Kansas City Royals MLB Draft tracker, Day 2: See picks & analysis from Rounds 3-10
The MLB Draft began Sunday night and will continue through Tuesday, a three-day format that features 20 rounds.
The Kansas City Royals selected Florida Gators two-way star Jac Caglianone with their first-round pick, No. 6 overall, on Sunday night. That came shortly after they traded their No. 2 prospect, per MLB.com — infielder Cayden Wallace — to the Washington Nationals for relief pitcher Hunter Harvey.
Here are the Royals’ Day 2 MLB Draft selections:
Round 3, pick No. 76: Drew Beam, RHP, Tennessee
To further add to their bullpen after selecting David Shields in Round 2 Sunday night, the Royals selected a pitcher fresh off of an NCAA title.
Beam, 21, was a strong starter for the Volunteers during their postseason run this year. In 19 total appearances, the junior struck out 99 batters with a 4.22 ERA. He pitched three complete games and employs a classic four-pitch style.
Last season, Beam was named an NCBWA All-American and the SEC’s Scholar Athlete of the Year. Now he’s set to travel west from Knoxville to Kansas City.
Round 4, No. 105: L.P. Langevin, RHP, Louisiana-Lafayette
The Royals added another pitcher to their roster in Canadian right-hander L.P. Langevin.
The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Langevin, 21, collected numerous honors this past season, including Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year and a spot on the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List. He was 6-1 with seven saves and a 3.73 ERA in 2024.
Langevin previously played at Wabash Valley College, where he made 22 appearances and helped lead his team to the NJCAA College World Series in his final season. He’s the second Quebec native selected in this year’s draft.
Round 5, No. 138: A.J. Causey, RHP, Tennessee
The Royals looked to Knoxville, Tenn., for the second time Monday afternoon, picking the 21-year-old Causey in the fifth round.
He led the nation in wins this past season, going 13-3 with 125 strikeouts and a 4.43 ERA. Standing 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, he brings size to the mound and throws a specialty change-up in the upper 70s.
At the end of his national-title winning campaign — his first season with the Vols — Causey collected three All-America honors. An Alabama native, he’s the seventh Tennessee player drafted this year.
Round 6, No. 167: Tanner Jones, RHP, Texas A&M
The 6-2, 195-pound pitcher made 15 appearances with the Aggies last season — his lone season in College Station, going 3-1 with a 6.33 ERA.
The Alabama native’s fastball registers in the lower 90s and he throws a good curve. Previously, Jones played at Jacksonville State, and struck out 84 batters in 79 innings his sophomore year — nearly doubling the 43 strikeouts he registered as a freshman.
Round 7, No. 197: Dennis Colleran, RHP, Northeastern
The right-hander made 20 appearances and tallied 46 strikeouts with one save this past season. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2022, but came out of it throwing fastballs at speeds up to 100 mph.
He boasts multiple strong pitches to pair with that power and has potential as a closer or late reliever with some more development.
Round 8, No. 227: Nick Conte, RHP, Duke
Conte, 20, joins the Royals with a bit of mystery. He made just seven appearances for Duke this past season, posting a 1-0 record and striking out eight over six innings.
He also missed the 2023 season due to injury following a sophomore season in which he made just three appearances.
But his talent is tantalizing: According to the Providence Journal, the 5-foot-10, 200-pound Rhode Islander has been throwing fastballs in the 90s and wicked sliders since high school.
Round 9, No. 257: Canyon Brown, catcher, North Carolina A&T
KC’s first non-pitcher selection — other than first-round pick and two-way dynamo Jac Caglianone, that is — comes from North Carolina A&T in the form of 20-year-old catcher Brown.
He batted .322 this past season with 50 RBIs and six stolen bases, but where he really stood out was behind the plate. Boasting a near-50% rate of would-be catching base stealers, he’s certainly proven his high ceiling in that aspect. But he’ll probably need to work on his hitting in order to make it to the majors ... and the Royals.
Round 10, No. 287: Nate Ackenhausen, pitcher, LSU
The Royals concluded Day 2 of the draft by selecting yet another pitcher — this time, a lefty.
Ackenhausen, 22, goes 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, and his fastball isn’t overpowering at 92 mph. But he mixes in an 84 mph slider effectively.
He made 37 appearances for the Tigers in 2023 and 2024 combined after starting out at a junior-college. He was 6-5 with four saves — 95 strikeouts and a 4.76 ERA — in 73.2 innings across those two seasons at LSU.
This story was originally published July 15, 2024 at 1:20 PM.
