Kansas City Royals lose 5 players in Rule V Draft

The Kansas City Royals managed to avoid losing any MLB players in the Rule V Draft, but are down five players after conclusion of the Triple-A portion on Thursday.

Third baseman Diego Goris was snatched up by the San Diego Padres. The 22 year old hit .333 with 13 home runs and 51 RBI between Rookie-league Surprise and short-season Idaho Falls.

The Royals lost two left-handed pitchers in Brendan Lafferty and Ryan Dennick. Lafferty, 26, was picked up by the Philadelphia Phillies after posting a 1-1 record with a 4.77 ERA as a reliever for Double-A Northwest Arkansas. The 25-year-old Dennick, who went 8-6 with a 4.61 ERA between Single-A Wilmington and Northwest Arkansas was selected by the Cincinnati Reds.

Kansas City also lost a pair of right-handers in the Rule V Draft; 25-year-old Ethan Hollingsworth and 29-year-old Federico Castaneda. Hollingsworth, who was selected by Pittsburgh Pirates, went 5-11 with a 4.82 ERA between Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha. Castaneda was 2-4 with a 5.71 ERA in 51 appearances for Class AAA Mexico City in the Mexican League.