Royals Predicted To Land 'Athletic, High-Upside' 3B To Pair With Bobby Witt Jr.

Major League Baseball Draft season is approaching, which means the Kansas City Royals have a lot on their plate.

While the front office is undoubtedly prepping for the trade deadline, the draft comes first on Jul. 13. Kansas City knows it has to hit on the majority of its early draft picks, which is the nature of being a small-market team that doesn't typically win free-agent bidding wars.

The Royals have one slam-dunk franchise cornerstone in Bobby Witt Jr., and they're hoping to produce a few more in the coming seasons. Starting pitcher Cole Ragans and first baseman/outfielder Jac Caglianone have a case to join that crew, and perhaps the Royals can find a new one with their first-round pick this season.

Just Baseball's Tyler Jennings and Connor Dorney recently predicted that the Royals would land a very exciting prospect with the 23rd overall pick: North Carolina high school third baseman Josh Hammond.

"The Royals have a hefty bonus pool to play with this summer, which means a splash is likely," the authors wrote.

"Hammond has a ton of suitors in the early twenties, and while he’s likely a third baseman, it’s hard to ignore the pop and tools in the dirt. He’s athletic and provides high upside, which (scouting director) Brian Bridges loves."

Hammond is a 6-foot-1, 210-pound slugger with a live arm, as he doubled as a hard-throwing pitcher in high school. He's drawn a lot of comparisons to Austin Riley, a player Bridges drafted during his time with the Atlanta Braves.

There's always a long list of possibilities for how the draft could play out, but Hammond would be an exciting building block if he could one day man the hot corner alongside Witt at short.

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