Kansas City Royals 2024 MLB Draft Report Card

Best Pure Hitter: First baseman and lefthander Jac Caglianone (1) is far from your typical winner of the “best pure hitter” category given his extremely aggressive chase rates, but he makes a tremendous amount of contact within the zone and is a career .355 hitter in three seasons with Florida. 

Best Power Hitter: Caglianone (1) has tremendous raw power that earns 80-grade evaluations from scouts. He consistently hits rockets to all fields and has the sort of game-changing juice that will allow him to mis-hit balls out of the park and strike fear into opposing pitchers. He had multiple 30+ homer seasons with Florida and was second among D-I hitters behind Georgia’s Charlie Condon with 35 in 2024. Caglianone topped Wyatt Langford for the best career slugging percentage (.760) in Florida history and also topped Matt LaPorta for the most home runs (74) in program history. 

Fastest Runner: Most of the Royals hitters came from corner profiles or catching, but outfielder Corey Cousin (18) has a lean frame, a clean running stride and seems to be an above-average or better runner. 

Best Defensive Player: Catcher Canyon Brown (9) earned a glove-first reputation in college with North Carolina A&T. He threw out 47.4% of basestealers during the spring and has a big, 70-grade throwing arm that should continue to keep the running game in check in pro ball. His actions and hands are enough to help him become an above-average defender if he isn’t that already. 

Best Fastball: Righthander LP Langevin (4) showed one of the most unique fastballs in the country last spring with Louisiana-Lafayette. The pitch averaged 93-94 mph and touched 96 but has tremendous spin in the 2,500+ rpm range and averaged more than 17 inches in both induced vertical break and arm-side horizontal break. The pitch also features a flat approach angle from a lower-than-average release point. Summed up, he managed to generate an outlier 46% miss rate with the fastball in college. It’s a special pitch on which it’s easy to hang a 70-grade eval. 

Best Secondary Pitch: Lefthander David Shields (2) has impressive feel to throw both a slider and a curveball. The two pitches can blend together at times, but both have above-average potential. 

Best Pro Debut: Lefthander Nate Ackenhausen (10) threw nine innings across five relief outings with High-A Quad Cities and posted a 0.00 ERA with nine strikeouts and two walks. 

Best Athlete: Caglianone (1) is one of the most physically impressive two-way players to come out of college in years, and on top of his power exploits in the lefthanded batter’s box, he also throws a sinking fastball that gets up to 99 mph from the left side on the mound. His power potential should be too much to let him pitch for long in pro ball, and so far he’s only hit since signing, but the arm talent, size, raw power and contact skills are a special blend of tools and ability. 

Most Intriguing Background: Langevin is a Canadian native who spent two seasons with Wabash Valley (Ill.) JC and wasn’t on the national radar at all before showing off his freakish, bat-missing fastball with Louisiana-Lafayette this spring. 

Closest To The Majors: Righthander Drew Beam (3) was one of the longest-tenured SEC starters in the draft class and finished his career with Tennessee with 51 starts, 262.2 innings, a 3.60 ERA and a 6.46% walk rate. While his stuff is more solid-average across the board, he has a deep mix of pitches and plus control that should help him move quickly.

Best Day Three Pick (Or NDFA): Righthander Andrew Morones (16) signed for just $50,000 but has a 90-95 mph fastball with interesting release traits that have already let it play up in college and could continue to do so in pro ball. In a 10-inning pro debut, Morones averaged 93 mph and featured a 4.29 vertical approach angle with a lower-than-average release height and generated a 19% swinging strike rate. The pitch earned a 110 Stuff+ grade on BA’s internal metrics.