Royals sign top draft pick and potential front-end starter Asa Lacy, rest of newcomers
The typical pomp and circumstance surrounding the introductory news conference of a newly signed top draft pick was substantially muted by COVID-19 restrictions — a conference call substituted for the customary in-person gathering and photo opp — but the Kansas City Royals were no less proud to show off their latest acquisition to Kansas City Tuesday.
Left-handed pitcher Asa Lacy, the No. 4 overall selection out of Texas A&M, joined the rest of the Royals’ draft class and their undrafted free-agents in signing their contracts to officially join the organization at Kauffman Stadium.
“Asa represents everything that we’re about,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. “He’s highly competitive. He’s a winner. He works extremely hard off the field. He comes from a wonderful family, been raised right. He comes from an elite college program that does things the right way. We’re just really looking forward to coming alongside him and helping him realize his dream as a championship-caliber major-league pitcher.”
MLB.com/MLB Pipeline senior writer Jim Callis reported Lacy’s signing bonus was $6.67 million, slightly over the slot value of$6,664,000.
Lacy, accompanied by his family, got his first look at the ballpark and the city, took part in the traditional ceremony of putting on the jersey for the first time and taking pictures to commemorate the occasion.
Then, instead of sitting in front of a microphone, he hopped on his cell phone and answered questions from the local media corps, the Royals jersey still draping him and a crisp new cap atop his head.
Lacy didn’t make any grand proclamations about his progression through the minors. A large measure of uncertainty remains as baseball currently remains on hold, the minor-league season in serious doubt.
“I just want to be the best possible teammate I can be for whichever level I start out at,” Lacy said. “I realize there’s a lot of things I do need to improve on and get better at. So I can’t wait to start that process. I love the process, so I’m just really, really excited to get this thing going.”
The highest draft pick in the history of the Texas A&M program and a two-time All-American, Lacy posted a 3-0 record and a 0.75 ERA with 46 strikeouts in 24 innings in four starts this spring.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound pitcher ranked fifth in the country in strikeouts and seventh in strikeouts per nine innings (17.25), 13th in hits allowed per nine innings (3.38) and 30th in WHIP (0.71).
Baseball America ranked Lacy, 21, the top pitching prospect and third-best overall prospect in this year’s draft.
The Royals watched all of Lacy’s starts this season, but they’ve had eyes on him for years, with scouts Josh Hallgren, Chris Reitsma and regional supervisor Gregg Miller spearheading the scouting department’s efforts.
“The one thing that we really noticed with regards to him is that he continued to get better and continued to develop pitches,” Royals assistant general manager/amateur scouting Lonnie Goldberg said.
In the fall, Lacy’s changeup was thought to be his best pitch, pairing with an “explosive” fastball. But by spring his slider had become his strikeout pitch and had evaluators buzzing.
Goldberg and his staff also became enamored with Lacy’s intensity and competitiveness on the mound, particularly as a staff ace in what has been regarded as the best conference in college baseball — the SEC.
That coupled with his pitch repertoire gives the Royals reason for lofty aspirations. The Royals were elated that Lacy fell to them at the fourth overall pick.
“When you put those combinations together, you’re looking at a front-end type starter,” Goldberg said. “The compete level, the animal-type level he competed with in a tough conference, in a big conference, and to know you’re taking the ball on Friday night with the expectation that you’re supposed to go out and dominate, and then to go out and do so (is impressive.)”
