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The MLB draft is an odd duck. There are so many variables that go into the decision to draft a player. These days, the later round high school guys might be able to make more money going to college for a year or two thanks to the advent of the transfer portal and NIL money. Even some college players have the option of returning to school for another year in hopes of boosting their draft standing.
It’s all about leverage, and the only real leverage the team holds is money. Each team gets a “pool” of money they can use on signing bonuses for their picks in round 1 through 10. This year the Royals had a draft pool of just under $16M.
In addition, each pick in the first 10 rounds comes with an assigned signing bonus value, called a “slot” value. For example, the #6 pick in this year’s draft held by the Royals held a slot value of $7.7M. Their pick at #30 had a slot value of $3.2M.
What is “under-slotting”?
Under-slotting is a draft strategy that involves taking a player higher in the draft than expected in hopes that they will sign for a bonus that is under the slot value of the pick. The team then has more money available to offer picks later in the draft.
The Royals did just this in 2021 when they took LHP Frank Mozzicato with the #7 overall pick. He was nowhere near the top 10 in prospect rankings, and the bonus money they saved was used in the third round to convince a high school catcher named Carter Jensen to turn pro instead of playing college ball at LSU. The downside is that Mozzicato is terrible (8.75 ERA in AA this year).
They appear to have done it again in 2026, sort of. When the Royals went on the clock with the 6th pick, 4 of the 5 guys I mentioned in my pre-draft article were still available (OF Drew Burress, OF Eric Booth Jr., SS Jacob Lombard, SS Tyler Bell). Only RHP Jackson Flora had already been taken, he went with the 4th pick to San Francisco.
Reports are that the Royals were about to select Booth at #6, in fact some outlets reported that on X before the pick was in. At the last second they pivoted and selected OF Zion Rose from Louisville, the #30 prospect in the draft. I’d love to know who made that decision (almost had to have been JJ) and why.
Don’t get me wrong, Rose is a good player and I would have loved him with the #30 pick. But at #6?
Not so much.
Will they be able to under-slot him? Of course. He might sign for as much as $2-3M less than slot value. We’ll know soon, as teams only have two weeks to sign their draft picks.
Rose was a catcher in high school who went undrafted due to his Louisville commitment. The Louisville coaching staff converted him to LF, he’s certainly got good speed but the throwing arm and inexperience in the outfield are negatives. Here’s the blurb on Rose from mlb.com…
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We will forever be comparing Rose’s career to that of Booth and Burress as they were selected at #7 (Orioles) and #8 (Athletics) respectively. The question now becomes, where are they going to spend that bonuse money they saved by under-slotting t #6?
It won’t be going to the team’s pick at #30, RHP Taylor Rabe out of Ole Miss. Rabe is 6’5 and had one of the best fastballs in college baseball this year. He had Tommy John surgery before his freshman season and didn’t pitch in 2024. He was the #40 rated prospect in this year’s draft. Rabe is an exciting talent that we could see climbing the organizational ladder quickly.
“What stood out to me with Rabe was just -- it seems that there are guys that kind of flatten out. He just seems like he’s getting better and better and better, and as the year went on, he really pitched well and really took over that pitching staff. They had a couple of good arms on that staff. But by the end, he was throwing the ball better than anybody, maybe in the [SEC] altogether at the end.” -- Picollo
Although their #56 pick was ranked as the #90 prospect, the Royals could use some of that saved money to convince RHP Jack Slightom to turn pro instead of continuing his baseball career at the University of Cincinnati in the fall. Slightom is a 6’5 prospect from Lyons Township HS in Illinois, and had been rising up the prospect ranks recently.
Slightom worked with an 88-91 mph fastball as a junior, touched 95 at the World Wood Bat Association World Championship in October and has reached 98 with carry and armside run this spring. His 77-81 mph slider could use some power and lacks consistency, yet he’ll spin some solid breaking balls at times. He doesn’t use his changeup very often but shows some aptitude for the mid-80s offering, which flashes some nice tumble and fade.
Slightom works with a side-step delivery and a low arm slot that provides some deception. A Cincinnati recruit, he’s athletic and should add some needed polish once he focuses on baseball. With room to add plenty of strength to his 6-foot-5 frame, he could develop an upper-90s heater and a mid-80s slider. MLB.com
In the third round the Royals selected Big 12 Pitcher of the Year Maxx Yehl out of West Virginia. Yehl is a 6’6 lefty who started his college career in the bullpen and has had Tommy John surgery, but was the mainstay of this year’s Mountaineer rotation. He’s got excellent command and a mid to upper 90’s fastball. Here’s what Royals Scouting Director Brian Bridges had to say about Yehl…
“Talk about his makeup: Killer instinct. I think there’s a chance for him to start. I don’t make that decision. All I’m trying to do is acquire the talent. But he could come out of the ‘pen, and he’s not going to be fazed. He’s really a tough nut. Being left-handed from that angle can be very beneficial for us, for sure.” -- Bridges via mlb.com
The last pick of day 1 for the Royals was OF Dominic Battista out of Oswego East HS in Illinois. If you said “who?” when his name was announced you weren’t alone as Battista wasn’t ranked in the top 250 prospects. He’s a power-hitting lefthanded bat, committed to play at the University of Illinois (Chicago) in the fall. Slot value for where the Royals took Battista (119th overall) is $650K.
Rounds 5-20 of the draft were yesterday, and Kansas City took 13 pitchers with their 16 picks. If they have a pile of saved bonus money, they may throw it at their 19th round pick (569th overall), RHP Hudson DeVaughan out of Mooresville HS in Indiana. DeVaughn was the #138th ranked prospect but fell to the end of the draft due to industry belief that he will be honoring his commitment to play college ball in the SEC at the University of Alabama.
I have to admit I was PO’d with the pick of Zion Rose at #6. I still think it was a mistake and the Royals will eventually regret not taking Burress or Booth Jr. In fact, taking Burress at #6 AND Rose at #30 would likely have been possible and would have gone a long way towards fixing the organization’s outfield problem.
Like it or not, fan sentiment and reaction to MLB drafts revolve around the first rounders, JJ better hope he was right about Rose. If the Royals can sign DeVaughan it will go a long way towards making this draft more palatable for this writer.
Home Run Derby
For the third time (Salvador Perez 2021, Bobby Witt Jr. 2024) in the last six years the Royals will have a player in the HR Derby. This year of course it is OF Jac Caglianone. Call me crazy, but I think Jac wins this thing tonight. Philly hometown bats Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber are the favorites, but the park seems to fit Cags’s swing to a T. It might come down to how well Jac’s dad can pitch batting practice, Papa Cags will be on the mound for his son tonight.
Jac got a lot of run in the baseball world when he debuted last season, but tonight might be when he really breaks out on the national baseball scene. Of course MLB is stupid so you will have to have a Netflix subscription to watch the Derby starting tonight at 7 pm CDT.
All-Star Game
The ASG is Tuesday night in Philadelphia. Your Royals will be represented by AL starting shortstop Bobby Witt Jr and pitcher Michael Wacha. The AL lineup is out and has Bobby Baseball batting 5th. Here are the lineups..
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Once the Derby and ASG festivities are over, look for the Diamond Chronicles Mid-Season Report in your inbox later this week. We’ll take a look back at the first 97 games of the 2026 season, and look ahead to what the Royals will do as the trade deadline draws nearer.
Let me know what you think about the Royals draft in the comments, and thank you for reading and sharing DC!
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