Kansas City Royals hoping for similar luck with second overall pick
By David Hill
For the third time in franchise history, the Kansas City Royals will have the second overall pick. They are hoping for similar results from those previous selections.
One of the bonuses of having a difficult season is that the team earns a higher draft selection. That has been the case for the Kansas City Royals, who are now locked into the second overall pick in the 2019 MLB Amateur Draft.
While it can take some time for draft picks to make an impact on the major leagues, there is still a good amount of hope that comes with these selections. These are the players that a fanbase can dream about becoming stars, turning the franchise around and bringing the team back to their glory years. It is a pick that can signify hope.
That has been the case with the Royals before. They have had the second overall pick twice before in their franchise history, back in 2005 and in 2007. Those teams were also coming off of 100 loss seasons, stuck in the midst of what seemed like a perpetual rebuild without any real hope for change.
These players were looked at as pieces to help change that. And while they eventually did, both players were, for a time, seen as a bust, unable to fulfill their potential. Even though their struggles, the Royals stuck with them, despite their demotions to the minors. Now, those players have become a part of franchise lore, ingrained in the Royals history books.
Over time, the Kansas City Royals turned their fortunes around, in large part because of those two players. Let’s look back in history at those two players.