Royals Predicted To Acquire 'Projectable' 6-Foot-3 Outfield Slugger
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It's July, which looks slated to be the busiest month of the calendar this year for the Kansas City Royals.
Every Royals fan is sweating out the trade deadline, and before that, they'll see which of their favorite players is invited to the All-Star Game. But first, there's the Major League Baseball Draft to consider. The draft begins on Jul. 13 in Atlanta, Ga.
Kansas City has a predicament this draft season. Do they simply follow their scouting tips and take the best possible player on the board? Or will the big-league club's Achilles' heel influence their decision-making?
One baseball writer sees the Royals addressing that Achilles' heel--their punchless outfield--with the 23rd overall pick.
On Monday, ESPN's David Schoenfield predicted that the Royals would draft Wake Forest University outfielder Ethan Conrad, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound slugger who put up a 1.238 OPS in 21 games this past season, with their first-round selection.
"Don't draft for need? That is the saying, but boy do the Royals need some help in the outfield. Conrad transferred from Marist to Wake Forest for 2025 after finishing second in the Cape Cod League in batting average last summer," Schoenfield wrote.
"He was off to a big start, hitting .372/.495/.744 before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery after 21 games. His hitting is more gap to gap, but that will work in Kauffman Stadium. Scouts would have liked to see him face better pitching in the ACC before he got hurt, but there is a projectable hit tool here."
Conrad is just 20, but he got three years of college baseball under his belt, two of which came at Marist College before transferring to the ACC. The Poughkeepsie, N.Y. native will get exposure to a whole new level of competition once he arrives in pro ball, but all the tools are there for him to succeed.
Schoenfield's endorsement is one thing, but the reality is that the Royals could go any direction with this pick. We just have to sit back and see what they end up deciding.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org
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