Royals Reportedly Agree to Draft Grandal #4

Greg Schaum passes on the scoop of the night, as according to Frankie Piliere of MLB Fanhouse, “multiple industry sources” state that the Royals have made an agreement with University of Miami catcher Yasmani Grandal to select him with the fourth overall pick in the 2010 Amateur Draft which begins on Monday.  Behind a solid top-three of Bryce Harper, Jameson Taillon and Manny Machado, the rest of the draft is a talented group, but there aren’t any big standouts.

I briefly looked at Grandal as a draft option on Kings of Kauffman a couple of weeks ago.  Wally’s most recent mock draft of the first round on Call To The Pen had Grandal going to San Diego at #9.

If this report is true, I wonder if there would be any flexibility in the agreement in the event that somehow Taillon or Machado passed through to the fourth pick, if the Royals wished to select either of them in that position.  It’s unlikely, but it’s something to think about.

Again, if the report is true, it won’t be official or confirmed even until Monday when the Royals make their pick.  This move is similar to Pittsburgh’s selection of Tony Sanchez, another college catcher and fourth overall pick.  The Pirates selected him higher than most executives expected and paid him close to slot, but considering the third overall pick, Donavan Tate, signed for more than twice his slot suggestion and Zack Wheeler’s signing bonus as the sixth overall pick was a million dollars over slot, the Pirates probably saved some money for later in the draft and in the international market.

The Royals, in making this agreement, would free up some of that draft bonus money and get a player they think highly of.  We’ll see if that’s how it develops on Monday.

You can stay current on all the Kings of Kauffman content and news by following us on Twitter, Facebook, or by way of our RSS feed.