Royals select 10 players in first two days of MLB Draft

The Kansas City Royals added two college position players to the organization on the first day of the 2022 First-Year Player Draft on Sunday night.  With the ninth overall pick in the first round, the Royals selected Gavin Cross, an outfielder from Virginia Tech. With the 49^th overall pick in the second round, the Royals selected third baseman Cayden Wallace from the University of Arkansas.

Cross, 21, hit .328 (80-for-244) with 17 home runs and 50 RBI in 57 games in his junior season as Virginia Tech. The left-handed batter recorded 39 extra-base hits for a .660 slugging percentage and 1.071 OPS, while making most of his starts in center field. He also stole 12 bases without being caught and was on the 2022 Golden Spikes Award watch list. Cross’ 2022 performance led Virginia Tech to the Super Regionals of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the program’s history.

In three years at Virginia Tech, Cross slashed .340/.412/.609 with 28 home runs and 28 stolen bases in 124 games. In 2021, he became the first freshman in school history to be named First Team All-ACC. He was also named to the All-ACC Academic Team in 2021 and was a USA Baseball Collegiate National Team selection. Cross is the first Hokies baseball player selected in the first round since 1982, when the Dodgers selected Franklin Stubbs (19^th overall), who played 10 seasons in the Majors. 

Wallace, 20, was a starter for the Arkansas team that reached the College World Series semifinals this year. He hit .298 (82-for-275) with 16 home runs and 60 RBI in 67 games as a sophomore this season and led the team in runs (62), doubles (20), RBI, stolen bases (12) and slugging percentage (.553) and tied for the team high in home runs.

In 2021, Wallace tied the school freshman record of 14 home runs, held by former first-round picks Zack Cox (25^th overall in 2010) and Heston Kjerstad (2^nd overall in 2020). Wallace also played in 18 games for Bourne in the Cape Code League last year and hit .290 (18-for-62) with 14 RBI.

On Monday, Kansas City selected eight more players, including six pitchers and two position players, all from the college ranks.

Including their first two picks, this marks the second time in franchise history that the Royals have selected college players with their first 10 picks, following 2018, when their first 11 picks were from the college ranks.

In the third round (87^th overall), Kansas City selected right-handed pitcher Mason Barnett out of Auburn University. Barnett recorded a season-high 10 strikeouts in 5.1 innings during the Regional Championship Game vs. UCLA on June 5, in which he allowed just 1 hit. He struck out 142 batters in 111.1 innings (11.5 K/9) across 40 appearances (21 starts) during his three seasons at Auburn. In 2021, he made 5 starts with Brewster in the Cape Cod League, where he was teammates with Royals first-round pick Gavin Cross.

The Royals selected right-handed pitcher Steven Zobac in the fourth round (115^th overall) out of the University of California. Zobac was a two-way player from 2020-21 before focusing on pitching as a junior in 2022. On May 13 vs. New Mexico he recorded 12 strikeouts in 7.0 innings, marking the first 12-strikeout game by a Cal pitcher since 2015. His twin sister, Kacey Zobac, plays softball at Cal and they were teammates until they were 11, when she switched to softball.

In the fifth round (145^th overall), the Royals selected left-handed pitcher Hunter Patteson out of the University of Central Florida. Patteson had Tommy John Surgery in 2022 after leading his team with a 1.82 ERA (6 ER in 29.2 IP) in 7 starts as a junior, while recording 41 strikeouts (12.4 K/9) and just 5 walks (1.5 BB/9). He was selected by the Cubs in the 35^th round of the 2019 Draft out of Vero Beach High School (Fla.), the same school that produced Alex Cobb.

With their sixth pick (175^th overall), the Royals selected Hayden Dunhurst out of the University of Mississippi, who was the primary catcher for the 2022 College World Series championship team. He recorded 18 HR and 88 RBI in 138 games during his college career, and was named ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner behind the plate as a sophomore in 2021, becoming the second player in school history to earn the honor. Dunhurst was previously selected by the Rockies in the 37^th round of the 2019 Draft out of Pearl River Central High School (Miss.).

In the seventh round (205^th overall), the Royals selected right-handed pitcher Mack Anglin out of Clemson University. Anglin, 22, went 6-6 in 15 starts this season with 78 strikeouts in 76.1 innings (9.2 K/9). He pitched 12.2 scoreless innings for Wareham in the 2021 Cape Cod League and was selected by Washington in the 13^th round last year as a draft-eligible sophomore but chose to return to Clemson. He was named Gatorade’s Ohio Player of the Year in 2019 out of Highland High School, where he lettered four times in baseball and thrice in basketball, scoring more than 1,000 points in his hoops career.

With their eighth pick (235^th overall), the Royals selected right-handed pitcher Wesley Scott out of Walters State Community College. Scott, 21, committed to Vanderbilt out of Woodcrest Christian High School in 2019, but attended Arizona in 2020. With Walters State in 2022, he went 9-2 with 1 save and 118 strikeouts in 75.0 innings (14.2 K/9) in 15 starts (18 appearances). Scott made 3 postseason starts this season, including a quarterfinal win over the No. 2 ranked team in the JUCO World Series. On Jan. 29, he recorded 5 strikeouts over 3.0 innings in relief to finish off a combined no hitter. Wesley also made 2 starts in the 2022 MLB Draft League.

In the ninth round (265^th overall), the Royals selected right-handed pitcher Brandon Johnson out of the University of Mississippi, where he threw the final pitch that clinched the 2022 College World Series to catcher Hayden Dunhurst, Kansas City’s sixth-round pick. He started his collegiate career at Columbia State Community College, where he went 8-0 with 109 strikeouts in 80.2 innings (12.2 K/9) from 2019-20.

With their 10^th pick (295^th overall), the Royals selected outfielder Levi Usher out of the University of Louisville. Usher, 22, hit .285 (70-for-246) as a senior this season with a career-best 25 extra-base hits and 49 RBI in 64 games. He also led the ACC in stolen bases for the second straight year, stealing 36 bags in 39 attempts. Usher was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year and earned an ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Award for his work in center field, which was highlighted by the No. 1 play on SportsCenter on April 30, when he robbed a home run vs. Clemson. He was selected by the Angels in the 37^th round of the 2019 Draft out of Fairfax High School (Iowa) but chose to attend Kirkwood Community College for his freshman season.