Kansas City Royals 2026 MLB Draft Day 1 Thread

[Kevin O'Brien]

Image courtesy of Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Welcome to Royals Keep's coverage of the 2026 MLB Draft! Here you can follow all of the day’s events and join in on the conversation surrounding the newest Kansas City Royals.

This year’s draft will once again consist of 20 rounds. The first four rounds will take place on Saturday, July 11th. The 5th-20th rounds will take place on Sunday, July 12th. Here's what TV coverage will be like for the MLB Draft, as it is different from years past.

• 12:00-1:30 p.m. CST - Preview show + Picks 1-10 (NBC/Peacock)
• 1:30-3:30 p.m. CST - Picks 11-40 (MLB Network, MLB.com, MLB.TV, MLB+)
• 3:30-6:45 p.m. CST - Picks 41-135 (MLB.com, MLB.TV, MLB+)

The Royals have five picks on day one of the draft: No. 6 (1st round), No. 30 (Competitive Balance A), No. 56 (2nd round), No. 91 (3rd round), and No. 119 (4th round). 

Kansas City has a bonus pool of $15,954,000 to divide amongst their picks. That is the seventh-highest bonus pool in this year's draft. 

We're excited to show off the Royals Draft Tracker, which will be kept up to date not only during the draft but throughout the entire signing period. So keep coming back for updates!

The draft is a busy, fast-paced event, and we’ll be updating articles and providing scouting reports on the Royals' picks as things happen, so stay tuned and feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!

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[Brock Beauchamp]

Who's your favorite at six today?

And what are your opinions on Picollo's first-round choices over the past few years? Looks like he landed the Cags pick, and Mitchell looks good so far, but a lot of road to cover on that one before all is said and done. Gavin Cross, well... let's not talk about him.

[Philip Ruo]

I expect a position player first. Would be nice if they could help the they could help the roster sooner than later... As long as he's not rushed like Cags was last season. 

[Kevin O'Brien]

2 hours ago, Philip Ruo said:

I expect a position player first. Would be nice if they could help the they could help the roster sooner than later... As long as he's not rushed like Cags was last season. 

I think my preference is: Flora, Booth, and Burress. Don't love Lombard, but would be happy with him.

Believe all those guys could have a major impact on the Royals roster, with Flora and Burress being the ones to do so the quickest. 

[Mike Gillespie]

So KC spends its first pick on an outfielder. Louisville's Zion Rose may not have projected quite this high (6th overall) but I like his power and speed a lot. And he fits an organizational need. His will be an interesting progression through the system to watch.

[Brock Beauchamp]

An interesting choice. The Royals are obviously planning some shenanigans later in the draft, keep an eye on a big swing at a prep guy with a commit to a good school in a later round.