Kansas City Royals select local high school standouts in 2nd, 3rd rounds of MLB Draft
Local product and Kansas Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year Ben Kudrna headed up the second day of the Kansas City Royals’ draft Monday afternoon.
The 6-foot-3, 175-pound right-hander from Overland Park became the second high school pitcher selected by the Royals in this year’s draft. He’s committed to play college baseball at LSU.
The Royals picked another local prep standout who is slated to attend LSU in the third round, 78th overall: Park Hill catcher Carter Jensen.
Both Kudrna and Jensen have taken part in the Royals local grassroots programs and played on the Royals Scout Team.
“We’ve known these kids for a long time,” Royals assistant general manager for amateur scouting Lonnie Goldberg said. “When you have as much history as we’ve had with them and you get constant feedback on how they’re doing, it’s always in your ear. They were easy selections. They were easy in the sense that we knew their ability and we also knew their makeup, and they wanted to be here. This is where they wanted to play, and that means something.”
Baseball America included Jensen on its High School All-America third team, while Kudrna earned a spot on the publication’s second team.
Kudrna is the highest-drafted Kansas high school player since the Colorado Rockies selected Riley Pint out of St. Thomas Aquinas with the fourth overall pick in 2016.
Kudrna, 18, possesses a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and has reportedly touched 97 mph. As a senior, he went 9-1 with a 0.99 ERA, 100 strikeouts and 11 walks in 57 1/3 innings. He also posted a 0.67 WHIP and opponents batted .130 against him.
Kudrna threw three shutouts this season. He did not allow an earned run in 12 postseason innings, and he struck out 11 in this spring’s Kansas Class 5A title game.
MLB.com ranked Kudrna the 46th-best draft prospect among this year’s class. He gained some notoriety in national showcase-type events, such as the Area Code Games.
The Royals used their first pick, No. 7 overall, on Connecticut high school pitcher Frank Mozzicato on Sunday.
The Day 2 picks included three middle infielders (two switch-hitters), a catcher, an outfielder and five pitchers. They also used their first round pick on a pitcher.
“When you go into a draft, you know you can get left-handed pitching, catching, center field, middle infield-type guys, that’s been our strategy and our focus,” Goldberg said. “We were able to accomplish that here on Day 2.”
MLB.com ranked Jensen, a left-handed hitting catcher, the 82nd-best draft prospect in the class. The 6-foot-1, 210-pounder from Kansas City was viewed as one of the top high school catchers in the country.
Carter registered a .387 batting avg. and a .578 on-base percentage as a senior. He led the team with 34 walks and had 25 RBIs, two triples and one home run.
For the second consecutive year, the Royals selected a player out of the University of Alabama. They drafted second baseman Peyton Wilson with their pick in Competitive Balance Round B (No. 66).
The 5-foot-9, 180-pound switch-hitter played multiple positions in college, including second base, catcher and center field. He earned All-SEC Second Team honors this season at second base. The Royals do not plan to have Wilson catch, but he could play both center field and the middle infield.
One of his older brothers, John Parker Wilson, played quarterback for Alabama’s football team before joining the NFL. His other older brother, Ross, played baseball for the Crimson Tide and was drafted in 2010 by the Chicago White Sox.
Last season, the Royals drafted outfielder Tyler Gentry in the third round.
The Royals made 10 picks on the second day of the MLB Draft. Four were high school players. Through the first 10 rounds, the Royals have selected five position players and six pitchers.
The other Day 2 picks for the Royals included:
Round 4, No. 108 overall, 6-foot-3, 220-pound right-handed pitcher Shane Panzini from Red Bank Catholic High School in New Jersey.
Round 5, No. 139 overall, 6-foot-5, 225-pound right-handed pitcher Eric Cerantola from Mississippi State. He’s a native of Ontario, Canada.
Round 6, No. 169 overall, 6-foot, 190-pound switch-hitting second baseman Dayton Dooney from Central Arizona Junior College. He began his college career at the University of Arizona.
Round 7, No. 199 overall, 6-foot-3, 220-pound left-handed pitcher Noah Cameron out of Central Arkansas. Cameron played high school baseball at Central High School in St. Joseph, Missouri.
Round 8, No. 229 overall, 6-foot-1, 180-pound right-handed hitting shortstop Ryan Cepero out of Puerto Rico and the Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy.
Round 9, No. 259 overall, 6-foot-1, 205-pound left-handed hitting outfielder Parker Bates out of Louisiana Tech. The Texas native led Conference USA in on-base percentage (.471) as a fifth-year player.
Round 10, No. 289 overall, 6-foot-2, 175-pound left-handed pitcher Shane Connolly out of Virginia Tech.
This story was originally published July 12, 2021 at 1:03 PM.
