Kansas City Royals Five Best Draft Picks in Team History

Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

On Monday, the 2015 MLB Amateur Draft will kick off. Spanning three days and forty rounds, the draft will take place through Wednesday, as teams look to take those players they hope will be their next star players. It is a time of hope and excitement, as new players are infused into the minors and top prospects can begin their journey to the majors.

The draft is also, for some, a test in patience. While there may be the odd player, like Brandon Finnegan last season, who gets to make their major league debut the same year they were drafted, those players are few and far between. Normally, it takes a few years for a draft to begin to bear fruit, as these young players need to mature and rise up through the ranks.

This can also be a time of disappointment, at least in hindsight. The draft is an inexact science in any sport, and may be even more so in baseball. Unlike most other sports, these prospects have to earn their place in the minor leagues, showing that they can handle professional baseball at each stop along the way before making the majors. Sometimes, these players never do make that final jump to the major leagues, and even those that do may not pan out as expected.

However, let us focus on the positive. Let us look back through the Kansas City Royals draft history and look back at the five best selections over the 47 years of the Royals existence. While we all know who the best pick in team history would be, the other ranks may not be as easy to determine.

Don’t forget to vote in our poll at the end of the article, as we want to know who you feel the second best draft choice in team history would be. After all, we all know who is ranked first.

Next: Fighting back instead of flaming out

Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

5. Zack Greinke – 1st round, 2002

Zack Greinke walked a strange path early in his career. The sixth overall pick in the 2002 draft, Greinke had reached the majors by 2004, compiling an 8-11 record with a 3.97 ERA and a 1.166 WHiP as he finished fourth in the Rookie of the Year vote that season. It was certainly a promising start to Greinke’s career.

Then Greinke had a disastrous 2005 season. He was 5-17, leading the American League in losses while posting a miserable 5.80 ERA and a 1.563 WHiP. Things were bad enough where Greinke’s anxiety issues almost got the best of him, as he took most of the 2006 season off, contemplating retirement at the age of 22 to mow lawns instead.

Fortunately, Greinke chose to remain in baseball, as he was one of the few bright spots for the Royals in the late 2000’s. His 2009 season, when Greinke won the Cy Young award with a 16-8 record, a 2.16 ERA and a 1.073 WHiP, was one of the greatest seasons in the history of the Kansas City Royals. For a team that won only 65 games, Greinke was a true force atop the rotation.

Even when he departed, Greinke was able to benefit the Royals. The trade that sent him to the Milwaukee Brewers let someone else take on Yuniesky Betancourt, which was a minor miracle in it’s own right. The trade also brought back cornerstones Lorenzo Cain and Alcides Escobar, along with Jake Odorizzi, who was then flipped with other prospects for James Shields.

Zack Greinke’s career with the Kansas City Royals was certainly worthy of inclusion on this list, but the return they got for him helped set the stage for the team the Royals have become. Greinke’s selection has been the pick that just keeps on giving in Kansas City.

Next: The man, the myth, the legend

Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

4. Bo Jackson – 4th round, 1986

Numbers alone cannot tell the true story of Bo Jackson’s impact upon the baseball world or the Kansas City Royals. In his four full seasons with the Royals, Bo produced a .252/.309/.487 batting line, hitting 107 home runs and stealing 78 bases. He had made an All-Star Game, and at age 27, appeared to be on his way to becoming a polished, all around threat on the diamond.

Unfortunately, the hip injury that Bo suffered while playing for the Oakland Raiders curtailed his baseball career and cut short his time in Kansas City. Instead of being the next face of the Royals, ready to lead the team for the next decade, he was released, settling in as a part time player with the White Sox and Angels before calling it a career following the 1994 season.

Yet, during that time with the Royals, Bo streaked across the baseball landscape like a comet. He was truly a talent all his own, capable of Herculean feats any time he stepped onto the field. He would hit tremendous home runs while shattering his bats, occasionally snapping the bat like a twig after striking out. He would scale walls to chase down fly balls, and make throws that left even the fastest runners of the time dead to rights if they dared to take an extra base. And who can forget the “Bo Knows” advertisements from the late 1980’s, where Bo Jackson was as big a star as Michael Jordan?

Bo Jackson may not have had the longevity or the career of the other players on this list, but that does not change the impact he had upon the baseball world or the Kansas City Royals.

Next: Truly Forever Royal

Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

3. Paul Splittorff – 25th round, 1968

Yes, the Kansas City Royals did not play a major league game until 1969, but that did not stop them from being able to participate in the MLB Amateur Draft the year before. During that draft, all the way in the 25th round, the Royals managed to find a player who would go on to cement his name in franchise history in Paul Splittorff.

What Splittorff lacked in explosiveness, he more than made up for in consistency. During his fifteen year career with the Royals, Splittorff won ten or more games ten times, finishing with a franchise best 166 victories. He was also quite the workhorse for the Royals in the 1970’s, averaging 217 innings from 1972 through 1980. Aside from his brief stints in the bullpen, Splittorff would take the ball every fourth or fifth day, providing the Royals with a solid outing virtually every time.

A member of the Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame, Splittorff remained around the team following his playing career. For the younger generation of Royals fans who may not remember his distinctive high leg kick and time on the mound, Splittorff was the voice of the Royals, broadcasting games from 1988 until his untimely passing in 2011 from throat cancer and melanoma.

Paul Spittorff was the first player drafted by the Kansas City Royals to be called up to the major leagues, and the second to make an appearance. The all time Royals leader in wins, innings and starts, Splittorff was truly forever Royal, spending more than forty years with the team. That is certainly great value for a 25th round selection.

Next: The best starter in Royals history

Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

2. Bret Saberhagen – 19th round, 1982

During the mid to late 1980’s, whenever the topic of the best starting pitcher in baseball would arise, the Kansas City Royals Bret Saberhagen was definitely in that conversation. He had won two Cy Young awards by the time he was 26, made two All-Star Games and should have been a part of two more and won the clinching game of the 1985 World Series while earning MVP honors. It was quite the impressive resume.

Strangely, during Saberhagen’s two Cy Young seasons, he did not make the All-Star Game. His 1985 campaign, where he posted a 20-6 record with a 2.87 ERA and a 1.058 WHiP was certainly impressive, but it did not hold a candle to how Saberhagen produced in 1989. That year, he posted a 23-6 record with a 2.16 ERA and a 0.961 WHiP, leading the American League in wins, ERA, WHiP, innings, complete games and strikeout to walk rate. It was a truly dominant year for Saberhagen.

That 19th round selection certainly made his mark on the Kansas City Royals record books. In addition to becoming the only player in Royals history to win two Cy Young awards, he is sixth all time with 110 wins, seventh with a 3.21 ERA, fourth with 1093 strikeouts and second with a 1.134 WHiP. Saberhagen may well be the best starting pitcher in Royals history.

Bret Saberhagen will always be remembered for his performance in the 1985 World Series. However, his impact went far beyond that year, and if not for the next player, he could arguably have been the best draft pick in Kansas City Royals history.

Next: Was there any other choice?

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1. George Brett – 2nd round, 1972

What can be said about George Brett that has not been said already? He is the only member of the Kansas City Royals in the Baseball Hall of Fame, had over 3000 hits, made a run at the legendary .400 batting average while winning a batting title in three different decades, made 13 All-Star Games and won a Gold Glove and an MVP award. And let us not forget his epic confrontations with the New York Yankees.

The numbers that Brett posted were truly astonishing. In his career, Brett had a .305/.369/.487 batting line with 3154 hits, 317 home runs and 201 stolen bases. Brett’s 665 doubles rank sixth all time in baseball history. With those numbers in mind, it may not be a surprise that the Royals third baseman entered the Hall of Fame with 98.2% of the vote, the fifth highest total in baseball history.

Forty three years after being drafted, Brett is still in the organization. After retiring, Brett served as the Vice-President of the Royals, and stepped down from the front office for two months to serve as the team’s interim hitting coach. He certainly had the touch for the role, getting through to players like Eric Hosmer, who had been struggling at the time.

Even though it has been 22 years since his last game, George Brett is still the face of the Kansas City Royals. As arguably the greatest third baseman in baseball history, and one of the best players even in the majors, he is easily the best draft pick in the history of the Kansas City Royals.

Next: Looking back and looking ahead

Jun 6, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; A general view of baseball gear before a game between the Kansas City Royals and the New York Yankees at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

There were several tough cuts on this list. Players like Kevin Appier, Dennis Leonard, Alex Gordon and Willie Wilson certainly could make a case to be included. Perhaps in a few more years, Eric Hosmer or Greg Holland can join the discussion, further crowding the list of top draft picks in the history of the Kansas City Royals.

While there is no question as to who the Royals best draft choice in team history is, there could be a decent amount of debate about who holds that second spot. A case could be made for any of the players listed in the top five, and even for some of the players that did not make the cut.

Next: Potential Trade Partners for the Royals