Royals Sign Eight More Draft Picks

The Royals are filling up their minor league system by adding to their draft class. Today, they confirmed the signing of eight more players, including third rounder Carter Hope out of Texas and fourth round catcher Zane Evans.

The full list of today’s signees:

• 3rd round: Carter Hope
• 4th round: Zane Evans (reportedly for $400,000)
• 7th round: Kyle Bartsch
• 10th round: Alex Newman ($125,000)
• 11th round: Xavier Fernandez
• 19th round: Andrew Edwards
• 23rd round: Javier Reynoso
• 27th round: Christian Flecha

That leaves just competitive balance pick Sean Manaea and Cody Stubbs as the lone unsigned draftees out of the top 10 rounds. Manaea is reportedly “very likely” to sign, though he won’t be signing for a discount. The slot amount for Manaea, the 34th overall selection, is $1.623 million, and the Royals have signed many of their players in the first ten rounds to under-slot deals to accommodate a higher signing bonus. They’re currently comfortably under their draft bonus pool cap at $1.6 million under budget.

Stubbs shouldn’t be a difficult signing. He’s a senior in college as it is. He hasn’t signed yet because North Carolina is playing in the College World Series. Once UNC is eliminated, he should sign quickly. He’ll likely be the last to sign out of the first ten rounds. First round pick Hunter Dozier signed early and is already set to head to Idaho Falls to start his professional career.