Royals use three Day 2 draft picks on pitchers and add Alabama outfielder Tyler Gentry
Three of the four Kansas City Royals’ picks on the second day of the MLB draft were used to select pitchers, including a pair of college hurlers and one high school right-hander.
Chicago high school standout Ben Hernandez led the way for the Royals on Thursday’s Day 2 of the draft at No. 41 (second round), followed by Alabama outfielder Tyler Gentry (third round, No. 76), Oregon State left-handed pitcher Christian Chamberlain (fourth round, No. 105) and Eastern Illinois right-handed pitcher Will Klein (fifth round, No. 135).
The Royals bolstered their organizational depth with four pitchers in this year’s draft. They made six picks in this year’s shortened five-round process.
“You look at a draft like these where it’s limited rounds, limited opportunities,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. “We still would have liked to have added some more athletes, but we’ll look at the $20,000 (free agent) guys and, of course, what Rene Francisco and Albert Gonzales do internationally with those signs. We’d like to supplement there, as well.
“There’s always work to do. You’re never satisfied. You can’t have too much talent, and you certainly can’t have enough pitching.”
Teams will be allowed to sign undrafted free agents starting Sunday, but signing bonuses have been capped at $20,000 per player.
All MLB teams were limited in their ability to scout players this year due to the truncated seasons, or in some cases eliminated seasons, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s the primary reason this year’s draft was shortened to five rounds.
Much of this year’s scouting and evaluation processes took place remotely and via video and conference calls.
“Obviously you know the complications with what’s going on with the COVID pandemic, not being able to scout some kids, but I’ll tell you what — the guys really pulled together and it just shows how important it is to have history with these players prior to their draft year,” Royals assistant scouting director Danny Ontiveros said. “The relationships that our guys built, I think we were really prepared for every situation that came at us.”
Latest additions
Hernandez, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound right-hander, played at Chicago’s De La Salle Institute. His fastball reaches 94-95 mph, and it’s coupled with a very good changeup. The latter pitch graded a 65 on the 20-to-80 scale according to MLB.com.
Hernandez, who turns 19 on July 1, was ranked as the 72nd-best prospect in the country by MLB.com and was slotted as the 86th-best prospect by Baseball America. He impressed with his performance against some of the nation’s top amateur players at the Prospect Development Pipeline, a joint venture between MLB and USA Baseball.
Gentry, 21, brings a power bat. A 6-foot-2, 210-pound Tennessee native, he got off to a hot start this season before the COVID-19 shutdown. He batted .429 with six doubles, four home runs, 21 RBIs and 19 runs scored in 17 games.
As a sophomore in 2019, Gentry led Alabama in batting average (.310), hits (65), home runs (13), RBIs (42), slugging percentage (.552) and total bases (116). He also tied for the team lead in doubles (12) and runs scored (37).
Baseball America ranked Gentry the 177th-best prospect in this year’s draft, while MLB.com ranked him 81st.
Chamberlain, the No. 105 pick, is a 5-foot-10, 173-pound left-hander who entered the draft ranked 173rd among MLB.com’s top 200 prospects.
The 20-year-old’s arsenal features a fastball, curveball and changeup, with his fastball reaching 95 mph. His curveball is considered his best pitch, and he averaged 12 strikeouts per nine innings in college. He made 37 of his 47 college appearances in relief.
Klein brings a big frame at 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds along with a fastball typically hitting 92-94 mph, though he touched 99 mph last summer in a wood-bat league. He’d pitched primarily in relief before he moved into the rotation for the pandemic-shortened season this spring.
The Royals started their draft Wednesday by selecting possibly the top pitching prospect in the nation in Texas A&M left-hander Asa Lacy at No. 4 overall. They then added Baylor University shortstop Nick Loftin, a versatile defender with significant potential offensive upside, with pick No. 32.
This story was originally published June 11, 2020 at 6:57 PM.
