Royals

SportsBeat Live: Royals draft high school + local early. Will it work? Let’s talk

The Royals, the AL Central’s last-place team, may spend part of the second half of this season looking and building toward 2022, but the past few days were devoted to an even longer-term plan.

The Royals pulled off a surprise in the Major League Draft with their first-round pick, No. 7 overall, by taking Connecticut high school pitcher Frank Mozzicato. The high school trend continued soon after with a pair of Kansas City-area high school selections, pitcher Ben Kudrna of Blue Valley Southwest and catcher Carter Jensen of Park Hill.

What did going with high school players signal about the Royals’ philosophy? We discuss that and more on SportsBeat Live with beat writer Lynn Worthy, columnists Sam Mellinger and Vahe Gregorian and host Blair Kerkhoff.

Join us in the conversation with your questions and comments.

This story was originally published July 13, 2021 at 9:00 AM.

Blair Kerkhoff
The Kansas City Star
Blair Kerkhoff has covered sports for The Kansas City Star since 1989. He was elected to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2023.
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