Five Options That the Royals Could Select at No. 6 in the MLB Draft

The Royals got a huge boost in last year's MLB Draft lottery as they jumped up to the No. 6 selection in this year's MLB Draft. Not only is having a Top-10 pick in any draft a good thing (especially when they had an 82-80 record last season), but it is especially beneficial in a draft where the class is particularly loaded. 

We are starting to see more outlets release their updated mock drafts, especially with the MLB Draft in Philadelphia taking place on July 11th. Thus, in this post, we are going to look at five candidates who are not just being mocked to the Kansas City Royals at No. 6, but who could make sense for the organization given its needs at this time.

Let's take a look at five draft-eligible players who could hear their names called by the Kansas City Royals on July 11th, and what they could offer the Royals in the long term. 

Eric (EJ) Booth Jr., OF, Oak Grove High School (MS)

Booth is widely considered the most sensible pick for the Royals at No. 6. He's a high-upside athlete who makes a lot of sense for a Royals farm system that's lacking premium outfielders. While Carson Roccaforte, Asbel Gonzalez, and Sean Gamble are Top-10 prospects currently, Booth would be the best-rated outfield prospect if drafted by the Royals.

In Jamie Cameron's latest mock MLB Draft on Diamondcentric, he predicted Booth getting selected by Kansas City. Here's what he said about the talented outfielder in his write-up:

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Booth is rapidly ascending draft boards. Starting from a pre-cycle ranking close to the back end of the first round, he has a chance to jump into the top three prep prospects, and the top five of the cycle overall. Booth is a compact, twitchy, athletic outfielder committed to Vanderbilt. It's a bit of an unconventional swing from the left side that can look better in batting practice than games, but it's underpinned by serious bat speed and an emerging ability to do damage on contact. All told, Booth has a chance to have above average hit and power tools. Booth is a nightmare on the base paths with 70-grade speed and is one of the fastest runners of the class. As one might imagine, this supports excellent range in the outfield. While his arm is fringe average, he should have little challenge tracking down almost anything and could settle into any outfield spot defensively. Booth will turn 18 a few days before the draft.

Booth is a five-tool guy who gives All-Star vibes if he develops properly. As a Vanderbilt commit, he has a high profile and can move quickly in the Royals system, even as a prep prospect. The College Baseball Show podcast is high on Booth as a prospect and believes his power and mature approach would matriculate well in 2027, whether it's in the Minor Leagues or SEC. 

When looking at Booth's tape, he has intriguing speed and a swing that can produce power, especially as he grows into his body. There are a lot of Carl Crawford vibes with Booth, which Royals fans will take, considering the success of Crawford's career in Tampa Bay. thinks

As Cameron pointed out in his piece, Booth's swing is a bit funky-looking, and there are concerns that he could experience some contact issues initially, much like this Gamble, the Royals' first selection in the 2025 Draft. However, Booth has a lot more natural power and bat speed than Gamble, which could help him avoid the early struggles Gamble experienced in Low-A Columbia this season. 

Drew Burress, OF, Georgia Tech

Baseball America mocked Burress to the Royals in their latest mock draft. They believe that Kansas City may draft the Georgia Tech outfielder to have someone who could move quickly in the system after their struggles this season. The Royals have seen the success Jac Caglianone has had in the Majors after being drafted in 2024. They may be hoping for something similar with Burress in this draft.

However, though the Royals may want a more "ready" prospect in Burress, that shouldn't dismiss his outlook as a prospect. Here's what Cameron said in his write-up about Burress, whom he mocked at No. 5 to Pittsburgh.

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Burress has been the most consistently productive college hitter since he set foot on campus at Georgia Tech. There's no arguing the track record, but there's a limited catalogue of impact bats in the big leagues who stood 5'9. Burress has a ton of moving pieces in his swing that can get a little convoluted and may be problematic against better quality pitching in professional baseball. It's good (not outstanding) bat-to-ball skills with tremendous quality of contact that has resulted in 44 home runs in his first two collegiate seasons. Burress rarely expands the zone and has walked significantly more than he struck out in his first two seasons in Atlanta. Burress has strong supplementary tools. A plus arm and above average speed and defense gives him a chance to stick on centerfield, at least in the infancy of his pro career. After a slow start, Burress finished 2026 with a .358/.473/.657 line with 16 home runs, a 15.8 BB%, a 13.8 K%, and a 143 wRC+. Burress will get a ton of credit in draft models for his performance in his first two collegiate seasons, but there are too many questions for me to select him in the top three.

Burress not only put up premium numbers at Georgia Tech but also had intriguing Statcast metrics. Despite his diminutive size, he regularly produced excellent exit velocity numbers, as pointed out by Joe Doyle of Overslot.com.

The great thing about Burress is that he can do it all as a player. He's a great defender, can hit for average and power, and while he doesn't have elite speed, he still stole 10 bases and may be a better baserunner than base stealer. He also did this against elite competition at Georgia Tech, which should help him move quickly as a prospect in the Royals system. 

Here are some of his highlights from this year, and it's easy to see Burress make an immediate impact if selected. 

In the 2023 MLB Draft, the Royals famously selected prep catcher Blake Mitchell over college catcher Kyle Teel. Teel, though injured at the beginning of the year, has been absolutely mashing with the White Sox this season (125 wRC+ last year; 118 wRC+ this year). As for Mitchell, he's still in High-A ball.

Perhaps the Royals learned that lesson from 2023 (Scouting Director Brian Bridges didn't take over until 2024), and will go with the more polished college product (Burress) over the intriguing but risky prep outfielder (Booth). 

Gio Rojas, LHP, Stoneman Douglas High School (FL)

Prep pitchers are always risky. That said, there's a lot to like with Rojas, who's been rumored as a possible Royals target at No. 6 by outlets like MLB Pipeline. 

The 6'4, 195-pound lefty from Florida is a Miami commit, and one can see why the Canes recruited him. He's a power lefty with mature command stuff for his age, and his delivery looks like Sean Manaea, a former Royals first-round pick (who was eventually traded to the Athletics in a deal for Ben Zobrist in 2015). Rojas absolutely dominated in the Florida High School State title game, striking out 16 batters in 6.2 IP.

Rojas can throw his four-seamer in the upper 90s, with it topping out at 97 MPH. Some believe he could go even higher if he can continue his development. Furthermore, he has solid secondary offerings, especially of the breaking variety, as highlighted by Cameron in his mock draft write-up on Rojas. He had Rojas getting selected at No. 10 by the Rockies.

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Rojas is one of a cluster of arms, particularly southpaws, who make up an outstanding top-of-the-class prep pitching demographic in 2026. Rojas, a Miami commit, looks the part, standing at 6'4, 195, with a smooth delivery underpinned by excellent athleticism on the mound. Rojas commands an excellent fastball that sits in the 94-96 mph range but has flirted with triple digits. It's backed up with two slider variants, the better of which is a nightmarish sweeper with a ton of horizontal break. Rojas also leverages a changeup, though that's the least well-developed of his offerings currently. Rojas has a strong track record of strike throwing, a tendency his sound delivery indicates he has every chance to continue. This is a premium prep left-handed arm. The only ding he might get in some draft models is he'll be 19 on draft day.

When looking at more tape on Rojas, he has a smooth delivery and works quickly as a pitcher. He carries a lot of confidence on the mound for a prep pitcher and dominated good prep competition in Florida as well as on the travel ball circuit last summer. 

Rojas is an older high schooler; he will be 19 on draft day, as Cameron noted. That said, he may move quickly in the Royals system, like David Shields, who was also drafted as an older prep prospect in the 2024 MLB Draft (in the second round). 

Prep pitchers carry a lot of risk, and the Royals have a mixed track record with first-round prep pitcher selections (Frank Mozzicato hasn't exactly turned out well). However, Rojas seems like the exception and could be part of an excellent long-term Royals starting-pitching trio with Shields and Kendry Chourio, our No. 2 and No. 1 prospects at Royals Keep, respectively.

Jackson Flora, RHP, UC Santa Barbara

The Royals' starting pitching took a hit at the Major League level this year. Cole Ragans is undergoing elbow surgery and will be out for a while. Kris Bubic has struggled with regression and injury (again). Noah Cameron has taken a step back after finishing fourth in the AL Rookie of the Year voting last year. Lastly, Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo have been solid, but they could be gone by the Trade Deadline.

Thus, Kansas City may want to select a pitcher that can move way more quickly in the system. If that's the case, then Flora may be the guy, if available at No. 6.

Cameron has the UC Santa Barbara product going No. 4 to the San Francisco Giants. However, if UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky doesn't go No. 1, he could fall to No. 4 to the Giants, which would push Flora down the draft board. The Royals could then swoop in and select Flora, as they did in 2024 with Caglianone.

Here's what Cameron said about Flora on Diamondcentric:

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Flora pitched behind number two overall pick Tyler Bremner in 2025, and returned a year later to headline the Gauchos rotation, himself a contender to be a top three pick. Flora has an ideal frame for a starter, standing at 6'5, 205, with some additional strength still to be added. After pitching primarily as a reliever as a freshman, Flora took on a starting role as a sophomore and thrived, managing a 3.15 FIP in 75 innings, while striking out close to 28% of the hitters he faced. The stuff is loud. Flora primarily relies on a fastball, slider, changeup combination, though he does access a cutter and curveball occasionally, too. It's a high spin fastball (up to 2600 rpms), with ~17 inches of vert, topping out at 100mph (averaging 98 mph) from a lower launch. Flora throws two iterations of his slider, a harder version around 84-86 mph, and a sweeper that generates 17-19 inches of horizontal movement. Flora incorporated a kick change in 2026, which sits 86-90 mph and generated huge whiff rates. To add to this intriguing arsenal, Flora has been an excellent strike thrower in college, walking just 8% of hitters in 2026. Flora separated himself as SP1 in the 2026 cycle. There's room for development and refinement of his pitch shapes and arsenal, but this is front of the rotation arm talent and upside.

The 21-year-old righty has all the characteristics one would want to see from a potential ace. He posted excellent numbers with the Gauchos, with a 1.06 ERA and 133 strikeouts in 102 IP. He has a diverse pitching mix and showcases plenty of velocity and movement on his offerings. Flora is the kind of pitcher who could move quickly in the Royals' farm system and debut as soon as 2027. 

Below is an example of Flora's performance against the Oregon Ducks, a Power-5 team that hosted an NCAA regional this season. In 5.0 IP against the Ducks, he struck out five, allowed only two hits, three walks, and no runs. 

What also makes Flora so intriguing is his strong makeup as a pitcher. He's a student of the game, and he would likely thrive in a professional organization with more intensive player development. Below is a clip of him talking about his mechanics with Rob Friedman of Pitching Ninja, and it's obvious how much thought Flora puts into his craft.

The Royals have Shields and Chourio coming up the pipeline, but they still may be a year or two away from making their MLB debut. Conversely, Flora is the kind of pitcher they can fast-track, not only because he's a college arm, but also because he's a polished one who should only benefit from professional coaching and player development. If the Royals are looking for their long-term ace to emerge in the next two years, Flora may be their selection at No. 6. 

Jacob Lombard, SS, Gulliver Prep High School (FL)

The Royals have Bobby Witt Jr. signed until 2030. However, if they are not confident that he will stay beyond 2030, they could have a Witt 2.0 in Lombard, a prep shortstop out of Florida.

Lombard is the brother of Yankees infield prospect George Lombard and the son of a former outfielder and current Dodgers bench coach (also named George). The younger Lombard is a true five-tool player who, like Witt, could be franchise-changing. The 18-year-old rates well defensively and on the basepaths, and could have 30 HR-30 SB potential, as Cameron pointed out in his Diamondcentric Mock Draft. 

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Jacob Lombard is the younger brother of George Lombard, a 2023 Yankees draftee and consensus T100 prospect in his own right. Lombard the younger has some of the loudest tools in the entire draft class, but qualifies as a high-risk, high-reward prep option for teams picking in the first round. Lombard hits from the right hand side of the plate. There's plus bat speed and easy raw power to all fields. The biggest questions in Lombard's offensive profile surround his hit tool, with concerns about the levels of swing and miss in the 2025 summer showcase circuit. Lombard is incredibly athletically gifted, he plays smooth shortstop, has a solid arm and double plus speed. This might be the highest upside play in the entire draft class. He could be a 30-30 type player if he can hit enough after turning pro.

Cameron predicted Lombard would be drafted seventh overall, which is held by the Baltimore Orioles. If Lombard gets past the Royals at six, the Orioles could make sense for Lombard, especially considering the organization's affinity for prep players with MLB lineage.

Royals scouting director Bridges likes prep players with Lombard's profile, mostly because they have that All-Star ceiling, even with the low-floor risk. There are rumors that the Royals have long liked Lombard, even when he was predicted as a possible No. 1 pick a year ago. His star has dimmed a little during a rough summer circuit last year, especially with Team USA. His contact and swing-and-miss were the biggest concerns with scouts (as pointed out in Cameron's write-up). 

Nonetheless, there's a smoothness in Lombard's frame and athleticism, both at the plate and in the field. Below is a glimpse of him on the showcase circuit, impressing scouts with his natural tools.

You know who was also a talented infielder with MLB family ties who had contact concerns? Witt. And as Royals fans know, that No. 2 overall pick from the 2019 MLB Draft has turned out nicely.

Of course, Witt is an unfair comparison, but the similarities are there in so many ways. The main difference is that Lombard is in a loaded draft class, while Witt's was a bit weaker. It's possible that Witt could've gone in that 5-7 range if he was in this draft class.

The Royals could set themselves up nicely in the long term with two shortstops with superstar potential by selecting Lombard if available at No. 6. Maybe Lombard moves to second base initially, with the idea that he can move to shortstop if Witt opts out of his deal after the 2030 season. That could help the Royals remain competitive in the long term without breaking the bank. 

For more on the Royals' selections in the MLB Draft, you can also check out Jared Perkins of Just Baseball and The College Baseball Show and me on Royals Pipeline, a Royals prospects-focused podcast on KC Sports Network. Our first-round draft preview can be found below.

Check out our 2026 mock draft board, updated regularly, and with detailed player write-ups!