Bulldog batters on "hammer curves" that were being recorded between 77 and 79 miles per hour.

Bauer is certainly stating his case lately as to why he will be such a high draft pick, and he definitely has given the Royals a lot to think about with the fifth overall pick.

The latest round of 2011 MLB Draft mocks are rolling in and we’ll keep you updated on every angle that we hear of the Kansas City Royals, especially sitting at that No. 5 slot. They’re in an enviable position with a deep farm system just beginning to hit the majors already and it seems the Royals want to add an arm that will arrive shortly after some of the first wave of pitching prospects. Then again, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com believes differently.

That’s because Mayo has the Royals keeping their choice close to home with superstar athlete Bubba Starling. No one quite knows where Sterling will fall, which teams are in love with him or even if he will be willing to choose baseball over a college quarterback career. But with such incredible tools, it’s hard to not take the bait. Mayo writes:

The Royals are also looking at college arms like Trevor Bauer or Cole if he dropped here. Starling and Francisco Lindor are the hitters being considered, with the two-sport toolsy outfielder in their own back yard making almost too much sense.

Even with the Royals prospects in play, there are still holes in the outfield of the future for the team, so Starling would definitely have a place to play. If he made a successful leap, a future line-up of Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Will Myers and Starling among obvious others sounds exciting on paper. Of course, reality always changes the course on plans like this. Still that’s what makes it exciting leading up to the draft in the first place.

John Sickels who runs Minor League Ball, one of SB Nation's great baseball websites, hosted a mock draft on Saturday afternoon for the upcoming major league baseball draft. The one round draft ran just as it will on Monday evening, with John being the moderator. Fans of each team has the opportunity to sign up and choose when their team's selection came up. With the fifth overall pick, Trevor Bauer of UCLA was snatched up by Kansas City. 

It has now become apparent that many of the Royals fans are jumping aboard the Bauer bandwagon, in addition to members of the media who believe Bauer will come off the board if still around when Kansas City has their pick. For those of you who still aren't all too familiar with Bauer, here is a link to pitching videos of the stud righty. If Tim Lincecum is known as the "The Freak" (or Timmy Tim Jim as in one of my favorite television commercials), I figure it won't be long before Royals fans put their collective brain power together to come up with a solid nickname, should the Royals choose Bauer.

On a related note, it appears the Pirates have decided the other star UCLA pitcher, Gerrit Cole will be the club's first overall selection on Monday evening as reported by Dejan Kovacevic in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Ironically, Bauer has become the trusted source for UCLA as of late, while Cole will likely still be the higher drafted player. It really plays into the stereotype that players like Lincecum (and possibly Bauer) are often passed over by certain teams in the draft because of their unorthodox pitching styles. Seems to work out well for the San Francisco Giants thus far.

Monday is D-Day for the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft. This also means the days leading up to the draft are ripe with rumors and mock drafts as sportswriters try their best to determine what general managers and scouts will do as the pieces fall. Kevin Goldstein, the prospect guru over at Baseball Prospectus, recently debuted his “rough draft” of a mock and has the Kansas City Royals going with a high-performance pitcher at the No. 5 slot with UCLA’s Trevor Bauer.

Bauer has been known for his crazy pre-game workouts and a funky delivery that makes some scouts wonder how well it will translate. Others point to such criticism and say that two-time Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum endured the same critique. Suffice to say, the Royals would be enamored with such results.

Despite what people perceive about his workouts or delivery, the results have been there all season for UCLA’s benefit. Through 91-plus innings this year, Bauer had a 1.47 ERA and 142 strikeouts. Even more incredible, he only allowed 45 hits and 27 walks. He also consistently throws in the high-‘90s and features two plus pitches.

Some scouts question his workload at UCLA this year with several games run into high pitch counts, but Bauer says such issues are off-base and many scouts love him as well. He’s exactly the kind of high-results, seasoned college pitcher that the Royals have been rumored to take and it’s a perfect value for the No. 5 selection.