Royals Predicted To Acquire 97-MPH Fireballer Thanks To Scouting Director

If there's one thing the Kansas City Royals excel at these days, it's developing pitchers.

We see it on both the starting and relief pitcher sides. Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, and Lucas Erceg all became stars once they arrived from other organizations, and the Royals have also completely rejuvenated some of their own draft picks, like Kris Bubic and Daniel Lynch IV.

So with the Major League Baseball Draft coming up next month, it would surprise no one to see the Royals pick up a talented pitcher that they believe can become a key member of their starting rotation.

On Friday, MLB.com's Jim Callis predicted that the Royals would take Oregon high school left-handed pitcher Kruz Schoolcraft, a 6-foot-8 fireballer, with the 23rd overall pick in the Jul. 13 draft.

Scouting director Brian Bridges loves high school left-handers, so it's hard to imagine him passing up the best one in the entire Draft," Callis wrote.

"High school position players such as (Steele) Hall, (Gavin) Fien, (Josh) Hammond, (Slater) de Brun, second baseman/outfielder Sean Gamble and shortstop Tate Southisene could land here or at the Royals' next choice at No. 28."

Schoolcraft, the 16th-best prospect in MLB Pipeline's pre-draft rankings, has reportedly been up to 97 miles per hour. He also features a slider that the site grades as a 60 on the 20-80 scale and a 50-grade changeup.

Bridges, who came to the Royals in 2023, spent 16 years in the Atlanta Braves' organization and oversaw the acquisitions of Austin Riley, Craig Kimbrel, Michael Soroka, and dozens more.

If Schoolcraft winds up in the Royals' system, 29 other teams should be very worried about seeing him on a big-league mound in a few seasons.

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